4-H Movement will Work with New Agriculture Minister – Chairman

Chairman of the Jamaica 4-H Clubs, Norman Grant, has said that the Movement was committed to working with the new Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Christopher Tufton, to advance the 4-H Movement and Youth in Agriculture thrust. “I would like to indicate that the 4-H Movement continues to impact, in a positive way, on the development of our young people,” the Chairman said. He was speaking at the launch of the St. James 4-H food festival, ‘Nyammins and Jammins’, set to take place on National Heroes Day, Monday, October 15, 2007. The launching was held at the Gloucestershire Hotel in Montego Bay on September 13. The festival will be staged at its regular venue, the Catherine Hall Entertainment Centre in Montego Bay, under a sponsor, Tropicana Fruit Drink, so the event has been renamed, the ‘Tropicana Nyammins and Jammins Food Festival’. Mr. Grant highlighted the work of the 4-H Movement over the last seven years, its financial investment in youth development, and its growth.
He pointed to the funding of bursaries at the national level by the 4-H Movement over the years, as one of the ways by which the organization has impacted the lives of a number of young people.
“Over the last seven years, the Jamaica 4-H Clubs have funded at least 10 bursaries per annum.totaling approximately $3.5 million, for young people who need some assistance to develop themselves, and particularly to young people in the field of agriculture,” Mr. Grant said. He pointed out that the 4-H Movement has grown over the last seven years, moving from an active membership of approximately 18,000 clubbites and 600 volunteers and leaders in 2000, to approximately 67,000 young clubbites and 2,500 volunteers and leaders to date.
Mr. Grant said that in a collaborative partnership between the Government and the Movement over the seven year period, approximately $1 billion has been invested in the development of young people.
The food festival remains the St. James 4-H Advisory Council’s main fund-raising event for the year, with proceeds from the event going towards the training and education of 4-H members throughout the parish. Along with the many training sessions that were organized for its clubbites throughout the year, the St. James 4-H Advisory Council has announced that it has established a $500,000 scholarship Trust Fund out of proceeds from the 2006 event.