CLARENDON EMERGED champion of the 4-H Clubs National Achievement Day competition, held on April 30 at the Denbigh showground in May Pen.The parish scored 1,645.25 points; Manchester placed second with 1,569.75 points, while St. Elizabeth came third with 1,485.5 points.
Clarendon topped the categories for agro-chemicals use and management, solid waste management and floral arrangement, while placing second in the categories of goat care and management, budding and grafting, practices and management of organic farming, poultry care and management, apron making, and the making of sandwiches, and third in agro-processing.
The competition was held to showcase the work and skills of champion 4-H clubbites, who had won various competitive events in their respective parish achievement days.
Twelve-year-old Princeton Brown of Titchfield High School in Portland and 17-year-old Nadjra McKeller of Oberlin High School in St. Andrew were selected boy and girl of the year, respectively.
In his address, Minister of Agriculture Roger Clarke, commended the 4-H Movement for creating opportunities for young people in the agricultural sector.
"Let me congratulate the leadership of the movement for the role they are playing in promoting sustainable growth in the agricultural sector, and their efforts in moulding young people for the future," he said.
The Minister also commended members for the growth of the movement, which now has a membership of 53,793 clubbites, and for the thrust towards training, on which $20 million was spent in 2003.
Chairman of the 4-H Clubs, Senator Norman Grant, highlighted that since 2000, several programmes had been initiated by his organisation, including a tractor operation and maintenance programme; home economics programmes with assistance from the Jamaica Bauxite Institute and JAMALCo; a 4-H environmental challenge competition; organic farming and other environmental programmes.
This, he said, was in addition to successful fund-raising efforts through which approximately $20 million had been raised over the last two and a half years to assist in the operation of the movement.
Some 10,000 clubbites between the ages of nine and 25 years participated in the day's activities under the theme 'Youth Exploring Agriculture through Innovation and Creativity'.
