The Portland 4-H Clubs, on Wednesday (April 5), brought the curtains down on a season of islandwide parish achievement expos, with a buzzworthy execution.
The event was held at the College of Agriculture, Science and Education (CASE) and featured all the exciting competitions for which the local 4-H clubs are known, in addition to displays, samples and interactive activities by some 24 sponsors/exhibitors. To embrace the theme, ‘Grow Smart, Eat Smart:
Youth Responding to Food Security’, there were also demonstrations on technology in agriculture with sprayer and surveillance drones, containerised farming, and aquaponics and hydroponics.
Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr., was on location and toured the expo grounds, accompanied by stakeholders from the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) and the leadership of the Jamaica 4-H Clubs, among other interests.
In his address, Minister Charles congratulated the Portland 4-H Clubs and, by extension, the national body, for being “dedicated to advancing the ‘Grow Smart, Eat Smart’ campaign”, noting that this is “what we need in Jamaica”.
He further highlighted the mammoth efforts of teachers and parents in guiding Jamaica’s youth to greatness.
“Today is about your (youth) achievements. But you are achieving because you have persons who are looking out for you, mentoring you, guiding you, teaching you. So, your teachers, parents [and] those who are helping you are very important,” Mr. Charles stated.
For his part, Portland 4-H Clubs Parish Manager, Alain Cox, told JIS News that the day was a success because of the incredible work behind the scenes by his team.
“What you saw… is the product of all the discussions [and] all of the ups and downs. We tried our best to showcase what agriculture is looking like now, versus the past. We showcased many things to let persons know that there is no excuse for not planting,” Mr. Cox said.
He pointed out that among the Jamaica 4-H Clubs roles is to “change the face of agriculture” by engaging and encouraging young people in the field.
Meanwhile, Mr. Cox thanked the local stakeholders contributing to the Portland 4-H Clubs’ hosting the grand finale of the achievement day expos, noting that “we ended with a bang”.
“This was a success because of the input of our leaders, clubbites, voluntary arms and the support from the Jamaica 4-H Clubs,” the Parish Manager added.
The Parish Achievement Expo is an annual event on the local 4-H Clubs calendar and is held within different parishes to showcase and award outstanding club members.
The activities are a buildup to the National Expo, slated for May 12 at the Denbigh Showground in Clarendon.
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