Sustainable Food Production

Areas covered will include the following:

• Crop specifications: cultivars selection, soil, site and rotation, sowing/planting, propagation,  irrigation, cultivation, nutrition, weed, pest and disease control including SUD/IPM,  harvesting and grading of a range of crops: salad crops, scallions, lettuce and celery, rhubarbs, asparagus, courgettes and sweetcorn, leeks, peas and beans, beetroot, radish and spinach, blueberries, blackberries and currants and a range of herb crops both culinary and medicinal.
• Quality issues: implications of the Nitrates Directive, FSAI regulations, Bord Bia QA scheme, Origin  Green, Pesticide Control/Registration will be addressed.
• Organic  requirements: the different requirements of pest and disease management, soil fertility management in organic and conventional systems. Organic conversion: time periods, and preparation of application form, regulation of organic production, grading and marketing of produce will be outlined.

PRIOR QUALIFICATIONS

Students will be required to have formal horticultural education prior to admission.  Evidence of such qualifications will be assessed by SETU Waterford prior to admission. The following table gives a list of horticultural qualifications to gain entry to these awards. Students presenting with suitable qualifications examined in English will be deemed to have demonstrated proficiency in English. 

Title: FETAC Award in Horticulture 5M2586 and level 6 award 6M4334

Duration: 2 years

Programme: Any recognised FETAC provider of horticultural programme

Title: Teagasc – Certificate in Horticulture

Duration: 1 year full-time programme

Programme: Students must have attended a Teagasc Horticultural College – Kildalton College, Warrenstown or National Botanic Gardens. This original Certificate in Horticulture programme was more extensive than the current FETAC Award in horticulture 5M2586.

Title: Teagasc – Advanced Certificate in Hortitculture

Duration: An add on year to the Certificate in Horticulture

Programme: Students must have attended a Teagasc Horticultural College – Kildalton College, Warrenstown or National Botanic Gardens. 6.

Title: ACOT/Teagasc/FETAC Diploma in Horticulture

Duration: 3 year programme

Programme: Students must have attended an ACOT or Teagasc Horticultural programme

Title: Dept of Agriculture/ACOT Senior Certificate in Horticulture

Duration: 2 years

Programme: Department of Agriculture / ACOT Horticulture programme

Other horticultural qualifications, which meet or exceed the above standards e.g. the BSc. in Horticulture will be accepted and others such as those from Greenmount College NI or other UK, European Horticultural colleges, or foreign institutions will be considered and evaluated by SETU Waterford as to their appropriateness.

Progression, Employment, Transfer of Certificate Graduates

Students who subsequently choose to apply and enter into Year 1 of the BSc in Horticulture will receive exemptions for modules they have successfully passed at the appropriate year. 

Students who wish to enter the BSc in Horticulture as transfer students into either Year 2 or Year 3 must meet the entry requirements as set out in the existing established transfer mechanism. Exemptions for modules students have successfully completed will be granted. Students wishing to transfer into Year 3, an award year, will be advised as to the appropriateness of accepting a record of educational achievement rather than a certificate.

These minor awards offer structured continuous professional development opportunities to those already working in the industry.

The Certificate in Sustainable Food Production offers structured continuous professional development opportunities to those already working in the horticulture industry.  This level 7 certificate will allow quicker progression to supervisory or managerial roles and will also allow candidates to diversify and update their horticulture knowledge.