FFA Newsletter March/April 2016

FACULTY of FOOD and AGRICULTURE NewsletterVolume 5 Issue 1 March/April 2016The Faculty Celebrates Geography Awareness Week Dean Bekele invites Senator the Honourable Franklin Khan, Minister of Rural Development and Local Government, to address the audience at the Careers in Geography event held on Friday 20th November 2015From Left: Dr Isaac Bekele, Dean of FFA; Dr Matthew Wilson, Head Geography Department, FFA; Senator the Honourable Franklin Khan, Minister of Rural Development and Local Government; and Prof Rhoda Reddock, Deputy Principal, St Augustine Campus Secondary school students visit the Campus to participate in the geography awareness week of activities Story on Page 2

Page 2 Faculty of Food and Agriculture Newsletter Geography Awareness Week In this Issue“The only discrimination is In addition to the career The Faculty celebratesthe discrimination between day, the Department welcomed geography awareness week 1urban and rural societies”. over 300 secondary schoolThis according to Senator the students to the University Holman Williams Building 3Honourable Franklin Khan, for a campus-wide treasureMinister of Rural Development hunt, prize-giving ceremony, Workshop on training 3 and Local Government, in his for the national photography needs of farmers address to students and staff competition. In addition a of the Faculty of Food and discussion was held withAgriculture (FFA), at a geography school teachers on bridging Farmers’ meeting on crop 4career day event. The event the divide between secondary disease diagnosis 4was part of the celebrations and tertiary levels of geographyof Geography Awareness and environmental science Recruitment drive Week (GAW) hosted by the education.Department of Geography the The Department also ADOPT 5theme of which was “Explore! introduced the joy of geographyThe Power of Maps”. Mr Khan, by visiting two primary schools One Caribbean | 5himself a geography graduate for International Map Day, Many Flavours from Mona Campus, spoke on 16th November 2015: Holyof the challenges of societies, Saviour Anglican and Fatima RC. FFA joins hands with SVM 6namely settlement patterns, They also teamed up withenvironmental problems, traffic the Department of Geomatics Visiting professor speaks 7congestion, all stemming from and co-hosted an alumni and on whitefly transmittedimproper planning. He assured postgraduate networking event geminiviruses geography students that there with the GIS Society of Trinidadwas a role for them, given all and Tobago. This was intended Plant tissue culturethese challenges. to promote research networks training 7 At the career day alumni and the prospect of postgraduatewere invited to speak of the entry to the Department’s Student activities 8transition to the world of work. MPhil and PhD programmes. Experiences as an 8 exchange student Faculty outreach activities 9 Faculty outreach activities 10 Faculty outreach activities 11 Agricultural Innovation 12 Park produce The winning photographs for the geography photography competition were taken by Layout and DesignMs Genevierre De Gazon from North Eastern College, depicting “The world above-the Ms Sarojini Ragbirworld beneath” taken at the Bush Bush Wildlife Santuary Nariva Swamp Photography Mr Terry Sampson and Contributors Editors Ms Sarojini Ragbir and Professor Julian Duncan

Volume 5 Issue 1 Page 3 Holman Williams Building The School of veterinary Medicine (SVM), Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, has named a new multi-purpose building after Professor Holman Williams, as part of its 20th anniversary celebrations. Professor Williams, who was instrumental in establishing the SVM, started his tertiary education at the Imperial College of Tropical Agriculture in St Augustine in 1944. In 1960 the college evolved into the Faculty of Agriculture.From left: Professor Bhakthavatsalam Murali Manohar, Director, SVM; Mr RichardSaunders, Campus Registrar; Professor Rhoda Reddock, Deputy Principal; Professor Holman Williams and Professor Clement Sankat, Campus Principal (Photo courtesy: Marketing and Communications Office, UWI) Training Needs of Farmers Disease management of vegetable crops, Information and communications technology use, post-harvest technology, weed management in cultivation, manure and fertilizer management and agronomy and best practices in cultivation were identified as training needs, in descending priority, by farmers at a workshop on “Training Needs of Farmers”. The workshop was attended by 22 farmers cultivating different crops in Orange Grove, Macoya, Bamboo and Maloney areas. Guided by the belief that extension systems which fail to accurately assess farmers’ needs willFacilitators from left: Dr Wayne Ganpat, Head, Department of not be as successful in improving communityAgricultural Economics and Extension, Dr Kathiravan Gopalan, Senior sustainability as extension systems that doLecturer and Mr Jeet Ramjattan, Agricultural Officer and graduate student assess the needs of farmers, this workshopwas organised to understand the farmers’ needs as the first ste p for planning targeted educational programmes. Dr Isaac Bekele, Dean, FFA, encouraged farmers to take advantage of all training opportunities. DrWayne Ganpat, Head of Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension (DAEE), and Dr KathiravanGopalan, Senior Lecturer (DAEE) along with Agricultural Officer, Mr Jeet Ramjattan facilitated the workshopdeliberations. The workshop was successfully concluded after prioritising the training requirements of the farmersin the form of a matrix. Farmers expressed high expectation that the training would continue. It was organised bythe DAEE, FFA and was held at the FFA Agricultural Innovation Park in Orange Grove on 28th November 2015.Submitted by: Dr Wayne Ganpat, Head, Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension

Page 4 Faculty of Food and Agriculture Newsletter Farmers’ Meeting on Crop Disease Diagnosis Food Production, FFA, and principal investigator of the UWI-Research and Development Impact Fund, agriculturally important microorganisms project, Dr Duraisamy Saravanakumar, Dr Saravanakumar explained the diagnosis of the fungal, bacterial and viral diseases in the vegetable crops based on symptoms and field tests in hot pepper, lettuce, bodi and Okra. Instructions were also provided on the diagnosis of pests and plant nutritional disorders. The farmers participated in group activities and discussed, identified and diagnosed the fungal, bacterial and viral diseases in plant samples by discovery learning method. Also discussed was the need for proper diagnosis of plant diseases so as to reduce the excessive application and to avoid the indiscriminate use of pesticides.Dr Duraisamy Saravanakumar, in foreground, with farmers An evaluation at the end of meeting indicatedThe Taining Needs of Farmers workshop led to a the farmers’ desires to attend more meetings on the farmers’ meeting on crop disease diagnosis, which was various aspects of crop production. The meeting took place on 9th January, 2016 from 9:30 am to 12:00 noonidentified as the priority area of training by the farmers. at the FFA Agricultural Innovation Park in OrangeThe meeting, attended by 15 vegetable farmers from the Grove and was partly supported by the DepartmentOrange Grove, Macoya, Bamboo and Maloney areas,was facilitated by senior lecturer of the Department of of Agricultural Economics and Extension, FFA. Submitted by: Dr Duraisamy Saravanakumar, Department of Food Production Recruitment Drive Hosted by UWI/Open Campus Mrs Cheryl Layne, Senior Administrative Assistant of FFA, was among a team of UWI representatives on a recruitment drive to St Kitts and Nevis in January 2016. They visited several secondary schools and colleges where students expressed great interest in the programmes offered by the FFA and other faculties. At a visit to one secondary school, Ms Shariska Browne, FFA alumna and teacher, told the students that the best Faculty at which to pursue a degree in agriculture, was The UWI, FFA. Many students were excited over the fact that they can pursue the Undergraduate Diploma in Agriculture, with only the required Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate subjects and that, after completion of the diploma, they could matriculate into year two of the BSc Agriculture Degree. The team also visited Government officials: the Director of Sports; the Premiere of Nevis; Permanent Secretary of the MinistryMrs Layne presents the FFA Life Careers Magazine of Agriculture of Nevis; and the Deputy Prime Minister of St to the Honourable Deputy Prime Minister and Kitts. They indicated that “agriculture” was on their priority list for the country as well as a subject in their education curriculum. Minister of Education, Youth, Sports and Culture, Mrs Layne together with other team members: Mr Nigel Bradshaw, Mr Shawn RichardsRecruitment Officer, UWI St Augustine; Dr Daren Conrad, Lecturer in Economics; and Ms Janet Caroo, Head of theOffice of Recruitment and Marketing from Cave Hill; were interviewed on national television and radio programmes.Submitted by: Mrs Cheryl Layne, Senior Administrative Assistant of FFA

Volume 5 Issue 1 Page 5 ADOPTThe Faculty of Food and Agriculture, in partnership with REPSOL, launchedan agricultural innovation competitionfor secondary schools on Tuesday 23rdFebruary 2016. The competition invitesall forms 3 and 4 students in Trinidadand Tobago to develop innovativetechnologies to address agriculturalchallenges within the food systemsthrough agriculture demonstration ofpractices and technologies (ADOPT). The goal of ADOPT competitionis to: promote and strengthensecondary education in agriscienceand promote complementary andsynergistic linkages among secondaryand university programmes at theFFA in order to promote excellencein education and encourage more Dr Wendy Ann Isaac (left) demonstrates innovative agiculturalyouths to pursue the diploma or BSc in food and approaches at ADOPT launchagricultural sciences programmes offered by the FFA. This competition is part of a project funded by the agriculture shade house technology with a combinationResearch and Development Impact Fund (RDI), which has of hydroponics, organoponics, hybridponics, aquaponics,as one of its goals the implementation of non-traditional peeponics, aeroponics, vermiponics and barrel-ponicssystems for small-scale farming, aimed at strengthening growing systems and LED light technology for sustainablelocal food security and adapting traditional open field food production using low-cost or recyclable materials,farming methods, given the vagaries of climate change. adapt it to community-based needs, and improve The project aims at blending protected food security and social resilience at the local level.Submitted by: Dr Wendy Ann Isaac, Department of Food Production One Caribbean | Many FlavoursFinal year students pursuing the Development of Dish from Caribbean Cuisine course, a course offered as part Puerto Ricoof the BSc Human Nutrition and Dietetics (SpecialOption) and the Major in Foods and Food Service Dish from AntiguaSystems Management, Department of Agricultural and BarbudaEconomics and Extension, held their One Caribbean| Many Flavours food competition, on 9thApril, 2016. The students prepared authentic dishes fromAntigua and Barbuda, Jamaica, Dominican Republic,St Vincent and the Grenadines and Puerto Rico. They were assessed by a distinguishedpanel of judges for their overall presentations,knowledge of preparation methods andknowledge of the countries that they represented.

Page 6 Faculty of Food and Agriculture NewsletterFFA joins hands with SVM in an attempt to revive the National Dairy IndustryIn response to a request from the Cattle FarmersAssociation To ensure that farmers’needs and concerns are addressed, the sent to both the Dean of the Faculty of Food andAgriculture, committee plans to engage them at an initial meeting to gatherDr Isaac Bekele and the Director of the School of Veterinary baseline data and information on the status of their cattleMedicine, Professor Murali Manohar, the two faculties have enterprise. These data and information will then be used toset up a committee to develop a plan to “stop the decline of inform and guide the development of an action plan to addressand regenerate” the dairy industry in Trinidad and Tobago. strategies and goals aimed at regenerating the industry. The committee will work with dairy farmers to: Members of the committee are: from FFA, Mr Cicero Lallo; Dr Uppoor Krishnamoorthy; Dr Kathiravan1. Transfer tested practices and technologies to dairy Gopalan; Ms Sarojini Ragbir and from School of Veterinary farmers in the areas of production, nutrition, clean Medicine, Dr Michael Diptee and Dr Winthrop Harewood milk production and value additions to enhance their (Chairman of the committee). Also on the committee are Mr profitability; Chris Medford, President of the Cattle Farmers Association and Mr Aman Hosein, Faculty of Agriculture alumnus2. Enhance and strengthen service learning and and former Agricultural Services Manager at Nestle. community engagement in dairy farming for the benefit of students, staff and farmers;3. Extend dairy health care at farmers’ door step through service learning and community engagement;4. Establish a dairy production and dairy technology training and research center at the University Field Station. Visiting professor speaks on whitefly transmitted geminivirusesThe Bemisia tabaci sibling species group: taxonomic and Tobago in her collaborative effort with the DFP. conundrum and successful virus vector-a history Ms Kenia Campo, an MPhil student in the DFP,and perspective was the title of a presentation given by is working on her thesis on Biodiversity of Bemisiavisiting Professor Judith Brown from the School of Plant tabaci (Gennadius) and its relation to endosymbiontsSciences, University of Arizona, USA, during a visit to the in Trinidad and Tobago, which would assist to identifyDepartment of Food Production (DFP) , FFAon Monday 16th whitefly diversity in different zones of TrinidadNovember, 2015. During the presentation, Professor Brown and Tobago, detect the presence of the primaryexplained the cryptic species complex nature of whiteflies. endosymbiont Portiera aleyrodidarum in whiteflies andFurther she highlighted the diversity of begomoviruses characterizeand related ecosystem patterns such as host plants, insect facultativevector, spatial and time so as to make possible prediction of endosymbiontconsequences around which mitigation efforts could be used combinationsto manage viral diseases besides promoting biodiversity and theirand stabilizing virus and vector genetic expansion. distribution Professor Brown has collected and carried out acrossbiotype analysis and begomovirus identification in biotypes.more than 60 countries. Recently she has ventured intoexploring the search for a novel biotype in Trinidad Prof Brown with staff andSubmitted by: Dr Duraisamy Saravanakumar students fromand Ms Kenia Campo, DFP DFP

