Ready To go - Hague show organisers assured of government support

‘We ought to think out of the box,’ says Gager

BY HORACE HINES Observer West reporter

Thursday, February 02, 2012

COOPERS PEN, Trelawny - ORGANISERS of the 58th Hague Agricultural and Livestock Show in Trelawny set for Ash Wednesday (February 22nd) have been assured that the new government will honour a financial pledge made by the previous administration to support the farm show.

"I want to say this government is committed to your show and the farmers of Trelawny," Ian Hayles, junior minister for agriculture and fisheries, told organisers during a launch ceremony at Breezes Trelawny on Monday.

"I would also want to say that the commitment... which the government had made before in terms of helping your show... is alive and well," he said.

Under the former Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) regime the agriculture and fisheries ministry committed a minimum of $500,000 to each of the five agricultural parish shows held annually across the island. This was in addition to the $5 million that the ministry said at the time it would continue to provide annually for the staging of the Denbigh Agricultural, Livestock and Industrial Show in Clarendon.

Last year the Agriculture and Fisheries Ministry and the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS) reached an agreement regarding the restructuring of agricultural shows to make them more "beneficial" to the island's farmers.

The agreement was cemented after the then Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Dr Christopher Tufton who was to officially declare open the 57th staging of the Hague Agricultural and Livestock Show lamented that the event did not reflect the outstanding efforts of the farming community. He claimed that the event was poorly organised.

During Monday's official launch, Hayles charged the organisers to put on a great show this year.

"I would like to ensure that this year we do everything to promote the farmers of this country, to promote this sector, and also most importantly that we do one of the best shows... going forward. It is a must!" Hayles said.

Mayor of Falmouth Colin Gager said the farm show organisers should take a 'page' from the 'book' of the organisers of the recently held Jamaica Jazz & Blues Festival which played host to bumper crowds during the staging of the three-night event, held at Florence Hall in Trelawny.

"We ought to think out of the box. We have just-concluded our [Jamaica] Jazz & Blues Festival that was very, very successful in spite of the hitches with traffic and so forth. It was one of the best shows we have ever seen. We will have to make sure that we pattern off that show to make sure the show ground is filled to capacity with our people," Gager said.

The 2012 Hague show will carry the theme: "Research Development and Marketing for Sustainable Rural Agriculture."