The National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago Limited (NGC) has announced the 2023 Honouree of its Above and Beyond Programme – Alpha Sennon, the founder of the Siparia- based NGO, WHYFarm. Alpha Sennon is an agricultural entrepreneur working toward changing the optics and narratives around farming, in support of local and global food security goals.
WHYFarm, which means ‘We Help Youth Farm’ is an organisation focused on tackling food and nutrition insecurity, the aging farmer population, and declining interest in agriculture, by using innovative edutainment to engage and educate young people around sustainable food production and agribusiness.
When announcing the 2023 honouree for NGC Above and Beyond programme, NGC President, Mark Loquan, noted “Alpha Sennon is a visionary who is doing great work to showcase agriculture as a viable, respectable profession, with room for innovation, entrepreneurship and profitability. His goal is to teach young people about the importance of sustainable farming and inspire the kind of passion that would attract more people to the business of agriculture. NGC is heavily invested in sustainability, with a focus on food security, and there is close alignment with Alpha’s work and NGC’s work. We appreciate the progress that Alpha and WHYFarm have been making in rebranding and repackaging agriculture to appeal to the next generation and for this reason he deserves to be spotlighted.”
NGC’s Mark Loquan and Alpha Sennon, founder of WHYFarm
Over the coming months, NGC will be working with Alpha and WHYFarm on two initiatives in the first instance, under the Above and Beyond programme. The company will support a nationwide school tour to take Alpha’s innovative educational comic ‘AGRIMAN’ and the message of sustainable agriculture to primary school students across the country. NGC will also partner with Alpha to develop the ‘Agrikoolture’ online e-learning platform, which will feature digital resources and activitiesthat will support independent learning and engagement among children.
The goal of this campaign is to draw more young persons to professions in farming and agriculture.