分类： education

A long-running agricultural skills development initiative in Barbados celebrated its latest cohort of young trainees this week, as 18 aspiring farmers displayed their newly honed livestock and poultry production capabilities at an open day hosted at Alleyne School. The event marked the successful completion of an intensive eight-week training program run by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), which has equipped young people with hands-on farming expertise since 2012.

Of the 18 graduates, eight completed the specialized poultry production track, while the other 10 focused on broader commercial livestock rearing. Beyond the on-site training at the school, the program was designed to blend classroom learning with real-world agricultural experience, giving participants a well-rounded foundation for careers in the sector.
Ryan Barrow, lead instructor for the poultry production module, explained that trainees worked toward earning a Level Two National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) in General Poultry Production while building tangible practical skills. Over the course of the program, the poultry cohort collectively raised more than 100 broiler chickens and gained hands-on experience managing layer hen operations, including daily egg collection. To supplement their on-campus training, participants also took educational field trips to Gale’s Hatcheries and a commercial operating farm in St Lucy, where they observed industry-standard practices firsthand.

Barrow emphasized that the program seeks to challenge outdated stereotypes around agricultural careers, highlighting the sector’s ongoing relevance and economic viability for young people. “Agriculture is a very, very viable career choice. There are many different areas in agriculture that students can get into, and plus it’s all about food – as I always tell my students: ‘No farm, no food,’” he said.

For many participants, the program provided a structured opportunity to grow a pre-existing passion for farming. T’shay Als, a St George-based student who already studies agriculture academically and has previously raised 100 broilers independently, said the training filled critical gaps in her knowledge. “We learned a lot about this course. We learned properly how to take care of chicks, also how to start a business in a way, and also different aspects and different types of chicks,” she explained. Als plans to pursue farming full-time after graduation, and encouraged other young people with an interest in agriculture to join future cohorts. “You get to do fun activities, you know. You’ll meet good people, you know. You’ll also learn a lot, especially if you want to do it as a career,” she said.

Fellow poultry graduate Elisha Lashley, a student at St Leonard’s Boys’ School, said the program expanded his expertise beyond the layer hen rearing he had practiced previously. His biggest takeaway was the critical role of biosecurity in sustainable poultry production, a practice that is foundational to successful commercial operations in Barbados. “What I learned is that biosecurity is very important, and I also learned that agriculture, that poultry production in Barbados, is very important,” Lashley noted. “I’ve been trying to get more layers ’cause I’m more experienced with layers instead of broilers, ’cause this is my first time using broilers, and that’s another good thing about this programme because you can learn a lot of new things.”

Jelani Hunte, instructor for the livestock production track, said his 10 trainees also completed a mix of classroom theory and hands-on field training. Practical sessions covered core commercial livestock skills that are rarely taught in standard secondary education, including piglet castration, dental care, tail docking, hoof trimming, simulated deworming protocols, and ear tagging for livestock identification. Unlike many entry-level training programs, the IICA initiative also integrates entrepreneurship training, and all livestock track participants already operate their own small agribusinesses, Hunte explained.

He added that the program has already succeeded in inspiring participants to pursue farming more seriously, recalling one trainee who approached him after the program’s final week to ask for guidance on accessing land, registering as an official commercial farmer, and sourcing high-quality breeding livestock. “I would say that the guys are enthusiastic and I can see a bright future in farming for the guys,” Hunte said.

The IICA Youth Farm training program is delivered in long-term collaboration with Barbados’ Ministry of Education, the Barbados TVET Council, and Gale’s Hatcheries, with additional support from a network of local agricultural businesses that have backed the initiative since its launch in 2012.

Building lifelong healthy financial habits starts long before adulthood, and one major Barbadian financial institution is working to give young people a head start on smart money management. The Barbados Public Workers’ Co-operative Credit Union Limited (BPWCCUL) recently launched its annual Before the Bell Rings Back-to-School Financial Literacy Workshop, an event dedicated to introducing core financial concepts to children and teens aged 7 to 16. Held on Thursday at the credit union’s Belmont Road branch in St Michael, the 2024 workshop welcomed 70 young participants from across the island.

According to BPWCCUL Marketing Officer Khadija Millar, the initiative serves two key goals: to lay a strong foundational understanding of personal finance for children, and to complement the credit union’s existing Back-to-School Loan promotion for families. “We structured the workshop specifically to include children of parents who have applied for our back-to-school loan, and we’ve also formed an official partnership with the government’s One Family Programme, which connects vulnerable households across Barbados with critical resources,” Millar shared in an interview after the event.

Unlike abstract classroom lessons on finance, the workshop centers entirely on practical, actionable skills that children can incorporate into their daily lives right away. Core topics include creating a basic budget, building consistent saving habits, and learning how to distinguish between non-essential wants and necessary needs — concepts that even young children can apply to their allowance, gift money, and back-to-school shopping. “Getting an early start with these fundamentals makes such a difference. By learning how to set money aside for future needs, prioritize spending, and make intentional choices at a young age, these kids carry that knowledge with them for life,” Millar explained.

To ensure all lessons matched participants’ developmental levels, organizers split attendees into two age-based groups with tailored activities and curricula. For the 7 to 10-year-old group, sessions leaned into playful, interactive learning, including hands-on presentations, educational games, and guided group discussions that made money management feel approachable and fun. Older participants, aged 11 to 16, engaged with more advanced content through a structured financial challenge, collaborative group discussions, and a open question-and-answer session designed to deepen their understanding of long-term smart money habits.

Millar emphasized that this age-based segmentation was a deliberate, critical part of the workshop’s design. “Younger kids learn best through play and interaction, so we built their activities around that. For teens, we can dive a little deeper into how budgeting and saving work in real life, while still reinforcing the same core fundamentals that apply to every age,” she said. Overall, the event’s organizers hope the lessons and skills taught at the workshop will stick with participants as they grow into financially independent adults.

Kyle McCollin, BPWCCUL’s Loans Recovery Officer who led sessions for the 11 to 16-year-old group, echoed that sentiment, noting that early financial education is an investment in young people’s long-term success. “Today we come together to learn, grow, build smart money habits for the future,” McCollin said. He also extended gratitude to parents and guardians who encouraged their children to attend, highlighting that adult support plays an irreplaceable role in helping young people build the confidence to make sound financial choices. “Your support plays a vital role in helping them develop the knowledge and confidence to make wise financial decisions,” he added.

The tragic death of pioneering Black academic Professor Jason Arday has sparked a searing indictment of systemic anti-Black racism in British universities, led by leading higher education leader and racial justice advocate Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, Vice-Chancellor of the University of the West Indies (UWI).

Arday made history in 2023 when he became the youngest Black scholar appointed to a full professorship at the University of Cambridge, taking up the role of Professor of Sociology of Education. The groundbreaking appointment drew global attention, but just a year later, on August 14, the 40-something scholar was found unresponsive at his south London home and pronounced dead at the scene. Police have ruled out suspicious circumstances, and an initial coroner’s inquest held this week was adjourned to allow for further investigation into the death.

Arday’s death came just nine days after he resigned from his post at Jesus College, Cambridge, facing public accusations of plagiarism and intense scrutiny of gaps in his academic record and career trajectory. Before his death, Arday had forcefully denied all claims of academic misconduct and plagiarism. In the wake of the scholar’s passing, Beckles — a prominent historian and chair of the CARICOM Reparations Commission — has issued a blistering statement tying Arday’s treatment and untimely death to deep-rooted, institutional anti-Black racism that persists across the United Kingdom’s higher education sector.

“The public destruction of the living and life of this young, accomplished scholar has resonated globally as a gruesome, networked catastrophe,” Beckles wrote, arguing that Arday’s experience cannot be disentangled from the centuries-long history of anti-Black racism embedded in British public institutions. “It is impossible to separate the loss of Professor Jason Arday’s life from the truth embedded in the resolution. Anti-black racism at its most inhumane and life-destroying intensity has always been implemented by the minds and mostly invisible hands within public institutions.”

Beckles drew a direct historical parallel to another trailblazing Black Caribbean scholar, Sir Arthur Lewis, the Saint Lucian economist who would go on to win the Nobel Prize in Economics. When Lewis was tapped for a professorship in economics at the University of Liverpool in 1947, Beckles recalled, widespread white resistance blocked the appointment — at the time, no British university had ever hired a Black professor, and Liverpool refused to become the first. Lewis ultimately moved to the University of Manchester, where he built his legendary career, but the incident, Beckles argues, is proof that the systemic racial barriers that blocked Lewis a generation ago remain unaddressed in 21st-century British academia.

Beckles also challenged the core narrative of academic excellence that leading British institutions promote, noting that most historic UK universities are still grappling with their deep financial and ideological ties to chattel slavery, colonialism, and apartheid. He questioned whether a university can truly claim to deliver world-class excellence when it maintains an unspoken “race ceiling” that limits the advancement and well-being of Black scholars at its core.

“Excellence is no longer seen as confined to curriculum, teaching, research ranking, and student satisfaction,” Beckles argued. “It is equally about the ethical values of pedagogy and genuine commitment to the enlightenment of humanity.”

Beyond structural analysis, Beckles placed direct blame on institutional failure, saying Arday was failed by a total lack of formal and public support when he faced public attacks. “The ending of Arday’s life resonates everywhere as evidence of the lack of institutional and public support for a human who deserved a right to public help,” he said. “This is not a ‘who done it’ mystery. Collective ownership is the place to begin looking for the weapon.”

Beckles added that the crisis triggered by Arday’s death is not unique to Cambridge, warning that similar failures will play out at other institutions unless widespread change is implemented. “The university cannot easily set aside the tangled web of warfare unleashed upon its member. The gauntlet has befallen Cambridge University today, but it will fall elsewhere tomorrow,” he said. He called on all British universities to launch urgent reviews of the institutional support systems available to Black academics facing public scrutiny, and to confront the ongoing racial inequities that shape campus culture. In framing Arday’s experience as part of a broader centuries-long struggle against colonial racism, Beckles said his death must serve as a catalyst for long-overdue institutional reckoning and change.