Purdue Ag Program Heading to Trinidad & Tobago
The Trinidad Moruga scorpion is a chili pepper native to the district of Moruga in Trinidad and Tobago (photo courtesy of Purdue University)
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowPurdue University says it will begin implementing its Farmer-to-Farmer program, which provides support to farmers in developing and transitional countries, in Trinidad and Tobago over the next three years. Purdue says its International Programs in Agriculture and cooperative extension service will administer the program, which is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development.
In collaboration with the University of West Indies – St. Augustine, Purdue’s F2F program is proposing a dual approach to build capacity for the public and private extension community and providing farmers with a variety of technical knowledge.
The university says expertise gained from its program will help enhance many aspects of the community, including overall nutrition and health, food safety, environmental protection, and will help farmers respond to the changing environment and other challenges.
“In Trinidad and Tobago, we are starting from a position of strength. We already have a good working relationship with UWI, and the Ministry of Agriculture and they have a mandate to revitalize their Extension system,” said Kashchandra Raghothama, associate director of IPIA.
Purdue says the program facilitates the technical assistance training by U.S.-based academics, graduate students, Extension experts, business professionals, and farmers to the host country. Volunteers in Trinidad and Tobago develop hands-on trainings to improve food and nutrition security.
“The Purdue F2F program focuses on identifying the needs within Trinidad and Tobago’s extension system and agricultural industry and finding volunteers that are willing to travel on a two- to four-week technical assignment to help address those needs,” said Amanda Dickson, IPIA international extension specialist.
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