HAGUE, Trelawny — Some $7 million is being spent to stage this year’s 65th annual Hague Agricultural and Industrial Show to be held at Hague, near Falmouth, on February 25 and 26.

This was disclosed by the vice-chair of the organising committee, attorney Tova Hamilton, during the recent launch of the popular event.

In her address, Hamilton told the gathering that a youth exposition in agriculture will be added to this year’s staging of the two-day event, in an effort to demonstrate to young people that there is a rewarding future in agriculture.

She urged the private sector to join the various agriculture sector agencies with an aim to make farming a lucrative business for the small farmers.

She argued that in an effort to achieve the transformational growth, it is imperative that events such as Hague Agricultural and Industrial Show be promoted as a means of marketing the industry as a viable career choice, especially for the youth.

She stressed that agriculture plays a vital role in the life of any economy.

“It contributes to the national income, it is a source of food supply, it provides raw materials for argo-processing, with its surplus comes the opportunity for export, it creates the need for a viable labour force, and should promote the existence of improved infrastructure such as markets and much-needed roads, it has the ability to reduce inequality, as the prosperity of agriculture can raise the income of a rural population and consequently help to reduce the disparity in income when compared to urban areas,” Hamilton argued.

She pointed out that while agriculture has been the main focus of Trelawny’s economy since the 1970s, there is little to really show for that dominance today.

“That, in my estimation, is inter alia because of the rise and corresponding fall of King Sugar, and Trelawny’s historical dependence on that commodity. If you should drive around, you would find thousands of acres of lands that have remained idle since the closing of the doors to our sugar estates. Coupled with that, are the misconceptions associated with farming, such as the belief that only unskilled, uneducated, physical labourers with low economic returns, participate in agriculture,” said Hamilton.

She challenged farmers to “do all that is necessary to improve on your current practices and not be afraid to embrace technology to bolster production or employ adaptation strategies to cope with climate change”.

This year’s staging of the show is being held under the theme: ‘Agricultural Resilience and Adaptation to Climate Change.’