FFA Newsletter November 2015

FACULTY of FOOD and AGRICULTURE NewsletterVolume 4 Issue 2 November 2015 Trinidad & Tobago - China UWI - CAU Agricultural Innovation Park 中特农业创新园 UWISt Augustine Story on Page 2

Page 2 Faculty of Food and Agriculture NewsletterLaunch of the Agricultural especially by our youths; we have Front page photo caption Innovation Park a severe dependency on imported foods; we also have an ageing From left: Mr Sharan Singh, Director ofThe Agricultural Innovation population of farmers and poor the Office of Institutional Advancement Park (AIP) was launched rural infrastructure. We are also and Internationalization, UWI;on 21st October 2015, with the witnessing the effect of climate His Excellency Huang Xingyuan,commissioning of its three newly change and its destructive effects Ambassador of the Peoples Republicinstalled green houses. Covering an on human lives.” He added that, of China to Trinidad and Tobago;area of 2024 m2, these green houses “It is important for us to become Professor Clement Sankat, Pro Vice-will be tested for their suitability creative and innovative and to work Chancellor and Campus Principal,under local conditions and will be together through partnerships so as UWI, St Augustine; Professor Jiangused for evaluating the performance to cultivate in Trinidad and Tobago Peimin, Chairman of Universityof a number of vegetable crops and the wider Caribbean region a Council, China Agricultural University;from China, with the objective of passion for producing more of what and Dr Isaac Bekele, Dean of Facultyintroducing these to farmers, once we are consuming. of Food and Agriculture, UWI, Stthey prove to be successful. Augustine. The Dean of the Faculty, Dr Intensive Production PracticesIsaac Bekele in his welcome address In this Issuestated that, “Capacity building of The Park, will showcase advancedthe fledgling Faculty is critical for it intensive agricultural production Agricultural Innovation Park 1to become an effective player in the practices using technologies andarena of higher education, outreach, best practices from China and our Launch of Agricultural 2 research and innovation in food and indigenous knowledge. Technology, Innovation Park 3agriculture. Building the capacity of biotechnology, mechanization, new the Faculty through partnership has varieties and climate smart intensive Faculty Prizes Award Ceremony led to this significant milestone less agricultural production systems willthan two years since developing the be used in the park.” The Faculty Celebrates 4master plan for the AIP on this site. Also addressing the World Food Day With this advancement and other audience was his Excellencyassociated activities, the Faculty Huang Xingyuan, Ambassador of Breadfruit Conference 6is well poised to be an effective the Peoples’ Republic of China toplayer in tropical crop research and Trinidad and Tobago. Mr Xingyuan The Faculty Shines at The 7innovation, outreach and higher observed that in recent years, the UWI Research Expo 2015 education.” Government of Trinidad and Tobago Development Model has shown great foresight in putting Regional Plant Quarantine 7 forward economic diversification Officer Training Also at the launch ceremony strategies of which the recoverywas Professor Clement Sankat, and development of agriculture has The Faculty Celebrates Divali 8Pro Vice-Chancellor and Campus been given priority. He hoped that,Principal, UWI, St Augustine, who “As the first AIP in Trinidad and Promoting Agriculturally 8stated, “This AIP will eventually Tobago and even in the Caribbean Important Microorganisms serve as a development model for region, it can be developed as aCaribbean agriculture.” He alluded model for motivating agricultural Regional In Vitro Clonal 9to the challenges currently facing development.” Propagation of Tropical Plants the agricultural sector and proposed Sharing this view wasways in which they can be overcome. Professor Jiang Peimin, Chairman Celebrating the Faculty’s Alumni 10“We have seen a declining interest of University Council, Chinain the profession of agriculture, Agricultural University (CAU), in Soil Science Graduate Wins 11 his address to the audience. Green Talents Award Launch of AGRIman Adventures 11 Breadfruit Flavors 12 Piglets for sale 12 New Heads of Departments and Deputy Dean 12 Layout and Design Ms Sarojini Ragbir Photography Mr Terry Sampson Editors Ms Sarojini Ragbir and Professor Julian Duncan

Volume 4 Issue 2 Page 3 Faculty Prizes Award CeremonyThis year, at the Faculty’s 3rd annual prizes award ceremony, among the students receiving prizes,were ten who obtained first class honours degrees and one who received the PhD in livestock Science. Gail Young, PhD graduand receives her prize from Professor Gary Garcia First Class Honours Degrees Students with Dean Isaac Bekele you. My advice From left: Ronen Francis, Neila Ramjattan, Aria Laidlow, to you is to stay Ariel Mohan, Dean Isaac Bekele, Mitch Jno-Charles, Parbatie humble.” She Ramgoolie, Jameisia Legall, Ronique Thomas, Astrid Leon and Vishram Bickaree further added,The Faculty celebrated its 3rd annual prizes award “Above all, love ceremony with the same pomp and splendor as inprevious years. The feature speaker for this year’s ceremony your work; bewas Faculty of Agriculture alumna and former member ofacademic staff, Dr Lystra Fletcher-Paul, now Representative passionate aboutof the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) forTrinidad and Tobago and Suriname. She applauded the it. Blaze the trail.graduands and gave them some words of advise, “Youngstudents and graduates, the capabilities, assets and activities There’s muchyou require and acquire to make a living begin from theday you were born, with the knowledge and education you satisfactionreceive and how you use it in the future. Gone are the dayswhen graduates join the civil service and stay in the same job to be gainedworking for decades just waiting for the day that they retireand draw a pension. In this day and age of financial crises, from taking themortgage meltdowns and structural adjustments, nobody’sjob is secure and it is only those who can constantly re- path not yet Prize winning Graduandsinvent themselves, who can employ themselves, who havean entrepreneurial spirit, who are willing to take the risk and travelled. Andtry new things, will survive and do well. New opportunitiesabound for sustainable livelihoods through research never ever accept that it can’t be done because someoneand innovation and you must seize those opportunities. Understand that knowledge and education do not said so.”come only from school or university, and that your lecturersand professors can be wrong and do not know everything. The valedictorians and first class honoursYou can learn a lot from persons you meet along this journeycalled life. Some may not be educated (or certified), but graduands, Mr Mitch Jno-they have a wealth of experience which they can share with Charles and Ms Jameisha Legall also addressed the audience. As is traditional, stakeholders were also honoured with commem- orative plaques for their contributions to the Faculty. This year’s honourees were: Mr Robin Phillips, Mr Joe Pires, Mr James Medford From left: Mr Robin Phillips and Mr Reynold Boyce. and Mr Reynold Boyce

Page 4 Faculty of Food and Agriculture Newsletter The Faculty Celebrates World Food DayLeading the vigil from left: Dean Isaac Bekele, Dr Lystra Deputy Principal). In declaring the exhibition week open,Fletcher-Paul, Mr Edric Harry, Dr Lynda Wickham, Professor Reddock urged the students and staff to, “HaveMr Barton Clarke and Principal Clement Sankat a responsibility to be the ones to help governments in our region to develop comprehensive and structured systemsSocial Protection and Agriculture: Breaking the cycle of social services and rural development programmes of rural poverty was the theme of this year’s world for the region’s most vulnerable. We should be the onesfood day (WFD). The Faculty celebrated with a week to lead the Caribbean region towards a zero hungerof activities, included in the events of which were an generation.”exhibition week, cook out day, tree planting activity, Attractions at the Exhibitionand candle light vigil. The Faculty also took part inthe National Agricultural Marketing and Development Some of the attractions at the exhibitionCorporation’s (NAMDEVCO) exhibition at Macoya. In included a mini Zoo and a household fertigation system.Tobago, the Faculty participated in the exhibition at the The Student Association for Nutrition andDwight York Stadium. The week of activities at UWI Dietetics (SAND) gave a demonstration entitled,was opened with welcome remarks by the Dean, Dr Isaac “Healthy Eating on the go”. Participants were givenBekele. Other speakers included Dr Fletcher-Paul (FAO samples of sumptuous sandwiches made from whole grainRepresentative,Trinidad and Tobago and Suriname), Mrs bread and a variety of healthy fillings served with freshDenise Dickson-Cunningham (Agricultural Development vegetables. SAND also demonstrated healthy breakfastBank), Mr Azeil Quashie (the Faculty’s Student Guild options such as banana and pumpkin pancakes andRepresentative) and Professor Rhonda Reddock (UWI milk smoothies made from nutritious grains and fruits. A competitive food fair, highlighting regional and local dishes, was one of the main attractions of the week. Dishes included spicy chows made from mango, cucumber, pineapple and banana, Grenadian oil down, Trini corn soup and pelau, Vincy banana bread and a variety of fruit and milk punches and mousse made from 100% Trinidad dark chocolate. The week ended with a tree planting ceremony and a candle light vigil. Speakers at the vigil included Dr Lystra Fletcher-Paul, Mr Edric Harry (Policy Analyst at Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture), and Pro Vice- Chancellor and Principal, Professor Clement Sankat. Dr Lystra Fletcher-Paul congratulated the Faculty and the University Student Guild for taking the Mem- Undergraduate bers of FFA student, the Agri- Celine Mahase cultural plants a tree Society with the interact assistance of Dr Fletcher- with Paul students

