Bygeval excels at hydroponics

– takes Hector Muñoz Trophy

Bygeval Multilateral School was yesterday announced as the winner in the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) Secondary School Hydroponics Competition.

The Bygeval Multilateral School team explaining the growing processes to the judge yesterday.

The school received the Hector Muñoz Trophy along with farm tools and materials. Students who took part in the competition said that it was a “good learning process” and while they encountered problems “we still come out good”.
The final judging along with a simple closing ceremony was held yesterday at the Diamond Secondary School on the East Bank Demerara.

The objective of the competition was to teach hydroponics as an alternative method of production as well as to find a creative way to stimulate and renew young people’s interest in the science of agriculture and to find innovative ways to teach the sciences.

Hydroponics is a method used to grow plants without soil. The hydroponics solution consists of elements needed for the plant’s growth and development. Students used paddy shells and sand to support the plant as they fed it with the hydroponics solution.

This is the third year that the IICA has hosted the competition in collaboration with the Ministry of Education. Thirty-seven schools from six regions were selected by the ministry to be a part of the programme.

According to Field Assistant of IICA and Coordinator of the competition Jermaine Joseph, 370 students and 37 teachers learnt hydroponics through the train-the-trainers method; teachers were trained and they in turn each trained 10 students from their schools.

After administrating the theoretical aspect of hydroponics the students then had to do the practical. Joseph said each participating school was equipped with a trainer’s manual and CD to aid in teaching. Further, three bottles of hydroponics solution along with 26 plants to be grown in six weeks were provided to participants.

Schools were grouped into clusters of seven and the schools with the highest in that cluster were judged for the top four spots, Joseph added. Second place went to Richard Ishmael Secondary, third place to Uitvlugt Secondary while fourth place went to Bladen Hall Secondary. The other two schools in the finals were Charity Secondary and the Linden Foundation Secondary.

Certificates of participation were presented to each finalist along with a farm hamper. The challenges that the students faced were vandalism and sometimes sabotage to plants and poor lighting, Joseph reported.

Meanwhile, Ronald Simon Deputy Chief Education Officer- Technical told the gathering of mostly teachers and students that the introduction of hydroponics comes at a critical time and can offer more thrust to the Grow More Food campaign.

He commended the students and teachers.

Also extending gratitude to the students was IICA Representative Ignatius Jean. He told the students that the competition was not only about teaching them a new approach to agriculture but the practical aspect gave them a first-hand experience of the challenges farmers face even in a controlled environment.