Shelly-Ann Thompson, Freelance Writer
National Farm Queen, Deidrie Hudson (centre), is sandwiched by second-place winner, Miss Portland Janique McKenzie (right), and Miss St. Thomas, Appollionia Davidson who captured the third spot. - CONTRIBUTED
THE 2006 National Farm Queen Deidrie Hudson is aiming to promote and market agriculture as a multifaceted sector offering many employment opportunities for youth.
"Farming is a business. It is not only about planting or using a stick and hoe," she says.
"There are so many aspects to agriculture such as greenhouse and hydroponics, and if we sell it to the youth like this I think they will have more appreciation for the sector and will want to venture into the field," says the National Farm Queen.
Twenty-three-year-old Hudson, a sociologist, works as a researcher at Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute, and is currently a member of a research team developing a manual to assist farmers.
"Young girls should not be afraid to take on non-traditional roles. Be bold, be daring, do something out of the box such as agriculture. The other occupations have been saturated."
Miss Hudson, who represented Kingston and St. Andrew, was crowned on Sunday, June 25, and beat a group of nine parish queens (St. Ann, St. Elizabeth Westmoreland and Hanover were not represented). The finals were held at the Louise Bennett Garden Theatre in St. Andrew.
Last week, Flair caught up with the Farm Queen in-between her busy schedule of courtesy calls. Miss Hudson spoke candidly about her opinions on agriculture and how she plans to use her title to benefit the sector.
Flair: How much do you know about agriculture?
Deidrie Hudson: Truthfully, I have not done much planting. However, I have been exposed to farming for many years. My mother and stepfather have a coffee farm in upper St. Andrew. My grandmother is a horticulturist. We even, within our tiny backyard space, have a garden at our apartment in Kingston. Plus, my mother has a lot of friends who are farmers, so for years I have been interacting with those in the agricultural field. Doing the research manual really woke me up to what my family was doing all along that I was not paying attention to.
Flair: What is your main project as National Farm Queen for 2006?
DH: Many young Jamaicans are unaware of the wide range of opportunities for stable careers in the sector, especially in the technology-driven areas such as bio-technology, pest management and agricultural research. My concern is that the current farmers are leaving or dying because they are over 45 years old. This is where my focus is, selling agriculture to the youth.
Flair: Should more women become involved in the agricultural sector?
DH: In rural Jamaica, many women are involved in agriculture. Not only as planters and reapers but also as agronomists. While doing the farmers' manual and visiting the various sectors such as the Rural Agricultural Development Agency and Jamaica Agriculture Society, I saw women as entomologists dealing with bugs, those who were scientists or consultants. Women feed our nation as
mothers so why not be a part of the feeding process? It should only be natural.
Flair: What areas of
agriculture need emphasis in order for the sector to grow?
DH: We need to be more aware of traceability, management and marketability. We have the produce so how do we get it across the globe?
Flair: What did the National Farm Queen competition involve?
DH: It was not only about
presenting onstage for the finals. I also had to write a technical paper on integrated pest
management that provided
different tactics to controlling pests.
Flair: How was the
competition?
DH: It was very interesting. Learning to cope with eight girls really tested one's ability to deal with different personalities, sharing and basically learning how to deal with people. The competition also made me more aware of deportment and etiquette skills, while providing agricultural training.
The eight contestants of the 2006 National Farm Queen contest. - CONTRIBUTED
