Dr Wheatley made the announcement at a recent session in the House of Assembly where he said the programme will be implemented at the H Lavity Stoutt Community College.

He said: “Given the fact that agriculture is an up and coming industry in the Virgin Islands, I have mandated that Agriculture Science again become a programme of study in our community college.”

He also said that government will be ensuring that scholarships are made available for students in the territory who are interested in furthering their education in the agricultural sector.

“I have appointed Mr Coy Smith as a member of our scholarship board to ensure that this area is given priority in the awarding of scholarships, and I must say as well the H Lavity Stoutt Community College has established relationships with universities around the world for our students to attend there to get degrees in agriculture,” Dr Wheatley added.

Programmes to develop new generation of farmers

In the meantime, the Education Minister acknowledged some of the other agriculture programmes which are currently implemented at other schools locally.

He said these programmes are laying the foundation to have more farmers in the territory in years to come.

“I also must make mention of the school garden programme that exists in many of our schools. I have witnessed gardens such as the Francis Lettsome garden, supported by local farmers and Green VI, which revealed amazing potential for the creation of a new generation of farmers,” Dr Wheatley stated.