It is my sincere pleasure to join with all of Jamaica in celebrating the 64th Anniversary of the Denbigh Agricultural, Industrial and Food Show. This is scheduled to be held July 30-August 1, 2016 and thus climaxes, as it does, with the nation’s commemoration of Emancipation, while heralding our Independence Day celebrations on August 6.

Denbigh, unequivocally, represents a fine Jamaican tradition of iconic proportions. As a stellar event on the annual national calendar, Denbigh celebrates agriculture and showcases the achievements of our farmers and stakeholders in the agricultural and affiliated sectors. It is also a family entertainment event, catering to a wide cross-section of Jamaicans.

Denbigh is also a critical forum for taking stock of the status of agriculture in relation to its contribution to the national economy and for identifying innovative approaches to growing and expanding the sector.

This year, against the background of the imperative to expand the country’s agro-industrial thrust, Denbigh must also help to make the clarion call that agriculture is at the nexus of the linkages that hold the critical sectors of industry and commerce together and that the deepening of these synergies are critical to building Jamaica’s pathway to economic prosperity.

The expansion of the agro-industrial sector is critical to the future of Jamaica. History will show that wealth creation and the prosperity of nations have been achieved through the development of industries by moving agricultural output up the value chain. A full-fledged agro-industry requires expansion into value-added production and the time has come in Jamaica for us to make that critical transition into increased value-added production.

It is, therefore, in the spirit of a committed resolve to expand our agro-industrial thrust and with the recognition that the fortunes of our country are deeply rooted in the opportunities in the agricultural industry, that I hail the farmers, entrepreneurs and all industry stakeholders who are partnering to make Denbigh 64 a landmark event.

At the same time, and in accordance with the theme of this year’s show, let us use the occasion of Denbigh to remind ourselves that Jamaica must, indeed, continue to pursue the goals of import substitution by growing what we eat and eating what we grow, and this, in the context of practising climate smart agriculture.

Message from the Hon. Karl Samuda, CD, MP

Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries