分类： education

A collaborative agricultural development effort between a regional development financial body and a leading Caribbean academic institution has marked a key milestone, with the successful completion of specialized training for emerging agri-entrepreneurs. FundAccess, a Barbados-based enterprise development and financing organization, has partnered with The University of the West Indies’ Centre for Agricultural Research and Innovation (UWI CAGRI) to wrap up the Broiler and Layer Management Workshops, a core component of the organizations’ joint Agri-Grow Enterprise Development Programme. A formal closing ceremony to honor participating trainees was hosted recently at UWI’s Cave Hill Campus, where all 22 program graduates received Certificates of Achievement in recognition of their full participation and successful completion of the rigorous training curriculum.

Kicking off in June 2026, the workshops were purpose-built to address a critical gap in Caribbean agricultural development: equipping both aspiring and current farming entrepreneurs with the full spectrum of capabilities needed to launch and sustain profitable poultry operations. Unlike generic agricultural training programs, the curriculum blended hands-on technical skill-building, academic expertise, and core business acumen to prepare participants for long-term success. Under the guidance of lead instructor Dr. Michele Singh, trainees mastered core poultry production topics including broiler and layer flock management, sustainable housing design, optimized nutrition and feeding protocols, production cycle planning, proactive animal health management, and biosecurity best practices. To bridge the gap between theory and practice, the program incorporated interactive practical exercises, such as a collaborative battery cage construction project, that let participants apply classroom learning while building critical teamwork and adaptive problem-solving skills.

Program organizers recognized that technical proficiency alone is rarely enough to build a successful agricultural enterprise, so the curriculum also included dedicated training in core agri-business fundamentals. Sessions covered essential topics such as standardized financial record-keeping, market positioning and preparation, regulatory compliance, and enterprise governance. Led by Jonathan Seecharan of Caribbean Export, these business-focused modules pushed participants to reframe farming not as a small-scale subsistence activity, but as a formal, market-driven, and sustainable business venture.

During the closing ceremony, FundAccess Project Development Officer Tristan Lowe walked attendees through the full range of the organization’s offerings, highlighting the financing products, targeted technical assistance, and ongoing business development support available to entrepreneurs looking to launch new agricultural ventures or scale existing ones. Jillisia Mayers, FundAccess Business Development Officer and lead for the Agri-Grow project, emphasized the transformative vision behind the initiative in her remarks. “Agri-Grow was developed not simply to train farmers but to help develop agricultural entrepreneurs,” Mayers explained. “By combining technical instruction with practical experience, sound business principles and information on financing, participants are better positioned to transform agricultural opportunities into viable and sustainable enterprises.”

The successful completion of the poultry workshops highlights the power of cross-sector collaboration: the program leverages UWI CAGRI’s decades of specialized agricultural research and training expertise, paired with FundAccess’ deep experience in enterprise development and access to financing for small and medium businesses, to create a holistic support pathway for agri-entrepreneurs. While this round of training has concluded, the broader Agri-Grow Programme will continue rolling out new specialized modules throughout the rest of 2026. Upcoming workshops include a Crop Production session launching August 13, followed by a Sheep Production program starting September 15, and a Pig Production training kicking off October 21.

Through this ongoing series of workshops, FundAccess and UWI CAGRI are investing in long-term economic and food security progress for Barbados. By supporting the growth of competitive, locally rooted agricultural small businesses, the initiative aims to generate new local employment opportunities, reduce reliance on imported food, strengthen domestic food production capacity, and drive inclusive, sustainable economic growth across the country.

Three decades ago, George Cox never mapped out a career in education. As a young boy growing up, his sights were firmly set on engineering, drawn by his lifelong love of designing and building new things. That early curiosity, which would one day steer him toward a career in art education, first emerged when he began taking apart his father’s belongings — including an old family television — to understand how they worked. When his father ordered him to have the set working upon his return from a trip, Cox managed to get it running despite having extra parts and screws left over, a small early win that hinted at his knack for problem-solving.

After finishing secondary school, Cox enrolled at Barbados Community College, where he opted to study subjects he felt naturally drawn to: English, history, and art. Before long, art became his primary focus, and his first teaching role soon followed: a part-time position at St Leonard’s School, which he remembers fondly for its tight-knit staff and welcoming environment. As a young educator entering the field without an official mentor, Cox drew on the lessons he learned from his own past teachers, particularly a man named Mr. Jones, who left an indelible mark on his approach to teaching. Cox blended the strongest qualities of the teachers who shaped him to build his own unique educational philosophy, one rooted in the idea that every student learns differently.

For Cox, teaching is far from a one-size-fits-all lecture. It is an inherently personal practice, shaped by the unique personalities and needs of each learner in the classroom — a belief that also extends to his perspective on art education. He is a vocal advocate for expanding art’s role in early K-12 education, arguing that the subject fosters independent thinking in a way that rote memorization-heavy curricula cannot. Unlike core subjects that often focus on recalling pre-determined information, art asks students to form their own ideas, visualize three-dimensional space, and explore their understanding of the world around them, alongside other creative subjects like English, theater, and music.

After 30 years in the classroom, Cox has witnessed profound shifts in how students engage with learning, and few changes have been as impactful as the rise of digital technology and social media. While he acknowledges that access to computers and digital tools offers clear benefits for students, he warns that attention-driven platforms like TikTok and Instagram have created new obstacles for independent thought. Most students can navigate these platforms for casual use, he notes, but few have learned to leverage them for practical purposes, like generating income or researching relevant information. Instead, most gravitate toward low-effort, superficial content: gossip, provocative imagery, and self-portrait content. Over time, Cox says, constant exposure to this curated, algorithm-driven content has left many of his students struggling to develop and articulate their own original ideas.

Even after decades of shaping young minds, Cox says he continues to learn and grow alongside his students. For new and veteran teachers alike, his core advice is simple: practice patience. Teaching, he emphasizes, is a lifelong calling, not just a job. For anyone considering entering the profession, he offers a playful yet revealing warning: “Don’t do it.” The joke comes with a caveat, though — once you enter education, it is nearly impossible to leave. The work is deeply personal, he explains, and even addictive: getting to interact with hundreds of distinct young personalities and watch them grow is a one-of-a-kind privilege.

For Cox, the most rewarding part of a career in education is watching former students go on to build their own lives and careers. He still recalls one former student who now has a family of his own, and the profound impact Cox had on his trajectory. Moments like that, when he sees the long-term ripple effect of his work, make the long days and occasional frustrations of teaching entirely worthwhile. When asked to sum up his teaching philosophy in just a few words, Cox lists four core values: patience, genuineness, communication, and forgiveness. Forgiveness, he explains, applies both to students who make mistakes and to teachers themselves — acknowledging that no educator is perfect, and everyone has room to grow.

Though he never ended up designing and building the physical structures he dreamed of as an aspiring engineer, Cox has spent 30 years building something far more enduring: the confidence in young people to think independently, create freely, and find their own path in the world.