Volume 5 Issue 1 Page 7 Training in Plant Tissue CultureDr Vidya de Gannes and Mr Oral Daley, staff member and graduate student, respectively, of theDepartment of Food Prodcution attended training programmes in tissue culture at the Yucatan Centerfor Scientific Research (CICY) Merida, Yucatan, Mexico.Dr Vidya de Gannes at GemBio knowledge acquired in • Sugar cane (Saccharum the course to identify and ofinale)Dr de Gannes received training characterize specific plantsin the diagnosis of plant pathogens. • Agave (Agave tequilana)diseases using plant tissue culture molecular techniques The intense training programme • Red cedar (Toona at the GemBio Laboratory. The took place from January 24th ciliate)objectives of the programme to February 6th, 2016 andwere to: was conducted by Drs Daisy • Giant reed (Arundo Peŕez Brito, Raul Tapia Tussel donax) and Alberto Cortés Velázquez. Mr Daley received • Bamboo (Bambusa spp). his training from 15th to 18th February, 2016. The objectives of Future follow up training by his training programme were to: personnel from CICY will be held at the new FFA E. J. Duncan 1. Become familiar with Tissue Culture Laboratory techniques used in plant using several local species. micropropagation at all stages for various crop species• Become familiar with the 2. Understand the steps different molecular tools involved in developing tissue used currently for the culture protocols for new detection of viruses, fungi crop species or varieties. and bacteria that affect plants 3. Understand techniques and• Be able to use molecular best practices for scaling-diagnostic methods up operations in plantfor the detection and micropropagation such as bioreactors.characterization of plant These were achieved through,pathogens laboratory demonstration and practices, field exercise, lectures• Get familiar with and be and personalized discussions.able to run the different Mr Daley worked on severalmolecular techniques plants during the training Mr Oral Daley in Laboratory at CICYfor the identification of programme:phytopathogens The training programmes • Orchids were organized by CICY in• Be able to integrate the collaboration with the Faculty of Food and Agriculture.

