Denbigh show will be back on July 30

Preparations are well under way for the 68th staging of the Denbigh Agricultural, Industrial and Food Show to be held from July 30-August 1, after a hiatus of two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Pearnel Charles Jr, in March gave the green light for the return of the show.

According to marketing officer for the main sponsor of the show, Hi-Pro, Denise Johnson-Anderson, there will be a lot of exciting new attractions on offer.

Johnson-Anderson was on hand to see some of the work being done at the company’s booth.

With food independence being of serious concern for countries such as Jamaica, whose annual food import bill tops US$1 billion, just about a fifth of the region’s overall import tab, she said this would definitely be an area of focus.

She said getting patrons, including housewives and farmers, to understand how the ripple effects from the geopolitical tensions of the Ukraine-Russia war will continue to impact our economy is important. For this reason, Denbigh 68 must, out of necessity, have an added flavour.

Meanwhile, president of the Jamaica Agricultural Society, Lenworth Fulton, said there would be enough time to put on a really good show at Denbigh.

“Timewise, we are not really late, but with the show not being held for two years, those buildings would have seen more deterioration in light of the fact that the restrictions on public gathering and movement would have made it difficult to carry out repairs and rehabilitation. So, that is mainly what we have to tackle now in earnest.”

He also added that some of the lessons learnt from coping with the COVID-19 pandemic and should inform policies on agriculture, going forward.