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April 2012
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Message from the Principal: Two New Faculties
The strategic move is one that has been long contemplated. It comes at a time when current global trends identify Agriculture and Food Security as one of the most significant challenges in the world today, as it affects just about one third of the global population. The issue concerns basic factors of human survival, and it must be addressed in order to tackle other issues plaguing our society. Nearly two billion people worldwide are, on a regular basis, unable to grow or get enough food to eat—and a staggering 75% of those vulnerable persons live in rural areas in the least developed countries. The creation of the FFA and the FST responds to the global food security challenge, but also reflects the University’s commitment to the transformative, socio-economic development of our regional and national communities and is in keeping with the strategic vision and mission of The UWI. It presents a model for the revitalization of the crucial agricultural sector, and renews focus on the disciplines of science and technology. It reflects the need to put agriculture at the top of national and regional development. This decision is also closely aligned with the strategic direction of our country and region. In the national context, one would recall that on March 12, 2012, Senator the Honourable Vasant Bharath, Minister of Food Production, Land and Marine Affairs, launched the NATIONAL FOOD PRODUCTION ACTION PLAN–2012-2015, which outlines the strategic goals of the Ministry in creating a food secure nation. CARICOM’s agenda for socio-economic transformation puts science and technology, food security and agriculture on the front burner in terms of sustainable development. Our external stakeholders have welcomed the prospect of The UWI leading the way in returning agriculture to the forefront of regional development; we remain committed to that. To do this, we are continuously examining our structure, programmes and courses for relevance; we want to produce a more proactive graduate whose focus is on creating employment and becoming a social entrepreneur, and in the case of our Agriculture graduates, contributing to the entire food value chain. The creation of the two new faculties at the UWI St. Augustine Campus is as relevant as it is timely. Change can be intimidating; transitions can be rough; but these have been carefully considered and deemed to be in the interest of developing more relevant programmes with better support and I am sure that will soon become evident. Clement K. Sankat |
One of the historical changes taking place at the St. Augustine Campus this year is the demerger of the Faculty of Science and Agriculture into two distinct faculties, the Faculty of Food and Agriculture (FFA) and the Faculty of Science and Technology (FST). The separation is to take effect from August 1, 2012.