Two years was too long a wait and patrons and vendors at Agrofest 2022 could not hide their joy at being back for the show.
On Saturday several vendors told Barbados TODAY that though sales were moderate, the crowd was supportive in spite of tough financial times.
Farmer Manfred Jordan, who was busy dispatching a customer when the Barbados TODAY team caught up with him, expressed his joy about being back in business.
“I’m happy to be here again after all the ups and downs and so but instead of biting my teeth I am here collecting money again. It’s too sweet,” he said.
Basket Handler’s Levi Holmes from Region One Marouca in Guyana, is a familiar face at Agrofest.
“I thank God for the Prime Minister of Barbados for bringing back Agrofest but bringing back Guyanese as well,” he said.
Holmes said that he saw an increase in traffic even within times of COVID-19 restrictions and he said that sales were “good”.
“From this morning to now I see a lot of sales, it is a little different but my hope is to see a lot more people and to have a lot more sales,” he said.
Owner of two-year-old company Khayr Organics, Earlecia Hieronymo said she’s grateful to get a bite of the pie while visiting the island.
“I am very pleased to be able to experience Barbados’ market to see what they have to offer to us and what we can offer to them. I love that the people in Barbados are health conscious and that they see the value of organic products,” she said.
Heironymo said that she’s looking forward to Agrofest 2023 already.
Sandra Craig who is the owner of SS Natural Fruit Flavored Inc., which is a company built on selling fruit-based barbecues, shared that her first time at Agrofest was well worth it.
“It’s going really great. I am actually sold out but I kept back items just for customers on Sunday. I encourage anyone to come down to Agrofest. There are things here that they have not seen before,” she said.
A self-proclaimed lover of Agrofest, farmer Michael Mayers, said he was pleasantly surprised with what Agrofest had to offer.
“I haven’t seen this kind of thing for a while. It feels really good. You get to see the animals and the craft too sweet. What is going on is [awesome] this is great,” he said.
Agrofest comes to a climax on Sunday, May 29th under the theme “Greening Together Ah Caribbean Ting” (MR)
