He said these activities gave children the opportunity to explore new interests, connect with new people, new skills and ideas, thus exposing them to fresh possibilities that would ultimately shape their lives for a brighter future.

Mr  Barnes said this during a visit to TRACTOR-B-BOVID youth school gardens and sustainable Agriculture project being implemented in more than 20 basic schools within the Western Region.

The project funded by the Australia’s Direct Aid Programme for the past two-years officially comes to an end this year, and was to rekindle in school children the love for agriculture.

“We are encouraged by the outcome of the first phase and we are pleased to welcome the opportunity to support TRACTOR, B-BOVID to make it possible for more children to benefit from this innovative project,” the Australian Commissioner added.

Mr Barnes encouraged school authorities to give students the needed support they would require to help them develop their potential for agriculture and other useful activities.

Mrs Elizabeth Tettey, Project Manager on the Youth School Garden and Sustainable Agriculture Project said the implementation of the project over the last two years had yielded significant results with some schools providing vegetables on commercial quantities for hotels in the Nzema area.

She added that for some of the students trained were now using the skills acquired to practice on a small scale basis adding, “We have sown the seed of entrepreneurship in them”.

Mrs Esther Baaba Quaye, Headmistress of Anaji Metropolitan Assembly Junior High School, one of the schools involved in the project, said the importance derived from the school agriculture project, “are endless to the country…we were pleased to be selected to receive training and support to set up our school garden”.

She said the training had exposed the school children to various types of vegetables, the conditions of their growth, gardening techniques, pest control and best gardening practices.

The Headmistress said gardening offered hands-on, experiential learning opportunities in a wide array of disciplines, including the natural and social sciences, mathematics, language arts and nutrition.

Mrs Quaye said: “Now we can all take back all these lessons we have acquired back to our households and start little gardens to improve food sustainability in our various homes and community at large.”