Tufton stresses importance of Eat Jamaican Day

Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Dr. Christopher Tufton, has reiterated that the campaign for consumers to support locally produced foods, is about keeping afloat a number of other economic activities in the local economy.
The Minister who was addressing the 7th staging of the Eat Jamaican Campaign, held Thursday (November 25), at the Denbigh Show Ground, Clarendon, stated that the campaign is to keep in the minds of Jamaicans the importance of the agricultural sector, and giving preference to local products.
He said that Eat Jamaican Day was not just about eating local produce, but is also an attempt to focus minds on the critical role that the farmers play.
“Agriculture, to a large extent, has kept rural life stable, because it is what creates the economic base which supports all the other activities that take place in rural communities. An understanding of that, amongst our consumers, will encourage us to focus greater attention, focus greater resources and expertise in ensuring that the activities of our farmers are given the support that is required,” he said.
“Economically, our farmers play a very important role in the economic sustenance of our country. In the interest of our farmers, in the interest of rural communities, start breaking down the information in this way, to demonstrate the importance of farmers through Jamaica,” he stated.
Eat Jamaican Day was launched in 2003 by the Ministry of Agriculture and the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS), to actively promote locally produced foods and help in providing farmers with a stable local market for their produce.