Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Floyd Green, says the display at the 69th staging of the Denbigh Agricultural, Industrial and Food Show in Clarendon is a stark representation of the resilience of the country’s farmers and the agriculture sector.
Green was speaking to journalists during a tour of the parish pavilions on Saturday – day one of the 3-day event.
“Denbigh is excellent. It is exceptional. I already think that this is one of the best Denbighs [because] with the extended drought since November of last year, the fact that [the farmers] were able to come out in this way, and show up in such a huge fashion, is a true testament of how resilient our farmers are, and how resilient the agricultural sector is,” said Green.
He continued: “This really is a tough time, but you couldn’t tell, because the energy is here, the excitement is here, the produce is here, and I really just want to thank our farmers for continuing to do what they do, continuing to go out and keep our agricultural sector alive.”
He said though production has dwindled due to the drought, farmers were able to stay afloat through support provided by the Ministry, and the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA,) in the forms of a drought recovery strategy, and a flood recovery programme.