agricultural internship

2022

The Genesis of the Grow-UP internship program

The Grow-Up Agricultural Internship program was designed to match college-level students, who are residents of Region 10, with experiences that allow for holistic learning with respect to farm management. Through this innovative program designed by LFU Guyana Inc. in 2022, the interns were linked to commercial farms within the region and engaged in all aspects of farm management: crop and livestock management, pest management, sales and marketing, business planning, etc.

Project Coordinator: Onika Benn, BSc, MSc

Served as the first Director of Economic Development from 2021-2022. Onika was instrumental in conceptualizing the Grow Up Internship Programme, a first-of-its-kind initiative bringing together tertiary-level students and farmers to be executed in Region 10. She played a critical role in supporting the Board of Directors in mobilizing $10,000 US funding for the implementation of this initiative.

Meet the 2022 Interns

From left: Schnique Wilson - University of Guyana, Dexter Pellew - University of Guyana, Kezia Fraser - University of Guyana, Donnelle Gravesande - Guyana School of Agriculture and Andrew Marks - University of Guyana.

Video Highlights/ Photo Highlights of project activitives

agricultural internship

2023

LFU Guyana Inc. was awarded a grant of more than $3.5 million GY by the Global Environmental Facility Small Grants Programme, implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), for the project, titled “The Grow UP Internship Through Sustainable Agricultural Practices in Region 10.” The aim of the project was “to support and strengthen sustainable agricultural productivity in Region 10 through the adaptation of climate-smart agricultural techniques.”

This initiative was focused on addressing several pressing challenges, including climate change, food security, and skills development for college-level students who served as paid interns in the two-month project. The interns, second-and third-year students from the Guyana School of Agriculture and University of Guyana Faculty of Agriculture, provided technical and labor support to local farmers, employing climate-smart techniques to help the farmers to increase crop yields, and thereby helping to grow food production in the region.

Project Coordinator: Kadifa Greene-Marshall, BSc

Served as the Director of Economic Development in 2023. Kadifa was instrumental in supporting the Board of Directors in securing its first grant, worth more than $15,700 US, for the project, “ Grow-UP internship Through Sustainable Agricultural Practices in Region 10.” This grant was awarded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Small Grants Programme (SGP) implemented by the United Nations Development Programme. This project is the first-of-its-kind being funded by GEF SGP in the Caribbean region.

Meet the 2023 Interns