According to Wendel “Bull Bull” Stewart, more than 2000 farmers will take part in this year’s Hague Agricultural Show. If the number seems a bit high, Stewart was alluding to both direct and indirect involvement.
He was speaking at a JIS ‘Think Tank’, in Montego Bay.
From The JIS
President of the Trelawny Branch Societies of the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS), Wendell Stewart, says over 2,000 farmers from the parish will be involved in the Hague Agricultural and Livestock Show, to be staged at the Hague show grounds, on Ash Wednesday, February 10.
Speaking during a JIS ‘Think Tank’, in Montego Bay, on February 2, Mr. Stewart said some farmers will be sending their products to the event, while others will be on location manning the exhibits and participating in the day’s activities.
The show is being staged at a cost of just under $4 million, for which Hi Pro Feeds is the major sponsor.
Mr. Stewart pointed out that yams, the “pride of Trelawny,” will be given special attention this year, with farmers in the Ulster Spring community leading the charge.
“We will be having a yam village and the Ulster Spring groups will be displaying yams and the by-products – wines, pizza, cakes and flour. In all the villages, you will have every wine you can think of, made from the fruits in Jamaica,” he said.
Mr. Stewart said that cattle and small ruminant farmers will not be left out. “We have 200 heads of animals …from cattle to goats to sheep. We will also be having a display of rabbits and exotic birds, chicken and several breeds of goats and by-products, such as goat milk, goat cheese and soup,” he added.
The President expressed satisfaction with the interest being shown by the youth in the parish to get involved in the agricultural sector.
Mr. Stewart said efforts are being made to establish at least one agro-park in Trelawny, where a number of youth can be engaged in farming in a sustained manner.
The show is being staged by the Trelawny Branch Societies of the JAS under the theme: ‘Youth Involvement in Agriculture – the Response to Sustainable Growth and Development’.