Volume 4 Issue 2 Page 5 The Faculty Celebrates World Food Dayinitiative to celebrate WFD with a week of activities. MinisterAccording to Dr Fletcher-Paul, “there is a range of career Ramb-opportunities which the field of food and agriculture haratoffers all along the value chain from the pure science samplessuch as from agricultural engineering, pathology, pickledentomology, food science, to the social sciences – water-such as agricultural economics, marketing, extension melonand communication.” She informed the audience that rindthe task to eliminate hunger and food insecurity in the fromworld is a daunting one and to be successful, “social internsprotection must be firmly integrated into the agriculturaldevelopment strategies and aligned with food security students had the opportunity to interact with theand nutrition policies.” new Minister of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries, Crucial Link Senator the Honourable Clarence Rambharat. Professor Sankat, in referring to the WFD World Food Day in Tobagotheme said it, “identifies a very crucial link – the linkbetween agriculture and rural development. For In Tobago, the WFD celebrations took place from 21st toyears, agriculture has contributed to the development 22nd October, 2015 at the Dwight Yorke Stadium Tobago.of persons in rural communities, and farming in rural The varied and diversified activities and exhibits attractedcommunities have also contributed significantly to a number of participants. These included research postersnational gross domestic products across the world.” on food security, food and nutrition, livestock, crops andHe continued, “The World Bank (2014) also states that for various flours produced from research by the Faculty,the 70 percent of the world’s poor who live in rural areas, including those from cassava, sweet potato, moko, greenagriculture is the main source of income and employment banana, plantain, dasheen, and breadfruit. In an attempt toand there is a need to establish rural connectivity”. encourage the use of local foods, various food items were At the NAMDEVCO’s exhibition which prepared for sampling including avocado ice-creams,took place on Sunday 22nd October 2015, the Faculty breadfruit and cassava chips and sweet potato wholemounted two exhibits: one by the Institutional wheat cake. The UWI Field Station sweet corn seedsand Community Dietetics and Nutrition interns were also distributed. There were a number of interactiveand the other a general Faculty booth. Staff and nutrition games and activities and participants took the opportunity to get their body composition and bioelectrical impedance analysis measurements done. Sensory tests on different breadfruit cultivars were also carried out.Mr Cassius Matthews, Faculty staff member, presents the ParticipantsMinister with a bottle of milk from the University Field Station, conductingwhile Ganesh Gangapersad, CEO of NAMDEVCO, looks on sensory tests on bread- fruit as part of research carried out by gradu- ate student, Oral Daley

Page 6 Faculty of Food and Agriculture Newsletter UWI Hosts International Conference on Commercialising Breadfruit for Food and Nutrition Security United Nations, the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture, the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute, the National Gas Company, the National Institute for Higher Education in Science and Technology and the EU/ Africa Edulink Project. Professor Fitzroy Henry, Professor of Public Health Nutrition at the University of Technology, Jamaica set an excellent platform for the conference with his feature addressFitzroy Henry, Professor of Public Health Nutrition at the University on “Agriculture, Health and Development”,of Technology, Jamaica, addresses participants at the opening Ceremony while keynote speaker, Dr Diane Ragone, Director of the Breadfruit Institute at the“Commercialising Breadfruit for Food and Nutrition National Tropical Botanic Garden in Hawaii, deliveredSecurity”, was the theme of an international breadfruit an inspiring presentation on “Breadfruit for Food andconference, hosted by the Faculty, which took place in Port Nutrition Security in the 21st Century”. Areas coveredof Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, from July 5th to 10th, 2015. during the conference included research and developmentThe ultimate goal of the conference was to realise the and entrepreneurial activities in health and nutrition, plantpotential of breadfruit to contribute to food and nutrition propagation and germplasm description and evaluation, treesecurity through enterprise and industry development. management, production systems, post-harvest handling, Over 103 participants came from 24 countries, product development, equipment development, marketingincluding Caribbean countries, the Pacific, Africa, Asia, the and consumer acceptance, financial analysis, agrotourismIndian Ocean, Central America and the USA. Participants and climate change. Local and regional exhibitorsincluded farmers, processors, and exporters, several presented exciting examples of breadfruit entrepreneurialof whom were Caribbean Farmers Network (CaFAN) opportunities at the Breadfruit Exhibition and Festival –members, researchers including postgraduate students, liqueur, ice-cream, cheese cake, kuchela, pancake mix,entrepreneurs, nutritionists, doctors, policy makers and granola, paper products, lotions and art. Two recipe books,trade specialists. The Ultimate Breadfruit Cookbook, prepared by the FFA, The conference successfully achieved its objectives and Bread for Life – Breadfruit were also launched tothrough very strong partnerships especially with the private encourage increased breadfruit consumption.sector and regional organisations, represented mainly Professor Rhoda Participants at the network launch Reddock, Deputy Principal, cuts the An International Breadfruit Network was launched at ribbon to open the the conference and the Caribbean participants passed a exhibition, while resolution to establish a Caribbean Breadfruit Network. Mr Richard Saun- This network launch and first working group meeting took ders, UWI Reg- place from 12th to 13th November 2015 at the St Augustine istrar and Dean Campus, with participants from eight Caribbean countries. Isaac Bekele, assistby PCS Nitrogen Trinidad Limited, and the CaribbeanDevelopment Bank as the major sponsors. Supportwas also provided by several other institutionsincluding the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the

Volume 4 Issue 2 Page 7 The Faculty Shines at The UWI Research Expo 2015Advancing Knowledge, Impacting Lives was the leading up to the Expo, with a focus on the relevance of main theme of the second biennial Research Expo, the research and its impact on existing challenges. Themounted by The UWI St Augustine. The Faculty of final selection consisted of 40 contributions, organizedFood and Agriculture (FFA) was well represented into one indoor and one outdoor booth, workshops, andunder the thematic area Sustainability and Sustainable other activities. All exhibits had a research focus withLivelihoods.An FFAexpo committee carefully screened an identified problem, research activity, and actualand selected all contributions during a four month period or expected results. The booth and exhibit attendants were extremely proficient in conveying often complex Visitors to the FFA booths research results in a popular way to a very varied audience, ranging from elementary school children to agricultural professionals. This resulted in a continuous flow of visitors to the FFA booths and exhibits throughout the expo days. The expo took place from 22nd to 25th September, 2015.5th Regional Plant Quarantine Officer Training: Principles and Procedures CourseThe 5th UWI Regional Plant Montserrat, St Kitts, St Lucia, was as a result of the collaborative Quarantine Officer Training: St Vincent, Suriname, Tobago, effort among The UWI, the UnitedPrinciples and Procedures Course Trinidad and Turks and Caicos. States Department of Agriculture,welcomed participants from The course, which officers Animal and Plant Health InspectionAnguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, praised highly, continue to have Service (USDA APHIS), GreaterAruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, positive impacts on their job Caribbean Safeguarding Initiative,British Virgin Islands, Dominica, performance. the Inter-American Institute forGrenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, The success of the course Cooperation on Agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the Centre for Agricultural Bioscience International, Ministry of Food Production, Trinidad and Tobago, Ministries of Agriculture of Jamaica and Barbados, and other regional partners. The course took place from July 27th to August 7th, 2015.

Page 8 Faculty of Food and Agriculture Newsletter The Faculty Celebrates Divali RDI Fund-Promoting AgriculturallyFaculty staff and students Important Microorganismswere treated to a culturalprogramme and a delicious The University of the West Indies-Trinidad and Tobago Researchlunch on 6th November 2015 and Development Impact Fund (UWI-TT RDI) is a primary sourceat the University Field Station of national funding for The UWI St Augustine Campus’ researchin celebration of Divali 2015. agenda. Established in 2012, the fund’s primary purpose is to As part of the pro- support research projects which address pressing developmentgramme, new member of staff needs in society. Since its establishment, a number of Facultyof the Department Agricultural staff have been successful in obtaining funds. During the 2014-Economics and Extension, Dr 2015 Academic Year, staff members who have been successfulGopalan Kathiravan, delivered a were: Dr Junior Darsan (Geography Department), Dr Govindbrief account of the meaning of Seepersad (Agricultural Economics and Extension Department)Divali, being a festival of human and from the Department of Food Production, Drs Nandakumarsociety and celebrated by Hindus Puliyath, Wendy-Ann Isaac and Duraisamy Saravanakumar. Inthroughout the world. He added this issue we give a brief account of Dr Saravanakumar’s project.that the lights lit during Divali donot distinguish the rich from the “Promoting Agriculturally Important Microorganisms (AIMS) to addresspoor nor the good from the bad. The ceremony was the Challenges in Food Safety and Food Security in the Caribbean”,chaired by Drs Wayne Ganpatand Vidya De Gannes. Mr Indar was launched on 25th June, 2015. According to the recipient of the RDIRamroop from the UniversityField Station opened the pro- fund, Dr Duraisamy Saravanakumar, the occurrence of plant pests andgramme with a prayer and sanga number of religious songs. A diseases and poor soil fertility has been considered as serious challengesdance was performed by MsChantal Persad, a BSc student in in securing food for everyone across the globe. The indiscriminate use ofManagement Studies, The UWI. hazardous pesticides andFrom Left: Dr Wayne Ganpat, Dr Vidya De Gannes and Mr Indar Ramroop inorganic fertilizers over during the opening prayer the years demonstrated the persistence of residues in vegetables posing major threat to safe food and decline in soil fertility. In this context, it has become necessary to develop alternate strategies that could effectively control plant diseases, to produce Dr Saravanakumar, right, and farmer with trays vegetables free from of pepper seedlings treated with different pesticide residues and enhance soil fertility so rhizobacteria at farmer’s holding in Mayaro as to develop environment friendly good agricultural practices. One such strategy that has potential and unexplored so far in the Caribbean Region is the use of native AIMS in the control of plant diseases and improvement of soil fertility. The project will explore various utilities of potential plant beneficial microorganisms with the aim of developing them as biological control agents and biofertilizers suitable for tropical agriculture. The utility of the beneficial microorganisms will be evaluated for their plant growth promotion and antagonistic properties against major diseases in hot pepper, bodi (cowpea), okra and lettuce. Eighty strains have been isolated so far and are in the process of screening against major pathogens infecting hot pepper, bodi and lettuce. Also two Master of Philosophy students have received postgraduate scholarships in Tropical Crop Protection to work on the AIMS project.

