Rio, February 12, 2004 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - The Rio de Janeiro Municipal Secretariat of Labor and Income is awarding diplomas today to the first graduating class of the Agroecology course, established to provide technical training in the area of family farming to residents of communities in the West Zone. The graduation exercises will be held at the Campo Grande United Educational Foundation at 2 P.M.

The course is part of a professional training program developed by the municipal government with resources from the Workers' Assistance Fund (FAT). For three months the 71 students learned how to cultivate community gardens, use production systems that don't require agrotoxins, and take care of nutritional needs, marketing, the cultivation of medicinal plants, and the planning of production, among other techniques.

This information appeared today in the Official Daily Municipal Newspaper. (DAS)