Ten young Virgin Islanders recently arrived at Fort Valley State University in Georgia for the Young Farmers Training Program, a three-week agricultural science program.
“The program’s primary objective is to expose the group of six young men and four young ladies from St. Thomas and St. Croix to food production and marketing practices and issues as well as career opportunities in agricultural science," said Commissioner of Agriculture Louis Petersen in a Government House statement. "The project is also designed to encourage participants to pursue studies and professional work in the wide field of agriculture upon graduation from the 12th grade,” he said.
The students, age 14 to 17, will study in class and in the field, focusing on small livestock production, packaging, marketing, agribusiness, greenhouse management, container gardening, dairy goat milk processing, laboratory procedures, small and large equipment operation, and career opportunities in agriculture. University instructors and professional farmers will give presentations.
For their final week, the students will be at the national headquarters of Growing Power in Milwaukee, Wis., a nonprofit group that provides training, outreach and technical assistance to help diverse peoples grow, process, market and distribute food in a sustainable manner. There they will study composting, aquaculture and urban agriculture.
The classes are a joint initiative between the V.I. Department of Agriculture, Fort Valley State University and the V.I. Resource Conservation and Development Council.
