High schools and secondary schools in New Ireland Province have revived their school farms in an effort to sustain the operations in the school.
“For many of our schools, they have foregone school farms which played a very big part in the 80s and 90s,” said the New Ireland Education CEO Mr. Apelis Benson.
“Schools have become too reliant on government funding turning the once flourishing farms into bushes.”
He said in 2019, the Provincial Education Board made a resolution to reopen all school farms in high and secondary schools in the province.
Mr Benson said that PEB came to this decision as a result of high cost of
food rations and the late release of the Government Tuition Fee Subsidy leaving schools to struggle financially.
He added that so far five high and secondary schools have resurrected their school farms with pig farms, poultry, garden produce, cocoa and oil palm.
“The other 6 secondary schools are yet to start up their school farms or resurface their original farms,” Apelis said.
He further added that the schools that have farms, their garden produce is supplying their meals and surplus are sold at the markets to bring back some form of income for the schools.
