Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** this manuscript presents an…

Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** this manuscript presents an effort led by the uprm. IT is an attempt to bring together all of puerto rico's meat and poultry industry (MPI) stakeholders to address common needs. After organizing the various groups (i.e., beef, pork, poultry, and small ruminants) into a single team, the puerto rico meat industry alliance (prmia), focuses shifts towards establishing an industry approved certification for its workforce with content defined by stakeholders. Then, resources from all of puerto rico's higher education institutionscurrently offering degrees in related fields (e.g., associate, bachelor or master's degrees in animal, veterinary, or food science) will work together to generate educational materials and offer the certification. Certification offering will take place through the uprm's division of continuing education and professional studies (decep) as this allows the opportunity to pull the best available resources in puerto rico. The developed certification willbe available to university students from participating institutions, MPI workers, and general public interested in pursuing careers in the MPI. To meet the 100-student participation requirement, participating institutions of higher education will establish a selection criteria and open enrollment to students from these institutions. By so doing, proponents assure to provide development opportunities to all interested students in puerto rico within and outside uprm. In the long run, this project should move puerto rico's MPI to the next level of performance and production; positively impacting puerto rico's food security as well as social and economic conditions of MPI participants.