– At Denbigh Agricultural and Industrial Show in Clarendon, Jamaica

President Bharrat Jagdeo and Jamaica’s Prime Minister Bruce Golding tour the 57th Denbigh Agricultural and Industrial Show.

President Bharrat Jagdeo addressed the Denbigh Agricultural and Industrial Show in Clarendon, Jamaica Sunday, where he is on a five-day working visit, and reiterated that investments in agriculture must reflect its priority to the region as the Caribbean seeks to ensure the security of its food supply.

To this end, the President noted that allocations to the agricultural sector in national budgets need to be significant to reflect its emphasis.
“We will not realise the full potential of agriculture in this region until we change that perspective; until we situate agriculture in production and recognise that agriculture will be a very important part in our future,” the Head of State stressed.

Jagdeo urged his fellow CARICOM countries to support the agriculture sector as they have done with other sectors of their economies.

“If we can give a whole range of incentives to tourism and the financial sector, then surely we can do the same to the agricultural sector … so that farmers can get some support.”

“We need also to invest in infrastructure (and) research and development, that our budgets reflect our priorities…if this happens, it shows that we are committed not just by word, and then, most importantly, we must never see this as a short-term task, to return to the same old policies that we had before,” he said.

He warned that failure to do this can set back advances that have been made in the sector over the years.

President Jagdeo has been a passionate advocate for agriculture in the region, launching his initiative on agriculture (Strengthening Agriculture for Sustainable Development) and making an open offer to all CARICOM countries to take advantage of Guyana’s bountiful agricultural resources.

His initiative was endorsed by members of the agri-business sector, the forum of Ministers of Agriculture and the 2005 CARICOM Heads of Government conference.

The Denbigh Agricultural and Industrial Show has been held for the last 57 years and integrates several key stakeholders within the Jamaican agriculture sector and related industries to highlight the best of the country’s agriculture as well as its potential as a viable vehicle to enhance national development.

Through its collaborative emphasis, the Denbigh Agricultural and Industrial Show has been placed among the most prestigious exhibitions in the Caribbean, and caters to an audience of over 80,000 patrons throughout the traditional three day event. (GINA)