ST JAMES, Jamaica — As the world marks the UN International Year of the Woman Farmer, the spotlight is firmly on the women whose hands nurture the soil, sustain communities, and quietly power the global food system.

Against this backdrop, Sagicor hosted a special brunch on International Women’s Day themed: ‘From Her Farm To Your Table.’

Sagicor pulled out all the stops at the beautiful White Witch Golf Club in Rose Hall, in making the day as delightful as possible with decor elements from Pussbackfoot, incorporating their signature straw-woven pieces and food items as part of the tablescape.

Tasty food fare from Ashebre with culinary maestro, chef Oji Jaja and of course the featured micro greens and edible flowers from Halifax Farms headed by Janice Dacres-Jones.

Female clients of the bank were treated to cocktail sips, miniature golf, body butter making, treasure hunt, as well as other fun and bonding activities.

Sagicor Bank chief executive officer (CEO), Chorvelle Johnson-Cunningham, as part of her welcome, implored guests to start their back yard gardening projects, while also paying tribute to the resilience of the women farmers and their contributions to sustainable development.

The event provided an opportunity for women to celebrate other women, especially female farmers and their contributions to the economy.

“Sagicor is happy to celebrate with our clients while also highlighting the women who feed our nation. We’re happy our clients came out to show support and to continue empowering each other,” stated Daidre Sloley-McKay, vice president of group marketing at Sagicor.

Dacres-Jones, expressed she was honoured and grateful to be acknowledged by Sagicor as part of the initiative.

“It is good to be acknowledged as a woman farmer, and there’re many women in farming that are doing fantastic things. This is a huge step in the right direction and what we would like is more support for financing and access to land,” she said.

“As women we’re good at accomplishing and making things work if given the opportunities. The exposure today from the use of the products brought awareness to the nutritional content and women wanting to explore more about the products,” Dacres-Jones said.

“This highlight is also important as it comes at a time when we need to future safe our food industry. Climate change, external factors, and hurricanes affect our food security. We now have to focus on the use of technology and how we can mitigate effects, shorten recovery period and safeguard our farmers,” Dacres-Jones added.

Celebrations are not complete without, of course, the food, and the menu included pan chicken, roasted snapper, pimento-smoked crispy pork belly, blackened chicken, peppered shrimp and jerk barbecue crispy cauliflower.

Chef Oji Jaja spoke on the menu selection, dish preparation and the thought process for curating the menu.

“We wanted to utilise as best as possible local ingredients and sourcing from female farmers based on the nature of the event.

The micro greens and edible flowers we were able to use them on most of the dishes. We wanted the cauliflower to be heartier, so we did it crispy with a spicy jerk barbecue sauce. The pork belly was brined, smoked and finished slowly to get it nice and tender while maintaining its moisture,” Jaja explained.

Despite the rain curtailing some activities, the brunch went well with patrons ending the evening dancing.

Halifax Farms colleagues Janice Dacres-Jones, CEO, and her daughter,
Leighann Dacres-Jones, marketing manager.

Halifax Farms micro greens

Ornella James, director, Que’s Marine Supplies, tries the options from the fruit and cheese board station.

From left: Kayla Edwards, radiographer, Hospiten Jamaica; Sonia Clarke-
Bowen, managing director, RSD Shipping Jamaica; and Sophia Clarke massage and beauty therapist, Hyatt Ziva/Zilara Hotels.