The Ministry of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology (MoHERST) has unveiled plans to build an agribusiness Technical and Vocational Training (TVET) Centre in order to strengthen agriculture in Sapu and promote effective farming in the strategic area.

Minister Pierre Gomez recently reaffirmed that in Sapu, there was a TVET Centre for multipurpose and different skills, saying they want to have "agribusiness in Sapu, focusing only on agriculture."

"You have water 24/7. You can do agriculture the whole year. You don't need a rainy season to do agriculture. Yet, we import basic things in this country. What is the essence of education? It is better we close our schools if we cannot fix that," Minister Gomez stated.

Minister Gomez continued to say that is the reason why the government wants to start an agribusiness Centre in Sapu, where people can be trained to get the necessary skills from the classrooms to the farm.

The higher education minister added: "We cannot practice agriculture in office or four corners of the classroom. It should go beyond that, but the business component of agriculture has to be clearly highlighted. The entrepreneurship aspect of it needs to be clearly captured so that when they graduate from this school of agriculture, some can join the Ministry of Agriculture but the whole chunk can have their own business because it is all going to be agriculture-related activities."

Prof Gomez continued that such institutions can even produce tools and implements for farmers to help in mechanisation.

"They can produce what they eat and they can also sell what they produce. That is the mindset because agriculture is an opportunity for the land," he said.