Spencer hails agriculture programme at St Catherine correctional facility

Minister of State in the Ministry of National Security Rudyard Spencer says the St. Catherine Adult Correctional Centre is on its way to becoming self-sufficient based on its booming agricultural programme.
 
Speaking at the correctional centre's 4-H Club Exposition on Tuesday, Spencer said the ministry is proud of the work of the inmates.

“I have witnessed first-hand how the organised and successful growth of vegetables such as beetroot, callaloo, and bananas as well as poultry. This is an encouraging sign as it shows that we are not far from our shared objectives of growing what we eat and eating what we grow and it is good to see our inmates involved in this process,”.
 
Inmates are fully engaged in agro-processing, which consists of the sewing of seeds, transplanting of seedlings, reaping, and distribution. 

The products are packaged through the facility’s 4 H Club are sold at other expositions including the Denbigh Agricultural Industrial and Food Show, donated to other correctional institutions or used to supplement the inmates’ diets, leading to increased self-sufficiency and cost reduction at the facility.
 
This year’s expo showcased agro-processing products such as cashew wine, beetroot wine, peanut cake mix and\, callaloo and sweet potato lotions.
 
The 4 H Club model at the St. Catherine Adult Correctional Centre is now being replicated at the Hill Top and Rio Cobre Juvenile Correctional Centres.

It is viewed as a successful component of overarching rehabilitation programmes that equip incarcerated offenders with life skills in preparation for their return to society.

The St. Catherine 4 H Club and the exposition are in keeping with the Ministry of National Security’s Five-pillar Crime Reduction Strategy with emphasis on Rehabilitation and Redemption.

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