DR Ronald Blake, executive director of Jamaica 4-H Clubs, is confident that in a few years time the agricultural sector will experience a boom, due to the increase in youth farmers.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 65th staging of the Denbigh Agricultural, Industrial and Food Show on Saturday, Dr Blake said the average age of farmers have decreased and it is no longer the career for the uneducated or those with no other career option.

“The average age of farmers have moved from 60 to 48.7 years and it is now the vocation of choice, signalled by the vast amount of students enrolled in agricultural programmes across various institutions,” he said. He added that key players are happy for such a renaissance as it will allow for improvements in technology and higher levels of production, which will form the basis for sustainable development.

Blake pointed out that each year, in excess of 500 people join the local 4-H Clubs and that this year 360 young people participated in youth entrepreneurial programmes. Of that number, he said 183 were agricultural development scholarships.

Additionally, the 4-H boss said the Government has invested $250 million for agricultural development in the club, and more than $100 million in grant funding was raised for youth in agricultural development projects and programmes.

Dr Blake said: “Now is the best time for youth to come on board as there are more resources for young people to enter agriculture.”

Agriculture Minister Karl Samuda, during his tour of the youth in agriculture village, announced that 30 per cent of the product incentive fund will go to youth in agriculture programmes.

Samuda further underscored Dr Blake’s points, saying agriculture is one of the main planks that will drive economic growth, and so, the attention must now be turned to youth in agriculture as they are more modern thinkers.

“They represent a renewed vigour, a renewed commitment, a determination to move away from the old-time days, the old thinking as to what agriculture represents, the old time imagery and the notion of a farmer as a poor thing that can’t do any better. Their thinking today is so modern and most of them supported the notion that the most essential ingredient to move agriculture forward is training of our young people, training of our tourism sector — because every farmer is a small business man,” he said.

There was a Youth in Agriculture Awards ceremony, which served as a tool to further spark interest in the sector among youth and nurture entrepreneurial minds.

Awarded sections included social media agriculture; agriculture mobile app; agriculture jingle; a business model; budding and grafting; agro processing; cattle judging; agro animation; agricultural quiz, and a poster competition.

— Kimberley Hibbert