Minister of Agriculture Roger Clarke (left) examines exhibits at the press launch of the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) 15th anniversary expo at the Terra Nova Hotel on Tuesday. With him are Albert Shand (centre), head of RADA, and Jamaica Agricultural Society president, Senator Norman Grant - JUNIOR DOWIE/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
THE RURAL Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) will be celebrating its 15th anniversary with an agricultural exposition dubbed 'RADA Exposed'.
"The expo will showcase some of the activities of RADA, highlight the entrepreneurial opportunities which exist in the agricultural sector and a number of new technological achievements which will serve to guarantee success and profitability in agricultural enterprise," said Albert Shand, its executive director.
The exposition, under the theme 'Responding to global challenges through Appropriate Technology', will be held on March 17 at the Ministry of Agriculture playing field, Hope Gardens.
The exposition will include activities such as, Information Technology and Training, and a grand commodity market where persons can shop for a wide range of agricultural produce at reasonable prices.
SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE
"With the technology-driven development acknowledged worldwide as the key to economically sustainable agriculture, this theme is especially appropriate as we strive to equip our farmers to face the competition of open- market trading, which is an inescapable factor of globalisation," said Roger Clarke, Minister of Agriculture.
During his presentation at the press conference on Tuesday at the Terra Nova Hotel, Mr. Shand said that RADA in the coming years would arrest the challenges that the agricultural sector now faces.
He said that the agricultural authority would have to focus its attention on technology that will counter the effects of bad weather and afford a more efficient use the factors of production.
"We are therefore educating our farmers to change towards the practice of protective agriculture, that is, producing under shade houses for certain crops, the use of drip irrigation, the appropriate use of plant densities and better control of pest and diseases," he added.
With the creation of the CARICOM Single Market (CSM), Mr. Shand believes that the Jamaica agricultural sector can benefit tremendously, as he believes that Jamaica is better poised than some of its Caribbean neighbours to capitalise on the markets which will emerge from the CSM.
