Premier Attends Agriculture Show in Jamaica

By: Teisha-Ann Pinnock

On the invitation of the Government of Jamaica, Premier, Hon. Juliana O’Connor-Connolly attended the 70th staging of the Denbigh Agricultural, Industrial and Food Show, held in Clarendon, Jamaica under the theme, “Building Back Through Resilience”. Premier O’Connor-Connolly’s participation in the show forms part of the Cayman Island Government’s efforts to build regional agriculture partnerships and share knowledge about the sector.

The Premier was joined by the Minister of Planning, Agriculture, Infrastructure, Transport and Development, Hon. Jay Ebanks; Minister of Customs, Border Control and Culture, Hon. Dwayne Seymour and Parliamentary Secretary, Hon. McKeeva Bush.

Ahead of the official tour of the show grounds, Premier O’Connor-Connolly was greeted by Prime Minister of Jamaica, Most Hon. Andrew Holness; Senator Dr Dana Morris-Dixon; Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Floyd Green and other senior government officials. The tour included stops at various booths including the Heart National Service Training Agency Trust’s aquaculture and hydroponics booth and Tourism Enhancement Fund’s tourism linkages centre.

Speaking at the ceremony, Premier O’Connor-Connolly said the Cayman delegation was delighted to be a part of the show, highlighting the historical, social, economic and religious ties between the two countries. “We put a team together to show our brothers and sisters here in Jamaica that you have a formidable friend in Cayman. Ms Lou said, we are small but we are tallawah and we have so much energy and synergy, and I’m so excited as a small farmer myself to see the effort. So, I want to come in and indeed congratulate every single one that came together to ensure that we can say to the Caribbean and indeed to the rest of the world that Beryl came, the unsolicited guest in Jamaican jurisdiction, and it wreaked havoc on the agriculture sector, but you’re on the rise Most Hon. Prime Minister.”

In his remarks, Prime Minister Andrew Holness thanked Premier O’Connor-Connolly and the Cayman Islands Government for their support in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl, noting the donation of relief supplies and laptop computers. At the same time, Minister Floyd Green, in bringing greetings, acknowledged Minister Ebanks as a friend and supporter of the Denbigh Agricultural Show.

The staging of this year’s show comes a month after Jamaica suffered damage, including agriculture losses, due to the passage of Hurricane Beryl in July.

In honouring their pledge to support regional neighbours most affected by Hurricane Beryl, the Cayman Islands Government, through its disaster management arm, Hazard Management Cayman Islands, delivered relief supplies valued at USD$50,000 to Jamaica on Monday.

The supplies, which included generators, chainsaws, tarpaulins and air mattresses were handed over by Hazard Management’s Mark Codling and Robert Tatum to representatives of Jamaica’s Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management: Deputy Director, Michelle Edwards; Logistics Officer, Bradford Lyons and Senior Director Preparedness and Emergency Operations, Sophia Mitchell.

The donation of relief supplies followed the presentation of forty laptop computers by the Premier to Senator Morris-Dixon at the Office of the Prime Minister.

While in Jamaica, the Cayman delegation attended Jamaica’s Independence Grand Gala, an event to celebrate that country’s 62 years of independence.