The Barbados exhibition of the 1960s…
WHEN I was a secondary student in Barbados in the

1960s, every year I would attend what was called “The Exhibition”.
It was held every December in Queen’s Park on the outskirts of the capital Bridgetown. It was a sort of showcase of farmers’ products. I remember the big crowds.

There was, as well,  all sorts of animals like sheep, rabbits, pigs and so on, in pens on the grounds of the famous Spartan cricket ground (which lies within Queen’s Park).

The poultry and pigeon people had their special display area in another building.

At the time, there wasn’t much  for the fledging manufacturing sector to show their stuff. Furniture makers, for example, displayed their products (mainly wooden at the time) in a building which now houses the Queen’s

Park Art Gallery.

For the youngsters, there were the games. The standard rings over the coke bottles and the like. But there was also a sort of merry-go-round with single chairs hanging by long chains from the rim of a big wheel attached to the top of a steel pole which rotated. When the speed got up, the people in the chairs swung almost horizontally. It was really exciting.

I guess it was something like State Fairs in the USA, though we in the Caribbean didn’t have any big Ferris Wheels. Guyana had some of the fairs in main towns.

It was a social event, especially on Saturdays and Sundays. People dressed up and just walked around and enjoyed people’s company.

People came to see and be seen. To be honest, the main reason me and the fellows from school, tight pants and rolled up sleeves on shirts, ‘Brycleen’ and all that,  went was to try and chat up the girls.

For some reason, after  I left the island in early 1965, the exhibition closed. Six years ago, another Exhibition got going on the same spot. This was called Agro-Fest. Because there are now outlets such as the BMEX Show for manufacturers put on by the Barbados

Manufacturers group, and also the fact that the social tradition of “dressing up” on Christmas morning  in Queen’s Park continue to this day, Agro-Fest’s emphasis is on agriculture.

It is held in early March. It is organized by the Barbados Agriculture Society (BAS), an umbrella group for Barbados farmers.

It gets  assistance from the island’s Ministry of Agriculture. It has grown from year to year, both in terms of exhibits and attendance. This year, there were in excess of 200 exhibitors. Some 55,000 people attended (up from 50,000 last year).

One of the highlights is the competition for the best sheep (naturally, the Black Belly, a  Bajan breed),  cows and rabbits.

A total of 150 animals were entered in 15 classes, said Agriculture Minister Haynesley Benn at the Exhibition Awards  ceremony last weekend.

It has always been a pleasure for me to attend this Agro-Fest. The chickens and pigeons – maybe even the descendents of those I saw in the 1960s – are still in the same building.

All the games are gone now. And they don’t make that much old fashioned wooden furniture (from Bajan mahogany, in fact, cutting down of the trees can  be done only with special permission) any more.

There are many more  stalls selling food, toys and different things. A selection of small business people, like the Guyana-born Sawh family members who displayed and sold

their bottled honey products, were there.

And a unit within the  Ministry of Agriculture were selling saplings of breadfruit, cherry trees and mangoes. This was all very good and I bought three on another occasion.

From the very first, Guyana has participated with a booth from the Guyana Marketing Corporation (GMC), showcasing

our fruits and vegetables and processed items – some in cans.

General Manager of the New GMC, Mr. Nizam Hassan,  came on the first outing to get things started. Helping out at the booth, I call tell you I never once had a harsh word from Bajans.

They came looking for  what their Guyanese friends or relatives told them about, or they had used –things like cassava bread, shrimp   and curry powder.

They came looking for bargains.  They were surprised at the range of our products. Some importers took names and addresses of manufacturers and farmers.

They asked a lot of questions. By the late afternoon of the last day everything was sold-out, the samples having gone within a few hours of opening.

Over the years, I have listened very carefully to what the Barbadian Agriculture Minister(s) have been saying.

Barbados, with an increasing amount of agriculture land being taken out of production every year because of

housing and other development, must import most of its

fruits and vegetables.

In 2007, the figure was Bds$523,995,835 (about US$300 million).

The island measures twenty one miles by fourteen. In the 1960s, the island had several sugar factories producing 250,000 metric tonnes of sugar. Today, with two factories, the output is less then 50,000 tonnes. 

The Barbados government’s efforts to achieve food security  through increased  local food production is commendable. It is not in Guyana’s interests to undermine the  hard work of Bajan

farmers.

Guyana can assist by not only providing fruits and vegetables and agro-industrial products to complement the Barbados production.

It also assists in stabilising and hopefully reducing the island food import bill by the Bajan farmers hiring of Guyanese contract workers (those on work permits) to work on the farms. There are many.

Some Guyanese, who are eligible, actually lease land from Bajan land  owners and sell their produce both in the markets and to supermarkets and hotels.

The input of Guyanese imports and the Guyanese agricultural workforce assist the Barbados economy and serves to underscore the present Guyanese government’s willingness and initiatives   for us  to  be the “bread basket” of the Caribbean.

This is a way to help our neighbours.

In the process,  we are also deepening the ongoing progress in our agricultural sector, including in the seafood area.    

I was deeply honoured to be invited by the Agro-Fest organisers to attend this year’s opening ceremony and also to do what part I could with the Guyana booth.

Only through such co-operation, understanding and good will

among countries  can we as a regional grouping, CARICOM,working with our Latin American neighbours, get a handle on food security challenges so that all our people can benefit.

Walking away one night to my car, though a packed parking lot near to  a day’s closure, I realised the days of the old Exhibition of the 1960s were long gone.

Other avenues have opened up for the early participants. The agricultural focus of Agro-Fest, with its important technology necessary for a developing country, is a good one. As in Guyana, where we have our Grow More Food Festival, this commendable initiative by Bajans must be supported by all and I was glad to see several Guyanese nationals attending it.

(Norman Faria is Guyana’s Honorary Consul in Barbados.Responses to this article can be sent to: nfaria@caribsurf.com)

** Agrofest is Barbados’ premier National Agricultural Exhibition that was reintroduced by the Barbados Agricultural Society for the first time in over thirty years in January 2005.

** Theme for Agrofest 2010 – “Green To
day…Sustain Tomorrow”