Prison officers, inmates receive plant nursery management training

Under the ‘Grow More’ initiative, a total of six officers and two inmates from the Lusignan and Timehri Prisons have completed training at the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI), on nursery management, vermicomposting, composting, and their significance.

This information was provided to the Department of Public Information (DPI) by theGuyana Prison Services’ (GPS) Public Relations Officer, Rajiv Bisnauth on Wednesday.

The capacity-building exercise saw participants being educated on organic practices and eliminating the use of chemicals to produce healthier food.

The training aimed to emphasise the importance of returning nutrients to the soil through composting, thereby promoting sustainable agricultural practices within the prison facility.

These programmes are part of the GPS’ aim to continuously promote self-sufficiency. Moreover, these initiatives indicate the service’s commitment to the rehabilitation of inmates through the development of personal and practical skills.

This year, the service’s agriculture sector received a budgetary allocation of $20 million.

Further, the harvesting of crops and meat generated a total of $4.9 million in 2022.  

The output accounted for 25.3 per cent of the overall expenses dedicated to meeting the dietary requirements of inmates during that specific period.

The agriculture department is looking to team up with NAREI for more theoretical and practical training for officers and inmates.