The Denbigh Show is the oldest, largest and most dynamic Agricultural Show in the English Speaking Caribbean and one of Jamaica’s most iconic events. It was held for the first time in 1952 and since then, has reminded us each year of what we have achieved in agriculture and its related sectors. The Denbigh Show has enjoyed success as the Caribbean’s premier agricultural event as it epitomizes wholesome family entertainment and attracts over 80,000 patrons to the event annually.

The 64th annual staging is scheduled for July 30 – August 1, 2016 on the Denbigh Showground, May Pen, Clarendon as we strive to showcase an optimal quality.

The Show has become a benchmark for showcasing agriculture and is a culmination of Parish Agricultural Shows island-wide. In essence, the Denbigh Show is the perfect platform for patrons and participants to become exposed to modern trends in agriculture and its related industries.

The schedule is as follows:

• Saturday, July 30th Minister of Agriculture & Fisheries’ Day Youth Day

National Farm Queen Farm Coronation

• Sunday, July 31st

Governor General’s Day

Denbigh Gospel Extravaganza

• Monday August 1st

Prime Minister’s Day

Digicel Night

The patrons will once again be given the opportunity to experience the Denbigh Village Concepts namely:

• Children and Family Village

• Health and Wellness Village

• Organic Village

• Youth in Agriculture Village

• Tourism Linkages Village

Children and Family Village

The Children and Family Hub for this year’s staging of the Denbigh Show will focus primarily on teaching children about agriculture in a fun way, through games, rides and agriculture based activities. Children, at a young age, are impressionable and it is an opportunity to sow the seeds of agriculture in their minds, while making it fun enough to capture and keep their attention. In this way, the future of agriculture can be protected.

Health & Wellness Village

One of the focuses of the Health and Wellness Hub is to provide healthcare services that are both educational and beneficial for the patrons’ wellbeing.

In recognizing the important elements of maintaining complete physical, mental, and social lifestyle the health and wellness circle becomes an integral aspect of the Denbigh Show to provide screening, essential tests and health checks to interested persons attending the event.

The Health and Wellness Hub will therefore give the Health and Wellness Provider the opportunity to:

• To strengthen business relations with existing clientele.

• To create awareness for the latest holistic and organic well-being products and services.

• To demonstrate products and services that will enhance one’s life leading towards a healthy and good living.

• To maximize the opportunity from a growing interest in health related products.

Organic Village

Since July 2012 the Jamaica Organic Agricultural Movement (JOAM) in partnership with the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS) has hosted an “Organic Village” at the Denbigh Agricultural, Industrial and Food Show. This year they will partner with the Jamaica Diaspora Agriculture Taskforce for this initiative.

Denbigh Symposium

The Denbigh Symposium is an annual event that was introduced in 2013 to increase awareness by stakeholders in the agri-food sector on critical issues affecting production, trade and marketing of agricultural and agri-based products. The event was renamed from the Global Trade Exchange to the Denbigh Symposium in 2014 to better enable stakeholders to identify their linkage to the Denbigh Agricultural, Industrial & Food Show. The specific objectives of the event are to:

• Enable discourse on key issues affecting agricultural production and producers, with an emphasis on small producers;

• Facilitate interaction between producers with resource persons; and

• Facilitate linkages between producers and key market segments.

• To aid participants in identifying more efficient ways to operate within the sector.

The sessions will take the form of workshops to include training, technical demonstrations and interactive presentations. The sessions will be daily from 11:30 a.m – 4:00 p.m.

The Denbigh SymposiumWorkshops

Day 1 – Grow More (at Less Cost)

• Intercropping

• Cover-crops

• Soil Health

• Mulching

• Water Retention

Day 2 – Make More (without spending more)

• The Market for Organic

• How to grow Organic Food

• Cash Crops

Crop Planning

•Agro-Processing

Day 3 – Get More Help

• Loan Programs

• Tool Sharing

• Seed Exchange

• Business Cards

• Resources

There will be refreshments, giveaways and raffles for the participants of the symposium. This could include farm tools.

