Preparations are at an advanced stage to ensure the success of Agrofest 2022.
When a Barbados TODAY team visited Queen’s Park on Wednesday, stalls were being erected with chairman of the festival and Chief Executive Officer of the Barbados Agricultural Society (BAS) James Paul overlooking that process.
“We are proceeding now with the erection of the stalls and we should get through that within another two or three days. After that it is just a question of water, electricity to go in and of course we have to put in the covering for the animals when they come in,” he reported.
Paul said that by the end of the week most of the work should be completed adding that there were no major hiccups so far.
This year the bird show which is normally in the Queen’s Park Steel Shed will be relocated as the shed is a central testing facility for the operations of the COVID-19 Monitoring Unit.
Paul explained that if a bird show takes place it will be with limitations.
“It should be the same with the pigs, sheep, rabbits and goats. We are looking at a variety of goats and I hope the gentleman gets through so that the public can see this type of improvement in the breed of goats,” he said.
This year, R.L Seale will join the list of exhibitors for the first time showcasing an array of rums and spirits. The other new exhibitor is Frosteez Ice Cream.
Paul said that even with the restrictions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, special efforts will be made to cater to the children through the kids’ zone with the familiar rides.
“The only subtle difference will be the inclusion of the health protocols. We are making sure that with the stalls, the COVID-19 protocols are followed so we would have a safe Agrofest,” he said.
This year’s festival will be held over two days on May 28-29.
“This is because of where the schools are at the moment we could not have the level of coordination that is required to have the schools visit on Friday and I must apologize for that but better cannot be done,” he said.
He however encouraged parents and children who love Agrofest to come out.
“We don’t want agriculture to lose contact with the public. This is one time we have to bring our young people down to explore agriculture and the products that come from it. I want to encourage those parents to step up and bring those children down so they can see what we are doing in agriculture,” he added.
The older folks can still expect the Agrofest Gospel concert on Sunday as a climax to the festival. (MR)
