University of Belize, Central Farm #UBCF

Location :

Mile 62 George Price Highway, Central Farm, San Ignacio

Brief History of the Agricultural College Of The University of Belize, Central Farm Campus.

Formal agriculture education in Belize started at Lynam Agricultural College in the Stann Creek District in 1948. Individuals were trained to meet the demand for agricultural field demonstrators, later called extension workers, for the colonial public service. Higher level technical positions in agriculture were filled by expatriates from the metropolis.

In 1953 the scope of agriculture training was expanded with the establishment of Central Farm Training School, to cater to the need for in-service training of demonstrators, workshops, and seminars for farmers. Lynam Agriculture College was closed in 1971 and the physical resources converted to a prison. The school at Central Farm continued its program of short course delivery up to 1977 when it was converted to the Belize School of Agriculture (BSA) with an expanded mandate to include training of agricultural extension workers and technicians for the public service. During the period 1977-1981, BSA offered a one-year certificate in general agriculture, expanded in 1981, and based on demand, to an optional second year for a diploma in general agriculture. In 1983 the certificate program was discontinued and the entire curriculum upgraded to a two year diploma program.

In 1986, BSA underwent a name transformation to Belize College of Agriculture (BCA) and three years later in 1989 the curriculum was again upgraded and the college offered the Associate Degree in Applied Agriculture Science with a mission which continued to address national agriculture training needs, extension services through workshops and seminars for farmers and limited research in agriculture.

The college was amalgamated with other tertiary level institutions to form University of Belize (UB) in 2000 and the college became the faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources (FANR). The next few years witnessed dramatic decrease in enrollment by an average of 50%, coupled by alarming attrition rate increases of almost 40% per year amidst an atmosphere of challenges which saw the mission neglected, developing synergies abandoned, national focus lost, and fees escalating by more than an order of magnitude. It was not surprising that in the restructuring exercise of 2003, FANR was downgraded to a department within the Faculty of Science and Technology (SERRANO, 2004).

At the downgraded level of a department, and without a clear mission, formal agriculture education in Belize operated much like a rudderless ship. A rescue was attempted in the latter part of 2007 based on the desire to pursue the development of profit centers as a new approach to solving the financial woes from within. It was theorized that through the transformation of selected activities, as for example Central Farm, into income generating centers, the University could move onto a self sustaining path towards greater financial independence and stability. The reasoning may have been genuine but implementation suffered from the absence of a clearly defined mission supportive of national development policy goals in agriculture education, lack of practical business and agricultural experience, poor planning, and cronyism. As`a result a farm business was established in January, 2008 which continued the financial hemorrhage, an expensive ($37,350.00) download from Earth University’s website was presented as a curriculum substitute, and anxiety in the new Ministry of Agriculture heightened over the lack of support from UB to its development goals.

The University of Belize possesses neither the financial nor human resources to restore agriculture education to its glory days. The Government of Belize (GOB), through the Minister and CEO of Agriculture, has expressed a willingness to assist in the rebuilding this vital piece of educational infrastructure as it has an integral role in the national, agriculture, development plan (GOB, 2009). The private sector which has seen the supply of technical human resource dwindle, is also anxious to assist. Forging a partnership with both the private and public sectors in rebuilding UB Central Farm is consistent with the new Vision of the University (UB, 2009) and presents a unique opportunity to implement and evaluate many of the strategic goals presented, e.g. decentralize accounting, on a pilot basis.

This paper presents a three year plan based on business principles for the development of the farm at UB Central Farm as a living laboratory for training students, and providing services to farmers in support of GOB’s development goals in agriculture. The curriculum is addressed in relation to its practical components as they relate to the organizational structure and supervision of students on the farm.