There are seventeen (17) confirmed members of the Diaspora who will be in attendance. Their

confirmations will increase as planning and promotion progresses.

Youth in Agriculture Village

The Jamaica 4H Clubs and other partners and sponsors will once again host the Youth in Agriculture Village. The will be mounted over the three-day duration of the Show

This year it will be held under the theme: “My Dream: ‘Agripreneurship’”.

It will once again house its major players including:

1. College of Agriculture, Science & Education

2. HEART (Ebony Park)

3. NCU

4. Knox College

5. Church Teachers’ College

6. Council of Community Colleges of Jamaica

It is also expected that coming out of the event, additional scholarships will be on offer to first place winners who apply. Northern Caribbean University, Ebony Park and Knox are expected to also be offering scholarships at Associates and/or Bachelors’ levels.

The opening day of the Village (Youth in Agriculture Day) will as usual see youth over the ages of 10 years participating in competitive events in three Categories. New events this year will include Jingle Competition, Business Plan Competition, among others.

Tourism Linkage Village

The JAS will partner with the Jamaica Tourist Board and the Ministry of Tourism for this initiative. The Tourism Linkages Village is an integral facet of the Denbigh Show as it is intended to highlight and promote the importance of collaboration within the sectors to showcase our cuisine culture and to inform the public of its benefits to national development. The Tourism Linkage Village will become the hub of interrelated partnership between the tourism and agricultural sectors.

Competitions

The following competitions will be held during the Show and the winners presented at the official ceremony:

• National Farm Queen

• National Champion Farmer

• National Young Champion Farmer

• Youth in Agriculture Competition

• Rudolph Burke Competition (Parish Exhibit)

• Percival Broderick Competition (Agricultural & Exhibits)

• National Champion Woman Farmer Competition

• Champion Commercial Exhibit Competition (Senator Norman Grant’s Trophy)

• National Champion Greenhouse Farmer Competition

• National Champion Banana Farmer Competition

• Livestock Competition

• Champion Coffee Farmer Competition

• Champion Organic Farmer Competition

New Features:

The Show will be enhanced by two (2) new features that were introduced this year; the Denbigh Promotional Village and the Champion Organic Farmer Competition.

Denbigh Promotional Village

This year the Denbigh Secretariat will introduce a new concept; the Promotional Village. This is to ensure that the Show remains the premier agricultural show in the Caribbean.

It must remain the preferred choice for our people to attend in large numbers and by extension this product will remain relevant and current. As such annual reviews are done and recommendations and adjustments are adopted and implemented.

For the last two (2) years our patrons have expressed the need for a central product promotional centre where exhibitors are allowed to select and place specific items for promotion in this area. This suggestion was adopted giving birth to the “Denbigh Promotional Village.”

This Village will be housed in a 20×20 enclosed air conditioned tent. All participants will be required to make a contribution towards this display area and will also be allowed to change products at 5:00 p.m. daily.

The Village will be manned by a Coordinator and a team. The layout will adopt a gallery format with displays based on invitations only and must be accompanied by literature and personnel for daily presentations about the products at specific intervals. Accommodations will be made for power point presentations.

Champion Organic Farmer

This competition will be introduced for the first time this year and is being spearheaded in collaboration with the Jamaica Diaspora Agriculture Taskforce and the Jamaica Organic Agriculture Movement (JOAM) and will be sponsored by the Diaspora.

Denbigh Magazine

An anniversary magazine is published each year and sponsors and partners are invited to place an advertisement in the publication.

Denbigh Launch

The Show was launched on June 1, 2016 at Hi Pro, White Marl. It commenced at 9:00 a.m. and plans of the show was unveiled.

JUTC Park & Ride

JUTC will be on board for the park and ride service from Half Way Tree, Spanish Town and Portmore Depots.

Other Traditional Features include:

Local and International Displays/Exhibits

Motor Vehicle Displays

Farmers’ Market