Denbigh still relevant to farmers, says Harris
Published:Monday | August 16, 2010 | 12:00 AM
Philip Hamilton, Gleaner Writer
Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS) President Glendon Harris has defended the relevance of the annual Denbigh Agricultural and Industrial Show to local farmers.
Harris, speaking last Friday at a Gleaner Editors' Forum held in collaboration with the JAS, was responding to recent calls for the postponement of this year's show which he said was an attempt to restrict farmers and other producers from exhibiting their products.
The JAS president said such comments were "inciting the deprivation of income" from several thousands of Jamaicans whose earnings depended on the staging on the Denbigh agricultural event.
"You are inciting the farmers of Jamaica that they don't deserve to be on any platform at all like how the JMA (Jamaica Manufacturers' Association) would have their trade show or the tourism sector which has its thing," said Harris.
Performing better
He said the 2008 Economic and Social Survey of Jamaica, published by the Planning Institute of Jamaica, indicated that the predominantly agricultural parishes were performing much better than those that relied heavily on tourism for their main earnings.
Harris argued that agriculture was not a poverty-stricken dead end, as many believe, but was a viable income generator.
He claims if interested persons used modern technology and scientific methods in agriculture, they could earn significant incomes compared to low-ranking jobs in the tourism sector.
"On that basis, the Denbigh Agricultural and Industrial Show has been relevant. It remains relevant and it is the platform that will continue to attract and expose persons in agriculture," said Harris.
JAS first vice-president, Senator Norman Grant, backed Harris' declarations on the Denbigh farm show.
"We had an excellent Denbigh. Many years ago, you'd have to write off Denbigh when it was pure mud. Right now, it's like a highway," Grant said.
See related story in Business Section.