JN set to 'Express' at Denbigh Show
Published:Saturday | July 30, 2011 | 12:00 AM
Christopher Serju, Gleaner Writer
DENBIGH, Clarendon:
JAMAICA NATIONAL Building Society's (JNBS) self-serve facility, JN Express, will be the focus of the JN House pavilion at the 59th Denbigh Agricultural Show, which gets under way today.
This financial self-service kiosk allows JN members to conduct multilink withdrawal transactions, check their account balances, and collect funds from JN money transfers, using their JN money-transfer cards via ATMs.
Leon Mitchell, assistant general manager, marketing and promotions, JN Group, said patrons at the show, which will end on Monday, will also have direct access to JN's Internet banking portal LIVE by JN, and other alternative banking facilities such as ATMs and drop boxes, through the JN Express facility.
In addition, he said they will be able to get information about the group's savings, loans, investment, insurance and motor vehicle-related products and services.
"Patrons at Denbigh will be able to register to use LIVE by JN on the spot, as we introduce them to the convenience of banking online," he explained. He added that the online portal facilitates payments for credit-card bills, utilities and non-utilities, loan repayments, third-party transfers, and the checking of account balances."
Tech offerings huge
Meanwhile, given the subtheme 'Opportunity and Technology-Driven, Denbigh 2011' and the promise from title sponsors Jamaica Broilers Group, Digicel and the JNBS, it is likely that the technological offerings on show could overshadow agricultural produce at this weekend's show.
Hi-Pro Ace's Digilab computer programme, introduced to farmers last year, will form the centrepiece of the company's exhibition, while telecommunications giant Digicel will be using the show to launch its 'Help A Child, Recycle Your Unwanted Phone' campaign, and the building society and its subsidiaries taking the opportunity to highlight various farming equipment.
"We at Jamaica National and our subsidiaries in the JN Group welcome this theme, as it confirms the critical role that technology plays in our daily lives, and the need to embrace new technologies, at all levels, in the agrarian sector, so as to improve food security, quality and distribution," said Joy Bennett, senior sponsorship and events strategist, at the official Denbigh launch at Ace Supercentre in White Marl, St Catherine, last week.
Partnering with Kingston Industrial Agencies (KIA) Limited and Conserve IT Limited, JNBS and its subsidiaries will highlight various farming equipment which farmers can use to enhance production.
Farmers' interest
Hand-held and small farming tools will be displayed at the JN House pavilion, with KIA Limited displaying farming equipment, including hand-held land-preparation devices such as 'walk-behind tractors', which should interest farmers who work in hilly terrain that is inaccessible to larger ploughing equipment.
In addition, the company will showcase multipurpose water and engine pumps with attachments that can be used in irrigation schemes and various standby power generators, and there will be demonstrations of a manual compost tumbler, used to turn household and other organic waste into compost.
The Digilab is a tool used to detect pests and diseases in plants and crops in the field, using a microphone and laptop.