As Agrofest 2020 continues at Queens Park, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Barbados Agricultural Society (BAS) James Paul is proudly reporting that there is an increasing number of younger farmers bringing their livestock to the event.
Speaking with members of the media, following Governor General Dame Sandra Mason’s tour of the event, Paul said the fact that more young people are interested in becoming farmers, is testimony to the work BAS has been doing in schools as it relates to educating students about the agricultural sector and the career opportunities in it.
“We are seeing younger exhibitors, particularly in the livestock area, coming to Agrofest and this shows that the work we are doing in schools has been paying off. In terms of the animal breeds, we are seeing improvements year after year. As a matter of fact, based on the ongoing insemination programme I think that you can only see further improvements as we go on.
“We are trying to improve the genetics of the animals and by encouraging good breeding practices among the farmers themselves, it means therefore that what we are seeing is the actual condition of the animals improving. How you feed that animal and the care that you give to that animal as well is very important,” Paul said.
The Chief Executive Officer said there were 249 exhibitors at Agrofest this year, and noted that around the same number participated in the event in 2019. He said there was a noticeable decline in exhibitors in recent years because the Rural Development Commission has stopped its sponsorship programme for entrepreneurs.
“Since we have stopped sponsoring those exhibitors, those people are not coming. But we have been reaching out to them still because we want to show people that you can actually do things to get in on your own. But that is something that we continue to work on because a lot of those people are people who have the type of exhibits that we would encourage them to bring,” Paul said.
The Ministry of Health and Wellness and the National Task Force collaborated to host a booth, which has been a hit with patrons who have been showing keen interest in learning about how to maintain a healthy lifestyle through healthy eating and physical activity.
Chef Adrian Cumberbatch of Cook Caribbean is at the booth preparing healthy dishes using local foods and giving out samples to those who wanted to taste.
Health Promotion Officer in the Ministry, Donna Barker, said this year the focus was on showing Barbadians how they can use local fruits and vegetables to prepare healthy meals, instead of consuming unhealthy foods.
“We are trying to reduce the risk of NCDs [Non Communicable Diseases] in Barbados. As you would know, NCDs are one of the main causes of death and sickness in Barbados and therefore we are trying to reduce the risk of our population by encouraging persons to eat healthier, use more fruits and vegetables, avoid the harmful use of alcohol, avoid smoking, exercise, use less salt and sugars,” Barker said.
Barker explained that while Barbadians seem to be aware of the need to live a healthy lifestyle, some of them do not practice it because of busy schedules or are generally not doing what they know they should.
Agrofest, which started on Friday, is scheduled to end tomorrow. (AH)
