Youth targeted for annual exhibition

Organizers of the annual Agrofest showcase are expecting that the event will attract a lot of younger people.

The agriculture exhibit kicked off today with hundreds of children from primary and secondary schools having the opportunity to sample the food and drinks, and take part in a number of activities on offer.

This year the event, which goes until Sunday at Queen’s Park in the City, has been aligned with the year-long We Gatherin celebrations, and has as its theme We Gatherin’ We Fruit.

Chief Executive Officer of the Barbados Agricultural Society James Paul said a lot of effort was placed on trying to appeal to a younger demographic as officials sought to get more young people interested in the agriculture sector.

“We have certainly now enhanced the participation of the young people in agriculture generally, and that will be shown by the participation of younger people in the shows as we go on. You will see this weekend we have made an impact,” he said.

A fashion show component has been added to the event this year, which Paul is expecting to be a big hit.

“We are hoping to actually increase what we are doing in terms of showcasing what our local designers can do,” he said.

About 249 exhibitors are expected for the three-day showcase.

The highly anticipated cattle show and the black belly sheep show are expected to draw the usual large crowds.

There will also be participants from Suriname, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago showcasing products from those countries.

Today, the little ones, accompanied by teachers and caregivers, had the entire exhibition to themselves, admiring the various animals and learning more about them, making purchases of fish and rabbits or simply learning more about the various crops grown locally.

They were also treated to a variety of local culinary items including fish cakes.

Paul told Barbados TODAY he was satisfied with the attendance on day one of the festival, adding that it was comparative to previous years.

“We relied a lot on social media. It has introduced us to a different clientele. We are trying to reach out to the younger generation more and we will see if we are successful in doing that,” he said, as he shared his expectations for the next two days.

He said he was pleased to see the continued support from the schools, noting the Agrofest was an important method of giving the young ones an opportunity to see what was happening across the island in the area of agriculture.