Volume 4 Issue 2 Page 9The Faculty Conducts Regional Workshop On In Vitro Clonal Propagation of Tropical PlantsIn Vitro Clonal Propagation of Tropical Plants was the whereby participants were given ‘hands on’title of a regional training workshop, a collaborative experience on in vitro clonal propagation as theyeffort between the Faculty of Food and Agriculture worked alongside instructors in the newly installedand the Yucatan Center of Scientific Research E J Duncan Tissue Culture Laboratory in FFA.(CICY) and funded by the Mexican Government. Additionally, a plant tissue culture The workshop was preceeded by the signing network was established for the purpose ofof a Memorandum of Understanding between The collaboration and sharing of information.UWI, St Augustine Campus and the CICY. The The workshop, which took place from Juneobjective of the workshop was to provide training 15th to 26th, 2015, welcomed participants from 13in plant tissue culture techniques for mass clonal English speaking countries: Antigua, Bahamas,propagation of tropical plants, with special emphasis Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana,on scaling up of production for commercial purpose. Jamaica, St Kitts, St Lucia, St Vincent, Suriname, Some of the topics covered at the workshop Tobago and Trinidad. Facilitators were Professorincluded: basic procedures of tissue culture, Carlos Borotto and Dr Manuel Roberts from the CICY.organogenesis, somatic embryogenesis, the effect By the end of the workshop traineesof environmental factors on cultured cells and would have acquired knowledge for thetissues and general applications of tissue culture. establishment and management of a commercial There was also a practical component plant tissue culture facility (Biofactory). Touring the lab, from left: Dr Vidya De Gannes, FFA; Professor Carlos Guillermo Borroto Nordelo, CICY; Dr Victor Villalobos, IICA; Dr Manuel Luis Robert Diaz, CICY; and Mr Ricardo Fernando Valderrabano Pesquera, SAGARPA Mr Miguel Angel Herrera Alamillo, CICY, explains the preparation of banana ex-plantsfor in vitro clonal propagation

Page 10 Faculty of Food and Agriculture Newsletter In our “Celebrating the Celebrating the Faculty’s Alumni Faculty’s Alumni” feature, in this issue we are proud to Rica as a Junior Professional. land and water management. Her areas of specialization are: land feature Faculty alumna, She served as the and water management, disaster Dr Lystra Fletcher-Paul. risk management and sustainable Biometrician in the Caribbean livelihoods as well as biometry Dr Lystra Fletcher-Paul and experimental design. She has Agricultural Research and been an important contributorDr Lystra Fletcher-Paul in advancing food and nutrition is a Caribbean woman - Development Institute security in all the areas relevant toTrinidadian by birth and St Lucian the Caribbean. She is an excellentby marriage, with Grenadian and (CARDI), St Lucia team player, writer and effectiveBarbadian grandparents. She has communicator.a BSc (First Class Honours) in from 1990 to 1995. Dr Fletcher-Paul hasAgriculture from the University more than twenty years ofof the West Indies, St Augustine She joined the Food and experience working in theand PhD in Plant Science and agriculture sector across LatinBiometry from the University Agriculture Organization America and the Caribbean.of British Columbia, Canada. Her mother tongue is English She started her professional (FAO) in June 1995 as and she speaks Spanish fluently.career in 1985 as a Lecturer Her hobbies includein Mathematics, Statistics and Technical Officer in the Land reading, walking and yoga.Biometry in the Faculty of She is married with two sons.Agriculture of the University of the and Water DevelopmentWest Indies. From 1988 to 1989, Scholarships and Awardsshe was a National Professional Division. In 1998 she waswith the Inter-American Institute 1976 to 1977 - Currie Memorialfor Cooperation on Agriculture transferred to the Sub-Regional Prize, Faculty of Agriculture(IICA) before moving to IICA prize for the most outstandingHeadquarters in San Jose, Costa Office in Barbados as the student Integrated Natural Resources 1980 to 1985 - Canadian Commonwealth Scholarship Management Officer/ Regional 1987 - Commonwealth Land and Water Officer. In Secretariat Award to attend a three month course - Crop July 2009 she was transferred to Experimentation in Developing Countries, at the University of the FAO Representation in Guyana Kent, Canterbury as the FAO Representative. She was transferred back to the Sub- Regional Office in Barbados in February 2014 where she served as the Deputy Sub-Regional Coordinator and Regional Land and Water Officer. In January 2015 she was appointed the FAO Representative for Trinidad and Tobago and Suriname in addition to her responsibilities as Deputy Sub- Regional Coordinator. Dr Fletcher-Paul is an effective leader with experience in results based management, leading change, strategic thinking, managing people, promoting partnerships and networking. She is an environmental and resource management specialist, with specific emphasis on sustainable

