St. Mary Agri Expo Kicks Off With Farm Queen Competition

The 19th annual St. Mary Agricultural and Industrial Exposition will get underway on March 28, with the Miss St. Mary Farm Queen coronation show.
The event, which will be held at the Couples San Souci Hotel, will be preceded by a media launch. The agricultural show is slated for April 16 to 17 at James Bond Beach in Oracabessa and will have as its theme: ‘Agriculture and Tourism – The Partnership Continues’.
Hosted by the St. Mary branch of the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS), in association with the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), the event will showcase the best of agricultural production in the parish including crops, livestock and horticulture. It will also provide growers with the opportunity to interface with suppliers of agricultural inputs, agricultural scientists, traders of produce and financial agencies.
Lavonn Murdock, Parish Manager for the St. Mary JAS and the chief organizer of the show, told JIS News that planning for the event was progressing smoothly.She informed that the organizers have been successful in securing the partnership of the Tourism Development Company (TPDCo), which has endorsed the event as a tourism product.
TPDCo will be encouraging hotels to exhibit their products and services at the event, to participate in cook-off and drink mixing competitions, and to encourage their guests to attend the show.
Miss Murdock said it was the intention of the organizers to make this year’s agri-expo the best ever, through the introduction of innovative attractions, live demonstrations and educational and thought-provoking exhibits.
Proceeds from the event will be used to purchase modern machinery and equipment for the parish office; to fund training seminars, field days and demonstration plots; and to promote income-generating projects among farming groups.