JAMAICA 4-H CLUBS – CELEBRATING 80 YEARS OF YOUTH TRAINING!

Since its birth on April 1, 1940, the Jamaica 4-H Clubs has cemented itself as a formidable entity in the drive to train, educate and empower Jamaican youth to become positive contributors to the Agricultural sector and the nation at large.

With approximately 110,000 club members island wide, over 565 active School Gardens and in excess of 5,000 professional volunteers, the Jamaica 4-H Clubs, within 80 years, has been able to positively impact the lives of our youth through a myriad of training programmes.  Our programmes have evolved from agriculturally – focused techniques to adaptive strategies incorporating approaches to climate change and new technology in the sector, many of which matches local and global training standards.

These training programmes are offered to Early Childhood, Primary, All-Age, Junior High, Secondary and Technical High schools as well as churches and communities. The areas of focus include:  Poultry rearing, Goat care, Rabbit Care, Home Economics and Environmental Awareness and Leadership.

One of our flagship projects, the Rural Youth Entrepreneurship Programme (RYEEP) is a significant driver in empowering rural youths in agricultural entrepreneurship by offering training, coaching and the provision of inputs.

As we celebrate our 80^th Anniversary this year, RYEEP will be augmented to assist many more youths with the interest and propensity to succeed in agriculture businesses.  

Additionally, another initiative this year is our Backyard Garden Challenge, a spin off from our National School Garden Programme. The challenge has already begun and is open to our clubites, volunteers as well as the wider public.

We believe in the youth of Jamaica and are committed to continue enabling our youth to be positive contributors to our nation.