Mary Feldskov Bridge Into Agriculture Unique program for new entrants to agriculture ONTARIO GRAIN FARMER RURAL LIVING 32 The campus has a long history; formerly known as the Nova Scotia Agricultural College, founded in 1905, the campus became part of Dalhousie in 2012. Among the unique courses of study for Nova Scotians is its Bridge Into Agriculture program; started in 2022, Bridge Into Agriculture is a 22-week program hosted by the Extended Learning Department of the Dalhousie Faculty of Agriculture to help bridge the gap between African Nova Scotian communities and agriculture. Established in partnership with African Nova Scotian Affairs, the Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture, the Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture, and Dalhousie University Extended Learning, program participants engage in hands-on learning by planting and growing food in gardens and learning about topics such as soil health, plant nutrition, crop rotation, and pest control; farm tours and guest speakers expose learners to the many opportunities in the agriculture sector. AFRICAN NOVA SCOTIAN HERITAGE The African Community has a long history in Nova Scotia, stretching back over 400 years. The Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia and the African Nova Scotian Museum shares a timeline of African settlement in the province; in 1605, Mathieu daCosta, an Afro-French member of the Champlain expedition, was the first African known to visit what is now known as Canada. Waves of migrants, including those fleeing slavery after the British Empire abolished the practice in 1833, made their home in the province, establishing 52 historically Black communities, including Shelburne, Africville, and Cherry Brook. In the 1920s, Caribbean immigrants flocked to Cape Breton to work in coal mines and steel factories. Until 1961, more than half of all Black people in Canada lived in Nova Scotia, with the Province of Nova Scotia identifying Black Nova Scotians as a founding culture. At Dalhousie's Truro Campus, home to its Faculty of Agriculture, students engage in a wide range of agricultural learning, including business, economics, plant sciences, and aquaculture. Black Nova Scotian communities have been subjected to structural, systemic, and individual discrimination throughout their history; Matthew McRae, in The Story of Africville, highlights that in the mid-20th century, residents weren't afforded basic services that other Nova Scotians enjoyed, such as sanitation, clean water, or garbage disposal. Schools in Nova Scotia were legally segregated until 1954, and de facto segregation was enforced in many public settings. The inequality persists; in 2023, the African Nova Scotian Prosperity and Wellbeing Index indicated that Black Nova Scotians experienced higher rates of unemployment and poverty and lower after-tax income than non-visible minority residents. OPPORTUNITIES IN AGRICULTURE According to the Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture, the Nova Scotian agriculture sector experiences significant labour challenges, with 39 per cent of farm businesses reporting difficulty in finding locally qualified labour and 35 percent experiencing a shortage of experienced local workers. Photos courtesy of Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTQzODE4