Students to be involved in agricultural activities

Thursday October 30, 2008

The Green Earth Programme will involve 400 schools in theinitial stages, Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Husseinsaid.He said the programme would enable students to become involved inagricultural and environmental activities."Agriculture was once considered a sunset industry but it is nowimportant," he said.Green earth: Jeanne Abdullah and Hishammuddin admiring maturing ladiesfingers planted at SMK Bandar Barmu Sungai Long, Kajang, yesterday.He was speaking to reporters after the launch of the programme byDatin Seri Jeanne Abdullah, wife of Prime Minister Datuk Seri AbdullahAhmad Badawi, at SMK Bandar Baru Sg Long near here yesterday.Jeanne said that under the subject, Nature Study, in the 1960s,students learned about plants."My parents encouraged my siblings and I and we learned to plantthings such as chillies and pineapples at home."We had to care for the plants ourselves and we were so pleased whenthey praised us for having the best or sweetest fruit," she said inher speech.Jeanne urged students who were interested in agriculture to make ittheir careers."There are many modern methods now which bring good returns," she said.SMK Bandar Baru Sg Long principal Salimah Jafri said the school hadplanted vegetables in the compound since it was established in 2002and the project was developed on a larger scale last year."As part of their extra-curricular activities, some secondary schoolpupils plant vegetables such as ladies' fingers, kangkung, brinjal,cucumber, pumpkin, kai lan and sawi in the school compound," she said.Salimah said the vegetables were sold to the cooperative, which inturn sold them to students and teachers.She said the school also reared ikan keli in four large tanks withinthe compound.

TS