Agrofest 2018
A sheep says “baa” and cows go “moo”. It is one thing to show this information from picture books but quite another to see and pet the animals for yourself firsthand. Barbados’ premiere agricultural exhibition, Agrofest, gives children this wonderful exposure. For the weekend of February 23 to 25th, many Barbadians will converge on Queen’s Park to witness the event.
There will be plenty to see and sample as over 200 booths will be on hand to share their wares. However, there is plenty to participate in as well. On Sunday you can burn up a sweat with Island Fitness and their Soca work out or improve your step with Genesis Studios and their line dancing presentation.
Remember the egg and spoon and potatoes sack races at school? Well these sports are now at the Olympic level! Farmers Choice will facilitate “Ole Time Bajan Olympics”.
African Awareness Month falls in February as well so you will see these celebrations also to be featured.
The children enjoy the petting area, this year the play area is larger than ever with exhibits catering specifically to them.
If you consider yourself a chef you may want to take in the live cooking demonstrations.
The face of agriculture is changing and modern technologies are being introduced to make the processes more efficient. All of us show pay attention to the new technology for farming and the renewable energy exhibits. Even if not on a large scale, we need to grow our own food.
Exotic bird and fish displays will make up what you can see in this sprawling exhibition which has now extended to the Weymoth grounds.
Locally grown fruits and vegetables will be in abundant supply and Agrofest is always a good place to get this produce as a bargain. So bring your shopping bags with you.
For some years now, the gospel concert will bring down the curtain. This event will be hosteted by popular radio host Carol Toppin.
As per the theme, a number of young farmers will be participating in the exhibition this year. According to the government information service in their report dated January 10, 2018 on a BAS workshop:
“Organisers of Agrofest are happy with the increasing interest shown by young people which was demonstrated as recently as last Saturday during a workshop, hosted by the Barbados Agricultural Society (BAS), for livestock farmers participating in this year’s event.
“We’ve seen a trend over the last may be four to five years, [and] especially last year where a large number of young people were competing in our livestock competitions and doing extremely well and that was one of the reasons why we thought we would focus on young people…and it is part of our succession planning.”
It would seem that the future of agriculture in Barbados is in good hands.
The organisers have been visiting primary schools to engage children and foster interest in agriculture generally in the weeks leading up to the event.
The tickets are reasonably priced too, beginning at four dollars for children and thirteen for adults. This is an event for the entire family, plenty to eat and plenty to see so come on down and do not miss it!
