Denbigh 69 beckons August 5-7
Published:Friday | August 4, 2023 | 12:08 AM
THE COMBINED effect of the drought which started last year and continued into this year, is expected to impact food and livestock production, but title sponsor, Hi-Pro is confident that this year’s 69th staging of the Denbigh Agricultural, Industrial and Food Show will be well worth making the journey to the Denbigh Showground in May Pen, Clarendon, to see the best of Jamaica’s agricultural output.
The three-day event will start on Saturday, August 5 and run until Monday, August 7, with gates opening at 8 a.m. each day. Tickets are $1,500 for adults and $600 for children.
Vice President of Hi-Pro Colonel (retired) Jaimie Ogilvie told the recent launch at the Hi-Pro Supercentre in White Marl, St Catherine, that the agricultural sector is a bellwether for the economy.
“When the agricultural sector grows, GDP (gross domestic production) grows. I think that if you take that to heart and continue to invest in it, certainly Jamaica will continue to grow from strength to strength,” he declared.
According to Colonel Ogilvie, Government has been living up to its mandate of creating and facilitating an environment for growth and investment and this has been paying dividends in respect of projects in the pipeline which are set to come on stream. This includes the expansion of the national irrigation network and emerging private/public sector partnerships. However, he said there was much more that could be done to achieve food independence.
“I think there are still opportunities, especially in post-harvest facilities, both storage and agro-processing, market access, enhancement of the extension services and also ensuring that we leverage the involvement of youth to bring their very natural affinity for the use of technology to drive advancements in the sector,” he charged.
The Hi-Pro executive pointed to the small ruminants sector, orchard crops, spices, processed foods and vegetables as areas that present huge opportunities for investments.
“We have seen coming out of COVID-19 that ‘parson christen him pickney fuss’ and if we are not producing what we need to sustain our needs here, then we always will be held to ransom by external forces and actors. There is a great opportunity for us to push this theme of food independence to make sure that we provide our population with access to good, affordable, healthy, quality food stuff. That’s a call not just to those in the sector, but to those on the outside, to come in and invest, and when you come to Denbigh you are going to see and have an appreciation for the capacity, the scope and the opportunities that are there for us.”
Colonel Ogilvie pointed out that even though Jamaica’s annual food import bill is still in the region of about a billion United States dollars, there are developments emerging that seem to signal that things on the agricultural investment landscape was changing for the better. These include, for agriculture, more crop insurance packages and affordable financing through various partners and stakeholders.
“These didn’t exist 10 years ago and we need more of it,” he urged.
The Denbigh Agricultural, Industrial and Food Show is staged by the Jamaica Agricultural Society in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining.