Shane McEntee TD, Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, has welcomed plans by UCC to develop an outreach third-level programme in Organic Horticultural Crop Production on an estate in West Cork.
The proposed MSc in Organic Horticultural Crop Production is expected to be accredited and supported by UCC through the School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, which was established in May, 2010. On a visit to the Liss Ard Estate in the Skibbereen area of West Cork where plans to develop a third level horticulture college are at an advanced stage, the Minister of State welcomed the proposed course as “a positive step towards providing the levels of expertise needed to develop the organic horticulture sector in Ireland to its full potential” the Minister said. “It will help to improve the knowledge base of the sector and to promote best practice. I want to commend community leaders in West Cork for the initiative they have shown in promoting this innovative development”.
“The proposed course is scheduled to commence in September, 2012. Initially, an annual intake of 15 students is envisaged,”
