NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Minister of Education Jeffrey Lloyd praised C V Bethel Senior High School’s agricultural program, saying he is “proud” of it.
Not only did he harvest sweet potatoes from the school’s Pick N’ Pay farm during a recent visit, but he also purchased cabbage, celery, various other vegetables, eggs and hot sauce.
“[It’s] very impressive. I had no idea the extent of the agricultural program at C V Bethel. I’m very proud,” said Lloyd.
“I believe that is a symbol for other young people that this is no longer a back-breaking, pothole industry. When I was growing up, nobody wanted to go into agriculture. They saw it has hard work and not glamorous. They certainly were not interested because they didn’t see the profit in it. But today it’s very lucrative.
“I hope students appreciate in this pandemic how valuable agriculture is especially when you talk about diversification of our economy; but more importantly, the fact that if those ships and freight boats did not come in, we were not going to be able to feed ourselves…”
Lloyd commended the students on their enthusiasm and agricultural program achievements.
“More and more people, conscious of their health, are turning to natural products, homegrown products and backyard farming,” he added.