Highlights of Denbigh 2018

The annual Denbigh Agriculture Show in Jamaica rallies people from across the country and the region to share in three days of food, agriculture and fun. FAO joined this 66^th staging of the show with a unique take on goat produce, visual displays of value added ginger production, edutainment on the Sustainable Development Goals and ways to reduce food waste at home. Over the three days, FAO awarded farmers various farming tools to young and seasoned farmers to support their activities.

In keeping with FAO’s ongoing project with the Government of Jamaica on the development of the Ginger Value Chain, FAO’s booth brought awareness of the Ginger Rhizome Rot disease that has affected Jamaican ginger for the past years and tips on how to grow disease free ginger. Various stages of ginger production from clean planting material to ginger plantlets, to ginger root and various forms of ginger including commercialized products such as refined ginger teas, sauces and juices and uses of Jamaican Ginger were also displayed.

Over the three days, FAO also stimulated thought on how we can add value to goat produce. FAO also discussed and shared flyers with FAO booth patrons on the agripreneurship opportunities that goat farming can provide. To add visual and physical impact, FAO teamed up with Ruby Goat Dairy to offer samples of goat milk, goat cheese (chèvre) and goat milk yogurt and collected feedback on the tasting experience. (Read more about this experience).

Finally, patrons delighted in the FAO Cosy Corner as they played the Sustainable Development Board Game and increased their knowledge of the goals as well as in learning how to reduce food waste at home.