14 September 2009
Newsnet
The Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture has launched a training curriculum for teachers and other personnel in the ministry on conservation farming, which is expected to prepare them to implement and teach the concept in schools.
The Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture has launched a training curriculum for teachers and other personnel in the ministry on conservation farming, which is expected to prepare them to implement and teach the concept in schools.
The training of the curriculum, Foundations of Farming is being spearheaded by a non-governmental organisation called Foundation of Farming and seeks to impart conservation farming skills starting at grassroots level.
The initiative is expected to assist poor communities to harvest better yields at low cost, thereby reducing poverty and hunger.
The project is initially targeting Deputy Provincial Education Directors, District Education Officers, 20 pilot schools and two teachers from each province.
Foundations of Farming will focus on secondary school pupils from Form 1 to 4 and will eventually be integrated into the existing agriculture syllabus and the HIV and AIDS life skills programme.
The Minister of Education, Sport Arts and Culture, Senator David Coltart expressed hope that the programme will boost the nation’s food security especially in the rural areas and also reduce environmental degradation caused by poor farming methods.
“The development of this new curriculum is primarily designed to take a look at agriculture holistically and not to take a narrow look. Its primary purpose is injecting foundations for farming to equip teachers and students with conservation farming skills. The target group will initially be Form 1 to 4s,†noted Senator Coltart.
Foundations of Farming Trainer, Mr. Craig Deal said the programme is not only based on teaching technical skills but life skills and is based on the biblical principles of faithfulness, stewardship and giving.
“The vision for Foundation of Farming is more than creating self sustainability but teaching the word of God,†said Mr Deal.
Conservation farming has been in the Zimbabwean school curriculum for years although it has not been fully implemented in agricultural practice.
It is regarded as one of the most appropriate technologies which can address the underlying crop management problems facing most farmers.