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Growth & Jobs | Small businesses to feature at Denbigh 68

Published:Tuesday | July 26, 2022 | 12:07 AM
Members of the Clarendon Associaiton of Branch Societies of the Jamaica Agricultural Society were busy sprucing up their parish pavilion on Thursday when The Gleaner visited the Denbigh showground in May Pen, Clarendon, where the annual Denbigh Agricultura
Christopher Serju
Members of the Clarendon Associaiton of Branch Societies of the Jamaica Agricultural Society were busy sprucing up their parish pavilion on Thursday when The Gleaner visited the Denbigh showground in May Pen, Clarendon, where the annual Denbigh Agricultural, Industrial and Food Show returns from July 30-August 1, after a two-year absence.

A SMALL business village will be one of the new additions to this year’s staging of the Denbigh Agricultural, Industrial and Food Show in Clarendon, slated for July 30 to August 1.

The highly anticipated show, back after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is being used as a platform to drive the growth of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) as the country eyes a recovery from the pandemic.

“It’s a major change in the show this year,” president of the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS), Lenworth Fulton, told JIS News. “We are using this as a push for new businesses,especially those that are agriculturally related. We want to give these businesses an opportunity to meet thousands of people and advertise their products.”

The 68th staging of the show will take place at its usual home, the Denbigh Showground, and the small business village will be set up where the ‘Market House’ was located in previous years.

Fulton said two new businesses from each parish will use the village to set up booths throughout the three-day show.

“For the most part, these new business owners are women and youth, so we wanted to include something that would capture [them] in their innovativeness,” he said.

In addition to the small business village, patrons can expect an exciting line-up of activities for the show, beginning with a ‘Youth in Agriculture Day’ on Saturday, July 30. The National Farm Queen coronation will take place at 6 p.m. on the same day, also dubbed the ‘Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries’ Day.’

On Sunday, July 31, the ‘Governor-General’s Day’, a Hi-Pro Denbigh Gospel Extravaganza will take place at 6 p.m., and for the ‘Prime Minister’s Day’, on Monday, August 1, a Denbigh ‘Reggaefest’ will close out this year’s show.

‘Denbigh 68’ will be held under the theme ‘Grow Smart, Eat Smart’. The island’s premiere agricultural event is organised by the JAS, in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), and the Jamaica 4H Clubs.

Gates will open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Admission is $1,200 for adults and $600 for children. Tickets will be available at the gate.