Twelve Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA) staff are currently undergoing an internship at the Tropical Agriculture Research and Higher Education Centre (CATIE) in Costa Rica, focused on sustainable animal production.
The internship began on June 17 and according to a release from the authority, the training will focus on beef and dairy cattle, swine and sheep/goat production, farm management, monitoring and evaluation of performance for different production activities and biometrics, as well as topics related to the use of participatory methods for research and learning in the Farmers Field School approach, among others.
Under the technical programme, made possible through collaboration with the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture (IICA) and the Inter-American Development Bank funder, Sustainable Agricultural Development programme (SADP), the participants will also be exposed to information about small dairy cooperatives and organisations and biotechnology applications, and will conduct research in strategic topics for the agricultural sector, such as sustainable livestock production and value chains, the release said.
“For this exercise, we’ve selected some of our most young, vibrant and intellectual staff to participate in this internship to strengthen their technical capabilities in areas such as sustainable animal production. They will be trained at CATIE´s Campus as well as on some private farms, that will provide the best opportunities for training in areas we’ve (GLDA) requested,” said Nigel Cumberbatch, GLDA’s Chief Executive Officer.
Those participating are Colvin Alfred, Jamila Bisram, Rondel Cameron, Paul Chase, Abiola Douglas, Norbert Felix, Wilton Fordyce, Denel Hamilton, Teressa Jacobs, Roxanne Langevine, David Pusselwhyte and Yannick Roberts.
While in Costa Rica, they will be exposed to six training modules and participate in three field visits, which will combine the theoretical and practical sessions, interactions with researchers and field visits to research projects and farms.
The release noted that CATIE specialises in research and training in agriculture, livestock production and natural resources, offering Masters of Science (M.Sc) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Degrees, as well as non-degree training exercises. The institute also offers extensive programmes in tropical agriculture, animal sciences, economics, social sciences and natural resources through research, educational and outreach work they developed in the Latin American and Caribbean countries.
