MuST Crop Production reaping early rewards

THE Multi-Sector Skills Training (MuST) Crop Production, launched by the MIC Institute of Technology's (MIC-IT) in October last year, has already showed signs that it will reap tremendous rewards. The Level II nine-month crop production programme at the Tobago Technology Centre exposes trainees to health and safety in the workplace, the installation of irrigation systems, integrated pest management, crop cultivation, harvest and post-harvest practices and marketing. The course is intensely practical and emphasis is placed on novel methods of farming.

On February 8, 2019, all 16 students and their instructors visited a farmer in Goldsborough to help establish a corn field. This was an excellent hands-on experience for trainees to gain experience in planting, fertilising, tasselling, silking, harvesting and removal.

The MIC-IT’s HYPE Plumbing trainees visited the team to set up an irrigation system – which comprises overhead sprinklers and drip irrigation – and also installed water tanks. At present, Tobago Technology Centre’s yard is embedded with crops that were planted by the team. Growing beautifully are patchoi, lettuce, tomato, cucumber, sweet peppers, sweet potato, cassava, red ochro and flavour peppers (pimentos). The next cycle is proposed to be held in September 2019.

MIC-IT's Corporate Communications Officer Arista Maraj lauded the success of the programme so far and described it as "self-funded," as crops are sold and profits pumped back into the programme.

She said the theory aspect of the course deals with entrepreneurship and participants, aged 17-50, are encouraged to form their own backyard gardens. Maraj said helping Tobago become self-sustainable by being able to feed itself is part of the goal of the programme. The programme started as a pilot project in 2017 in Trinidad.