A training expert from Zambia is in Seychelles to assist the island nation to bring agricultural education to secondary schools so that the sector can continue to grow.  

Vistah Medenda, an agricultural education and training expert, is on a one week visit and will be meeting with various people to discuss the way forward.

The focus will be on capacity building and pedagogical development of agriculture in secondary schools, as well as the Seychelles Institute of Agriculture and Horticulture (SIAH).

One of the main parts of this programme is the development of an agriculture curriculum for secondary schools, as well as the creation of agriculture textbooks that are tailor-made for Seychellois students.

"The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Agriculture, Climate Change and Energy want to make agriculture a core subject, rather than part of other subjects taught in schools," Mudenda told reporters on Monday.

In his meeting with the Ministry of Education, Mudenda shared part of a presentation on the use of digital technology in agriculture. He said this can entice more young people to want to take up the subject.

"At the moment, agriculture is seen as something that should be done mainly by the uneducated and that it is a dirty job, but the use of digital technology will hopefully help to change that perception," he added.

Mudenda said the visit will help him better understand agriculture in Seychelles and enable him to work on creating a curriculum for the island nation's needs.

Mudenda has already written numerous textbooks on agriculture that are being used in schools in Zambia for over 30 years.

During his visit, he will visit SIAH, meet with ministers and other experts, and visit a local farm, to get a better sense of the sector in Seychelles.

Discussions on the future of agricultural education in Seychelles started last year. This was through a meeting of the Minister of Education, Justin Valentin and the Minister responsible for agriculture, Flavien Joubert.  

The government will now work to facilitate exchanges between Seychelles and Zambia and look for internship opportunities for teachers, lecturers and students.

Seychelles, an archipelago in the western Indian Ocean, imports around 90 percent of its food and has, in the past couple of years, started refining its plans for food security.