It was a momentous occasion on Friday for the University of the Virgin Islands School of Agriculture (SOA) and the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College (HLSCC) from the British Virgin Islands as they formally launched a partnership agreement at the Great Hall on the University of the Virgin Islands Albert Sheen Campus.
The agreement encompasses five combined degree programs, offering pathways to Bachelor of Science degrees in Agricultural Business, Agroecology, Animal Science, Aquaponics, and Horticulture.
To commemorate the special occasion, members from HLSCC traveled to St. Croix to sign the agreements.
“The signing of these agreements today is just the beginning,” said the University of the Virgin Islands School of Agriculture Dean Usman Adamu. “I’m anticipating more to come in the not-so-distant future,” he said.
Adamu said that the signing of the agreements represented years of hard work between the colleges, and he reflected on the first meeting that took place at HLSCC in 2022. “As you can see and hear we are moving forward. We are moving forward with our relationship and partnership with the BVI,” said Adamu.
Also present was the president of the University of the Virgin Islands, Safiya George, who said, “You have been great partners. One of our best partners and I want to publicly acknowledge that,” she said
George also mentioned Basheera Maduro, a student from HLSCC who is already in her first semester at UVI to gain her bachelor’s in animal science.
“You have two institutions behind you that will not let you fail. Just know we are all excited,” said George.
President of HLSCC Richard Georges also gave some remarks and said, “We were quite impressed by what we have seen in terms of our visit at your facilities,” referring to a tour that was provided of the School of Agriculture grounds prior to the ceremony.
“This is indeed groundbreaking research that we have seen and witnessed, and we know our students will benefit greatly from this partnership. We live in a world where food sustainability is coming into question and our supply chain for food production is on the thread. These programs will go a long way not just for our students but the British Virgin Islands as a whole,” said Georges.
Later in the program, officials signed the agreements and made the terms official.
To see a tour of the University of the Virgin Islands School of Agriculture grounds and learn more about the experiments, click here.
