Pest Application and Management training holds graduation

The Agriculture Ministry’s Pesticides and Toxic Chemicals Control Board (PTCCB) on Tuesday
held a graduation and awards ceremony for persons who participated in the board’s pest
application and management training exercise.
The ministry said that through the training, 23 persons are now equipped with the knowledge on
how to properly manage and use pesticides and other chemicals.  Mr. Leslie Munroe, PTCCB
Chairman, said the training was done as part of board regulations. He said this is important
noting that persons must be certified if they are interested in the field.  “Training is one of the
hallmarks of the board’s activities. The people who are graduating this morning, they would have
gone through some training for them to understand the nature of the work they are doing, to
understand the substances that they use,” Munroe said.
The graduates identified the benefit of the training to their respective fields.
Ms. Deana Walcott said she is looking forward to the next level of training. “That training went
really well. The information was fed and we had the chance and opportunity to ask questions and
to have our questions answered immediately. All of the materials were sent to us, and so I really
enjoyed the training and I’m looking forward to the next level,” Walcott said.

Mr. Vishernauth Dhanpat also expressed similar sentiments. “The course enlightened me or
broadened my knowledge on how to handle pesticides, because I am working in an agricultural
institution and one of our activities is chemical weed control, whereby we use herbicides to
control weeds in estate locations, and in doing so, you need to practice safe herbicide handling in
line with the regulation and legislation of the country,” Dhanpat noted.
Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha who attended the event told the graduates
that the skills gained from the training will aid in the overall development of the country. He
explained that this is because the use of pesticides is necessary in various productive sectors.
“You will not only be serving the agriculture (sector), you will be serving all the sectors that
need guidance, that need to use these chemicals and you as   the applicators, you are the persons
who will ensure that these things are used in a safe way. You will be responsible to ensure that
these sectors develop,” Minister Miustapha said.
The agriculture minister added that the graduates should now be able to educate the general
public on the knowledge gained.