Page 8 Faculty of Food and Agriculture Newsletter Student Activities The UWI STAAgricultural Society (UWISTAAS) is a student organization tackling the big issue of food insecurity. The students have left the class room and established new models for both the urban garden and small farmer. Food is a necessity and finding ways to produce healthy food at a low cost that is easily accessible is important. UWISTAAS is passionate about sustainable and alternative ways of producing food, fostering animal welfare practices and assisting students in developing their critical thinking skills. The society believes that youths in agriculture (and home gardening) have a special role to play in diversifying the economy. Agriculture is an applied science and degrees give students insight into agricultural practices at varying levels of understanding, execution and production. The society intends to facilitate the development of young farmers and home gardeners, who can grow theirown food and save money at the grocery. To achieve this, one of UWISTAAS’ goals is to disseminate usefulagricultural information freely through both online and print media such as the press, youtube and blogging sites.UWISTAAS has worked with different groups and NGOs since its inception. The society believesthat it can contribute to the interests of different organizations and gain experiences from theseinteractions. They invite new members to join the society to ensure its continuity and survival.Submitted by: The Agricultural Society Executive Experiences as an The Faculty of Food and Agriculture offers many opportunities to both undergraduate and graduate student, that contribute to the development of a exchange student in well-rounded graduate. Some of these opportunities are: attending conferences and seminars and participating in exchange programmes with other universities Wisconsin, USA worldwide. The experiences of an undergraduate student on an exchange programme to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA, are recounted below.By Hamza Ali, BSc Agriculture student In 2015, I was an anything imaginable. The entire city is centred exchange student around the students. There is no physical gate at the University of to enter or leave campus. All class buildings are accessible via a bus that runs throughout the campus. Wisconsin–Madison, There were great differences within the structure of the academic system and the level of competition that best known for its exists at the University compared to The UWI: grading system, frequency and weight of assessment. Many of agricultural and the courses are heavily research based, providing much needed hands-on experience in the field. I focused on environmental research. applied monogastric nutrition, beef cattle production, animal ethology, animal welfare and managed grazing. The semester presented What else did I do while in Wisconsin other than just academic activities? I had the time of my life. Living an amazing experience, in the dorms, I met some of the most wonderful people in the world. I lived at the International Learning Community both academically along with Khadijah Lee Foon, where international students from around the globe stayed. I had the opportunity and non-academically, to perform musically at various shows and venues throughout the state with Michael Gani, an Engineering through the many student from Denmark, who became my closest friend. interactions with peopleHamza at dairy fair and places visited. M e e t i n gwelcoming people and experiencing agriculture in atemperatureclimatewasalottobehold.Fromgreenhousesto massive farms, witnessing how practices changedas the season changed from fall to winter broughtwith it many questions and learning opportunities.The University of Wisconsin–Madison is unlike

Volume 5 Issue 1 Page 9 Faculty Outreach Activities The Faculty participated in the 5th Annual Professional Services Day on Saturday 5th March 2016 at the Arima Boys’ Government School. On display in the Faculty’s booth were educational material, vegetables from the Faculty’s farms and alternative flour samples from crops including cassava, green banana, moko, plantain, sweet potato, dasheen and breadfruit, which were a great attraction. Microscopes were set up to demonstrate to participants features of plant diseases magnified. A hamper of vegetables (from the Faculty’s farm) was presented to the Mayor of Arima, His Worship George Hadeed, by Prof Rhoda Reddock on behalf of the Faculty. Mr Micah Martin, graduate student, demonstrates vermicomposting to students from Queen’s Royal College, Port of Spain, at a career fair on Friday 19th February, 2016. Students of the “Student Association for Nutrition and Dietetics”, Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension, hosted an informative and interactive display on nutrition and health and the role nutrition plays in the fight against cancer on 25th February 2016. This event was in commemoration of World Cancer Day which was celebrated on Thursday 4th February 2016.

