LLANDILO, Westmoreland — A poor turnout of farmers and patronsmarked Westmoreland Chapter of Jamaica Agricultural Society’s (JAS) first show, which was held at the Llandilo Cultural Centre last Sunday.

“We had some setbacks in the promotions and the representation was inadequate,” lamented a disappointed Owen Dobson, the JAS president for Westmoreland.

He believes next year’s show will be better.

“We will have a better show next year with the help of RADA and 4H,” he said.

A date change may be in order for next year’s staging as Dobson has concluded that the current date is too close to the annual Denbigh agricultural show.

But despite the low turnout at the Westmoreland show, Minister of Agriculture, Roger Clarke urged the few farmers present to choose the right crop and follow correct procedures if they want to survive in the face of increasing global competition.

“There’s no way we are going to lock down our market because of international competition,” he reassured the farmers.

Citing the serious threat to the island’s sugar and banana sectors of the industry, he stressed the need for efficiency in production.

“If we are going to continue with these crops we have to be more efficient in our production,” he said.

The need for long-term farming was also high on the minister’s list of concerns.

Jamaican farmers, Clarke said, are not interested in long-term crops like fruits but there is a ready market out there for it.

And he repeated a familiar refrain — the need to get the youth involved in the industry.

“In order to have a meaningful change in the agricultural industry, we need to find a way to bring more young people in it,” the agriculture minister said, adding that all farmers need to understand the modern technology that can help them become more efficient.

According to the minister, youth fresh from tertiary institutions were being targetted to access lands for farming and his ministry will work with them to ensure that they succeed. He added that lands have already been identified in St Thomas and the project will be expanded across the country.