President of the College of Agriculture, Science and Education (CASE) in Portland, Dr. Derrick Deslandes, has underscored the importance of the partnership in renewable energy and sustainable agriculture forged with the National Energy Skills Centre Technical Institute (NESC-TI) in Trinidad and Tobago through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

Similar sentiments have been expressed by NESC-TI Subject Matter Expert and Curriculum Lead, Adrian Dipchand.

The agreement, first signed on March 24, 2025 in Jamaica and on April 23, 2026 in Trinidad, establishes a collaborative partnership focused on Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), workforce development, and economic growth in both countries.

Areas of cooperation include facility design and development, faculty training and development, curriculum development and sharing, national manpower development, as well as quality assurance and improvement.

The agreement also outlines principles of collaboration such as mutual benefit, regular communication, joint activities, and institutional capacity-building. A Joint Steering Committee will oversee the implementation and coordination of activities.

Building on the partnership, a delegation of students and lecturers from NESC-TI visited the CASE campus earlier this month to tour and conduct research on the institution’s Agrivoltaic System.

The system integrates agricultural production with solar energy technology, allowing land to be used simultaneously for farming and photovoltaic (PV) solar energy generation.

Dr. Deslandes noted that the partnership represents a significant opportunity for regional collaboration and knowledge-sharing in sustainable agriculture and renewable energy.

“The partnership with NESC is really a technical one geared towards developing a relationship with our sister organisation in Trinidad to share technologies, to share ideas, to share progress. Essentially, the agrivoltaics represent cutting-edge in agriculture,” he said.

Dr. Deslandes further noted that Caribbean countries are increasingly embracing renewable energy solutions as part of efforts to reduce dependence on oil, and lower carbon emissions.

“We need to reduce our carbon footprint, we need to reduce our dependence on oil… and so, more and more of the Caribbean countries are moving towards solar,” he stated.

Dr. Deslandes pointed out that agrivoltaic systems offer an innovative solution to concerns about agricultural land being repurposed exclusively for solar farms.

“Agrivoltaics is a demonstration of the possibility that land that is used for solar doesn’t have to be lost to agriculture itself. It allows you to farm beneath the solar panels and so this represents, I think, a part of the way forward in terms of how the Caribbean moves together in terms of accessing solar power but at the same time not lose critical and important parts of land to the agriculture sector,” he said.

“So you’re dealing with energy security… [and] you’re dealing with food security,” Dr. Deslandes added.

Mr. Dipchand emphasised that the partnership holds significance, not only for Trinidad and Tobago but also for the broader Caribbean region.

“It is the start for the collaboration between institutions like CASE and NESC-TI in the development and the progression of renewable energy development over the years ahead,” he said, adding, “it is… essential for food security.”