Project Grant 20217000435097

DEWEY UNIVERSITY HAS BEEN PLANNING OVER THE PAST YEARS AN AGRIBUSINESS ASSOCIATES DEGREE PROGRAM THAT FOCUSES ON TECHNOLOGY, BEST PRACTICES, AND CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENTS. CURRENTLY THERE IS A NEED FOR THIS TYPE OF SHORT PROGRAMS FOR STUDENTS LOOKING TO JOIN THE WORKFORCE AND BE ABLE TO CONTINUE THEIR EDUCATION. THE ASSOCIATES DEGREE PROGRAM IN AGRIBUSINESS WILL FOCUS ON BEST AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES IN CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENTS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT THROUGH CAREER PATHWAYS IN THE FANR FIELDS (FOOD, AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES,)THE DEVELOPMENT AND GROWTH OF PUERTO RICO'S AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES IS A CURRENT AND IMPORTANT EVENT THAT HAS BEEN EMERGING THROUGH THE IMPROVEMENT OF NEW AGRICULTURAL BUSINESS PRACTICES FOCUSED ON TECHNOLOGY AND HYBRID PRODUCTS IN CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENTS. ACCORDING TO DIFFERENT RESEARCH (F) STUDIES THE VALUE OF AGRICULTURE-RELATED DEGREES CANNOT BE UNDERESTIMATED WHEN NO OTHER INDUSTRY CAN PROVIDE ENOUGH FOOD TO THE GROWING POPULATION. TO BE ABLE TO MEETTHIS DEMAND, GRADUATES IN DEGREE PROGRAMS SUCH AS AGRICULTURE, HORTICULTURE, HYDROPONICS, AND ANIMAL SCIENCES TRAINED IN BEST PRACTICES AND SUSTAINABILITY ARE IN HIGH DEMAND. ACCORDING TO THE LATEST DATA FROM AGCAREERS.COM, 81% OF JOBS IN THE AGRICULTURE INDUSTRY WILL REQUIRE EDUCATION BEYOND HIGH SCHOOL AND ALMOST HALF WILL DEMAND AT LEAST A BACHELOR'S DEGREE.THE 2017 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE FOR PUERTO RICO, NOTED THAT BETWEEN 1998 AND 2018 THE NUMBER OF FARMS DECLINED BY MORE THAN HALF (58.7), FROM 19,951 TO 8,230WHILE THE AVERAGE FARM INCREASED FROM 36.6%, FROM 43.4 CUERDAS IN 1998 TO 59.3 CUERDAS IN 2018. (1 CUERDA=0.971 ACRES). IN PUERTO RICO A FARMS IS DEFINED BY ANY PLACE WHICH $500 OR MORE AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS ARE SOLD.GREENHOUSE PRODUCTION IN PUERTO RICO HAS BEEN VOLATILE DUE TO THE PLANNING AND MARKETING OF PRODUCTS, THE INCENTIVES WITHOUT AN STRATEGIC PRODUCTION AND MARKETING GOAL AND LACK OF STATISTICS FROM THE PUERTO RICO DEPARTMENTO OF AGRICULTURAL. FOR EXAMPLE, THE 2017 CENSUS HAS REGIONAL DATA FROM A CATEGORY UNDER NURSERY AND GREENHOUSES CROPS, FLORICULTURE AND SOD GROWNUNDER HYDROPONICS THE NUMBER OF FARMS HAVE NOT INCREASE SUBSTANTIAL FROM 2012-2018 (213 TO 219) AND THE CROP VALUE WENT FROM 10.4M TO 8.7. HOWEVER, IN THE LETTUCE IT HAD AN INCREASE OF 37 FARMS 117 AND PRODUCTION INCREASE FROM 3M FROM1.0 IN 2012. BOTH PEPPER AND TOMATO PRODUCTIONS ALSO HAD AN INCREASE 11 FARMS IN 2012 TO 38. (US DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 2017 CENSUS) IN THE PONCE REGION SOUTHERN AREA OF WHICH INCLUDES THE SANTA ISABEL AGRICULTURAL VALLEY THAT HOUSE ONE OF THE LARGEST AGRICULTURAL BIOTECHNOLOGY ENTERPRISES WHICH REPRESENT OVER 5,000 WORKERS AND CONTRIBUTES MORE THAN 125 MILLION ANNUALLY TO THE ISLAND ECONOMY. PUERTO RICO AGRICULTURAL BIOTECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION (PRABIA)A RESEARCH BY AGRO RAUL MARI FERNANDEZ STUDY IN FOOD SAFETY AND THE AGRICULTURAL RESERVES IN THE ISLAND WITHIN THE CURRENT CONSTRAINS FOUND THAT THE SANTA ISABEL VALLEY PRODUCES 86% OF ALL VEGETABLE PRODUCTION IN PR, SECOND MUNICIPALITY WITH HIGHEST FARM GROSS INCOME PRODUCT. PUERTO RICO ACCORDING TO THE FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS (FAO) IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE FOOD SAFETY (0.26 CUERDA PER HABITANT) PUERTO RICO WOULD NEED 1.1. MILLION HARVESTED CUERDAS IN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION TO ACHIEVE FOOD SAFETY. ACCORDING TO THE 2017 CENSUS ONLY 487,775 CUERDAS ARE IN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION. (NOTICEL, FEB 14,2012)WHILE A TYPICAL FIELD OPERATION REQUIRES YEARLY FROM 40 TO 50 ACRES OF LAND AND 3 TO 4 WEEKLY CROP PROTECTION APPLICATIONS FOR PEST CONTROL, GREENHOUSE CULTIVATION ONLY NEEDS A FRACTION OF THE SPACE OF LAND AND REDUCES PEST CONTROL ASPERSIONS BY 80 PERCENT. AT THE SAME TIME, THE AUTOMATED IRRIGATION SYSTEM UTILIZED BY THESE GREENHOUSES ALLOWS FOR A MORE EFFICIENT USE OF WATER BY PROVIDING JUST THE RIGHT AMOUNT NEEDED, THUS ELIMINATING WASTE. IN ADDITION, THE BENEFITS OF GREENHOUSE TECHNOLOGY RESULTS IN FOR EVERY KILOGRAM GROWN CONVENTIONALLY, 8-10 KILOGRAMS ARE GROWN IN A GREENHOUSE.; WATER USE PER KG GROWN IS SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED; THERE IS NO SOIL POLLUTION; WATER USED AT A GREENHOUSE IS DISINFECTED AND TREATED, IN ORDER TO BE REUSED AT THE CROP AND SERVICES; THE POTENTIAL YIELD OF 1 GREENHOUSE HECTARE IS 700 PERCENT GREATER COMPARED TO CONVENTIONAL FARMING.( HTTPS://WWW.CROPSCIENCE.BAYER.US/OUR-COMMITMENT/GROW-ON)