The Denbigh Showground in Clarendon is getting a $1 billion facelift, according to Senator Norman Grant, president of the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS).
Sen. Grant was speaking during the opening of the annual Denbigh Agricultural and Industrial Show on Saturday. The three-day annual event ended yesterday with what has described as the largest public turnout for the event in its 54-year history.
The JAS president says work has already started on the grounds with the leasing of a section of the property to the Wallenford and Mavis Bank coffee companies. The two companies have already begun work on a permanent structure on the grounds.
The All-Island Beef Farmers Association and the Coconut Industry Board are also to be given permanent homes on the showground.
Training
The Jamaica 4-H Clubs is also to be granted a 99-year lease to build a training centre to cater to 250 youths. This is up from the 50 now being trained by the 4-H Clubs.
"It is our vision to have the Denbigh Showgrounds transformed into a national agricultural theme park," Sen. Grant said.
The JAS president has also proposed the establishment of a 30-year multibillion-dollar bond to be invested in agriculture and rural development.
Sen. Grant says the bond, valued at US$250 million (J$16.5 billion), could be used to expand rural infrastructure by building factories and irrigation systems and rehabilitating and constructing farm roads.
"We need to find a way to sustain our road network, which means that we might have to look at a rural toll," he said. The JAS president added that such a system would benefit the economy because farmers would be able to get more produce from the fields to market easier.
