By The Star Staff
The island Agriculture and Education departments have joined forces to train students from the public education system in agricultural topics through the AgroEdu initiative, an educational project that seeks to increase the interest of young people in Puerto Rico’s agriculture and agribusiness.
Under the joint initiative, AgroEdu seeks to promote agricultural development and provide significant educational opportunities that allow students to be trained for potential careers in agriculture. Likewise, the agreement promotes education about caring for the environment, healthy eating and the development of practical skills.
“Through this alliance we want to prepare the next generation of farmers by providing our young people who view agriculture as a livelihood mechanism and business opportunity with opportunities to develop, so that they become part of the growth of the agricultural sector,” Agriculture Secretary Ramón González Beiró said in a written statement. “Likewise, we are exposing students to topics such as food education, and generating interest in agriculture, an essential profession for the development of society.”
The Education secretary added that “part of our policy is to promote and encourage our schools to expose students to these topics that are core to self-sustainability and economic and social development.”
“Agreements like this awaken greater interest in them to join this industry that is constantly growing and whose demand is increasing,” Raíces Vega said. “We trust that it will be beneficial and, after the agreement, we can expand these services to communities throughout Puerto Rico.”
Through the first phase of AgroEdu in the barista course, 25 students from Domingo Aponte School in Lares received introductory training on coffee agriculture and barista fundamentals, as well as preparation, self-employment opportunities and businesses in the sector, in a hands-on scenario at Hacienda Moraica in Orocovis.
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