St. Mary Agricultural Expo to be Held April 8-9

The annual St. Mary agricultural expo is currently being re-organized to create a wider public appeal and to ensure greater success in promoting agricultural development in the parish.
The show, which is being organized by the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS), will be held on April 8 and 9 at the Annotto Bay Sports Club in Annotto Bay, St. Mary.
In contrast to former years, planning for the event is being carried out by a special committee appointed by JAS President, Senator Norman Grant. It is co-chaired by St. Mary hotelier, Jeff McKitty and Pat Rose, Chairman of the JAS Commercial and Projects Committee.
In an interview with JIS News, Senator Grant said the move to re-organize the expo was part of a strategic decision taken by the JAS to reposition its parish agricultural shows to have a greater impact on rural development and better enable them to create stronger linkages among agriculture, tourism, the manufacturing sector and the export trade.
He explained that a part of the new strategy was to ensure that an agricultural show is held in every parish each year.
Senator Grant said that the St. Mary agricultural expo was being specially organized to reflect the JAS theme: ‘Eat what we grow, grow what we eat’.
He suggested that the organizers of the show should consider establishing an Agriculture Hall of Fame in Port Maria to highlight the lives of persons who have made significant contributions to the development of agriculture in St. Mary.
Mr. McKitty told JIS News that members of the Organizing Committee were working assiduously to make the show a successful event.
He explained that the decision to relocate the event to the grounds of the Annotto Bay Sports Club from the James Bond Beach in Oracabessa, the venue for the past few years, was carefully taken to enable maximum public participation.