Volume 4 Issue 2 Page 11Soil Science Graduate Wins Green Talents Award in Germany Mr Renaldo Belfon, Forum for High Potentials in recent Mphil graduate in Sustainable Development”. Soil Science, was among Submissions this year 27 winners, representing were received from 550 applicants 20 countries, to from more than 90 countries. receive the “Green The winners are awarded for their Talents 2015 Award”. creative and intelligent solutions The German to pressing problems of our time. Federal Ministry of This year’s awardees were Education and Research invited to participate in a two-week (BMBF), invites young science forum during which they researchers from all over visited top locations for sustainable the world every year to research in Germany. Mr Wilfried Kraus, Head of the BMBF take part in the “Green The FFA congratulatespresents award to Mr Renaldo Belfon Talents - International Mr Belfon on his win. Graduate Student Launches AGRIman Adventures We Help You-th Farm is a given a chance to meet AGRIman not-for-profit organization that was developed to help and were well entertained by him. young men and women capitalize on opportunities To ensure the “sustainAGRIty” and overcome the challenges in the agriculture industry by of this initiative, Mr Sennon has becoming stronger leaders and have more dynamic voices started an “AGRIman” Fan Club in their local communities. WHYFARM was developed for kids to ensure that there is to re-brand young existing farmers and create new ones to continuity of practical, fun and deal with the food challenges we face in the 21st century. creative activities to engage Mr Sennon was able to successfully launch what he terms the members in Agricultural to be the world’s most powerful food provider “AGRIman” series Educational Entertainment 1 of the comic at this event. AGRIman with children at the Hundreds of school children were and thinking simultaneously. Tobago World Food Day Celebrations Mr Sennon believesAgricultural Extension MPhilStudent, Mr Alpha Sennon, he found a new way oflaunched WHYFARM, anorganization which he founded, reaching out to the potentialat Tobago World Food Day 2015celebrations. According to Mr feeders of the future throughSennon, the aim of WHYFARMis to grow future feeders. animation and educational WHYFARM which means entertainment in Agriculture. His aspiration is to eventually have the “AGRIman Adventures” develop into a cartoon series for television.

Page 12 Faculty of Food and Agriculture Newsletter Breadfruit Flavors Aggressive breeding programme at the University Field Station proves successful, piglets now for saleBreadfruit Flavors, The Ultimate Breadfruit CookBook, an output of the breadfruit conference, In October, 2014, an aggressive breeding programme wascould be purchased from The UWI Book shop ata cost of TT$140. conducted which involved selling older unproductive sows and selecting some for breeding.14 new gilts and three boars of high genetic quality were purchased from Erin, Albrosco Farms and from a farmer, who imports semen from the United Kingdom. Within a year, more than 400 births were recorded. Some of these piglets are now for sale. Description of these are below: Age of piglets: Weaners (5weeks - 3 months) Growers (4 months - 8 months) Breed: Landrace, Yorkshire, Duroc, Hampshire (Crosses and pure breeds) Weight: Weaners ( 20-50lbs) Growers ( 50-200 lbs) Price: Weaners (TT$400- TT$700) Growers (TT$10.00/lb liveweight) Some of the characteristics of the different breeds are: Landrace (prolific 12-14 piglets, docile), Yorkshire (prolific 12-14 piglets, muscular), Duroc (10-12 piglets, lean back fat), Hampshire (10-12 piglets) For information on the purchae of these piglets, contact the University Field Station at 662-2750 or Dr Corinne Wong at 498-6851, or email [email protected] Meet the new Heads of Departments and Deputy Dean Dr Reynold Dr Wayne Stone, Head of Ganpat, Head Department of of Department Food Production of Agricultural Economics and Extension Dr Mark Wuddivira, Deputy Dean, Teaching and Learning