Page 10 Faculty of Food and Agriculture Newsletter Community Outreach at Pigeon Pea Festival The Faculty cream, punch, wines and also the jewellery displayed. of Food The FFA booth displayed posters highlighting and Agriculture research and development work on pigeon peas and hillside planting of fruit trees, including breadfruit. participated A range of alternative flours from green banana, moko, plantain, cassava, sweet potato, dasheen and in the Annual breadfruit was also displayed and drew much interest. Visitors were also informed of the Covigne Faculty’s programmes. The FFA booth was also visited by the Chairperson of the Diego Martin Pigeon Peas Regional Corporation and the representative of the Member of Parliament for that constituency. Festival hosted FFA representatives included Messrs Michael Gloster, Oral Daley, Moses Mike, Ms Margaret Gordon by the Upper and Dr Laura Roberts-Nkrumah. Cemetery Mr Oral Daley, graduate student inDr Laura Roberts-Nkrumah with visitor Street the Department of Residents Food Production shares informationAssociation (UCSRA) on Covigne Road with visitors to the boothin Diego Martin, Trinidad and Tobago. Submitted by: Dr Laura Roberts-Nkrumah, Lecturer,This festival was first held last year by the UCRSA, Department of Food Productionan NGO, which aims to use the available resources forsustainable development of the community. The eventreflects the project, Sustainability Through Agriculture andTourism (STAT), that this group of residents has started.The project aims to revive pigeon pea production in thearea because it was once well-known as a major producerof this crop, to reafforest the surrounding hills with fruitand forest trees, and to reopen trails for use by hikers. It isanticipated that these activities would provide residents inthe area with opportunities for enterprises and employment. Some of these opportunities weredemonstrated by the pigeon pea dishes on saleincluding accra, hummus, pizza, phoulorie, ice FFA staff and students attend school career fairAs part of its continued outreach and promotion exercise was very engaging and interactive and exercise, the FFA participated in the Sangre students expressed interest in entering the FFA.Grande Secondary School career fair on Wednesday20th April, 2016. The FFA team, consisting of both FFAstaff and students, shared information on programme student,offerings, entry requirements, career opportunities, Mr Keonfinancing options, class experiences such as field Forde,trips, extra curricula activities, and UWI support units. gives The school students were also given a a moti-motivational talk by an FFA student, who identified vationalsome challenges that he faced as a first year UWI talk tostudent and how he was able to successfully studentsovercome them. A question and answer segment aswell as one-on-one discussions were also held. The Submitted by: Ms Chanelle Joseph, Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension

Volume 5 Issue 1 Page 11 Faculty Outreach ActivitiesAdapting to Climate Change to Achieve Greater Food SecurityAdapting to Climate Change toAchieve Greater Food Mrs Michele Singh demonstrates the preparation Security was the theme of the 22ndAnnual Open Dayin Nevis which took place from the 17th to 18th March of cottage cheese2016 at the Charlestown Secondary School Ground. A team from the Faculty, led by the Dean, One of the main attractions was a cheeseDr Isaac Bekele, was in attendance this year. making demonstration using Nevis’ locally producedThe Faculty’s booth offered health information and ingredients, done by Mrs Michele Singh, graduateconducted body composition measurements including student and part time lecturer in the Department ofweight, and bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) Food Production.measurements, which were done by Ms Chanelle As part of the booth, posters relating to theJoseph, graduate student and instructor in the Open Day theme and depicting FFA’s research in theDepartment of Agricultural Economics and Extension. areas of food security, food and nutrition, livestock production and climate change were displayed. Ms Chanelle Educational materials, fact sheets and brochures on the Joseph degrees and diploma programmes offered by the FFA conducts were distributed. body Some of the visitors to the booth included composition alumni of the Faculty, primary and secondary school measurements students and chefs from various hotels of Nevis. Mr Eric Evelyn, Permanent Secretary for Agriculture in Nevis stated that Nevis was honoured to host the Dean of FFA. He praised the FFA for its continued support to the Nevis Open Day and for the practical demonstrations, which were always well received by the public. The Dean made a presentation to the Premier of Nevis, the Honourable Mr Vance Amory, as a token of their long standing relationship through agriculture. Dr Isaac Bekele, Dean of the FFA, presents a token to the Premier of Nevis, The Honourable Mr Vance Amory

Page 12 Faculty of Food and Agriculture Newsletter Produce from the Faculty’s Agricultural Innovation Park Greenhouses The green houses, commissioned in October 2015, are being tested for their suitability and for evaluating the performance of a number of new introduced tropical vegetable crops. Below are photos of some of the vegetables produced in the green houses. Long green cucumber Swiss chard Plum tomatoes On Thursdays, the FFA sells produce from both of its farms to the campus community