Making Agriculture attractive for the youths in SVG
Agriculture is a business and it should be treated seriously like any other business. Agriculture is the backbone of the economy and it could collapse in the future in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, if more youths do not get involved in this industry. If we were to take a look at the age of most farmers in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the vast majority of our farmers are old people. Who would feed the nation when all these farmers have gone to the great beyond?
To make agriculture more attractive for the youths, we must start by making the youths love and appreciate “soil”. Soil has nutrients which are essential for plant growth and development. Without soil, we would have famine in St. Vincent and the Grenadines and non-communicable diseases would be rampant because we would not have enough fruits and vegetables to mitigate against non-communicable diseases and to promote healthy eating. If we were to import all of our fruits and vegetables, the prices would be “sky high”. It is sad to see a lot of young people afraid of putting their hands in the soil. They have this perception that soil is dirty and it has no value. We must change this mentality about agriculture.
Agriculture Science should be introduced as a subject to more secondary schools in the Kingstown areas. This would target more young people to get the required skills and develop a passion to pursue more careers in agriculture. Most young people when they are pursuing higher education, you would find that they are pursuing careers in Business, Accounts, Law, etc. You seldom find a young person pursuing a bachelors in Agriculture Science. Another strategy that could be implemented by the relevant authorities is to have Primary Schools, Secondary Schools, Tertiary Schools, and Public Sector workers having frequent farm visits to various farms across the country. This would ensure that farmers share their knowledge and expertise before they go to the great beyond and it would motivate persons to start a back yard garden or commercial farming and appreciate the value of soil. Agriculture should be “all hands on deck”.
The youths who are on the block wasting time and getting themselves involved in gangs and criminal activities can also be involved on these farm visits. They would get some knowledge about farming which they can use to make a small hustle which would alleviate some of the criminal activities in the country. The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Agriculture can work closely together to organize these farm visits. Young people love technology, these days almost every young person have a smart phone, laptop and a tablet. We must link technology with agriculture if we want to attract more young people in agriculture. A national farmer’s app can be established. Young people who are interested in getting involved in agriculture can download this app on their smart phone and update their farming information on the app. For example, the app would include information such as their name, address, telephone number, type of crops, how many pounds of each crops available, etc.
If someone wants 20 pounds of tomatoes and ginger to purchase from a farmer, all the information would be available on the app. The national farmer’s app can also include butchers, broiler and layer farmers, persons who are interested in organic farming and wants compost to purchase, compost can be included, etc. This would make agriculture attractive for the youths because it would provide a local market, assist with the marketing of their produce and the youths would be using their smart phone and tablet to update their farming information. The national farmer’s app should be promoted by the relevant authorities to get as many people to download this app. Drones can be used to detect soil moisture. For example, during a drought or the dry season, when less water is in the soil, drones would be very useful in this aspect.
Drones can also apply the correct amount of fertilizer on the farm, preventing wastage of fertilizer. This would save the farmer money and prevent fertilizer run off in the rivers and the ocean which can cause “eutrophication”. Technology is advancing and if we want more youths to get involved in agriculture, certain measures must be put in place to make it more appealing for the youths. Gone are the days when farming was about using a cutlass and a hoe. Agriculture has the potential to make a lot of money, especially in these times when food prices are rising globally, hence the reason why we must get the youths on board. The youths are the future of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
