Minister, premier and speaker on Jamaica trip
(CNS): Agriculture Minister Juliana O’Connor-Connolly, Premier Alden McLaughlin and Speaker McKeeva Bush are all in Clarendon, Jamaica, this week attending the 67th Denbigh Agricultural, Industrial and Food Show. Officials said the trip was an important item on the Ministry of Agriculture’s annual agenda, while the premier said it was a chance to learn from Jamaican expertise.
“Jamaica has one of the most diversified and strongest agriculture sectors in the Caribbean, particularly with respect to livestock,” McLaughlin said in a press release. The three-day show, produced by the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS), is the largest of its kind in the English-speaking Caribbean.
“This visit gives us an opportunity to observe first-hand and learn from Jamaica’s technical expertise in agriculture. I also look forward to continuing the conversation with the prime minister during his visit a few weeks ago with regard to increasing trade between our two countries. This is important as we continue to not only expand our own locally-grown agriculture products but also seek other sources to help diversify Cayman’s access to food supplies,” the premier added.
While in Jamaica, McLaughlin and O’Connor-Connolly will meet with Prime Minister Andrew Holness and other Jamaica government ministers on a variety of topics, including trade and border security, official said.
The Cayman delegation includes a number of civil servants from various ministries and departments relating to agriculture and trade, as well as representatives from the Cayman Islands Agriculture Society (CIAS). Eric Bush, the chief officer in the premier’s new international trade portfolio, and McLaughlin’s senior political adviser, Roy Tatum, also attended.
The visiting delegation has a full agenda, officials claimed, including looking at Jamaican farming systems, such as plant hydroponics and livestock farming, and how their agriculture practice and farming activities meet international environmental and food safety standards.
“It is important to note that our agriculture sector is perpetually evolving,” said Minister O’Connor-Connolly. “We must continue to be active and intentional in our strategies towards implementing agricultural best practices and understanding how it plays a crucial role in the life of our economic system. Directly exposing our very own subject-area experts to the various systems and programmes, whether strategic, traditional or technological in nature, allows for us to make tangible advancements, ultimately towards making the lives of our people better.
“The CIAS can model the dynamic signature activations to further enhance our own local agricultural shows and DoA staff can gain first-hand experiences of systems that can be scaled for our topography and, of course, climatic challenges. We must plan for a better tomorrow, today,” she added.
There was no comment in the release from the speaker or any explanation why he needed to attend an agriculture show.
Speaker McKeeva Bush with Jamaican officials at the Abbey Garden Farm 
(L-R) Dr Fenton Ferguson, Jamaica Opposition Spokesperson on Agriculture; Lenworth Fulton, Denbigh Show Committee Chair; Jamaica Agriculture Minister Audley Shaw; Cayman Minister Juliana O’Connor-Connolly and HiPro company executives 
Speaker Mckeeva Bush and Cayman officials at the opening ceremony 
Minister Juliana O’Connor-Connolly at the opening ceremony 
Premier Alden McLaughlin with Jamaica Prime Minister Andrew Holness
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Category: Agriculture, Business
It is in the History books. Cayman was once a parish of Jamaica before Jamaica gained independence from the British. Jamaica governed the Cayman Islands and was the 15th parish. Also, what is wrong with being a part of Jamaica or a part of Cayman, Canada or Egypt? Does that change the price of your CUC bill next month? Let us let go of the hating and bad mouthing of each other. We all have our problems. Let us unite to make each country better. Nuff Love and respect.
As a genuine Caymanian,
I have NEVER read in my history books that Cayman was a part of Jamaica and neither was it EVER documented that my Cayman was a 15th parish of YOUR nation.
YOU Jamaica are a LIAR, and a big dreamer at that!
Jamaica was ALWAYS separate from Cayman FULL stop! And I don’t apologize if I hurt any feelings as this is TRUTH.
YOUR beloved country of Jamaica chose independence and you know full well in your modern mind that today that was a mistake and you all regret that and I can’t say sorry if I don’t mean it.
Don’t you Ever try to connect my country with yours, as we were NEVER connected.
The UK TOLD you- to watch over us as you had NO choice and would NEVER have done that if not mandated to do so!
Stop the false hoods and do your best to fix your beautiful nations problems as Caymanians owe nothing to you.
And only because England had their office in jamacia! You all had nothing to do with our leadership! Get loss. Jamaica is the best!!! please come get ya people! ASAP.
So much hate and jealousy. Shame on you.
Did JuJu try the boom draw?
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/women-farmers-rule-while_171645?profile=1373
Ganja also made its formal début at Denbigh yesterday as Itopia Life Ltd partnered with the St Ann Division of RADA for a thought-provoking presentation on ganja as Jamaica’s most precious crop.
Denbigh traditionally features livestock, ornamental plants and food crops. But since the decriminalisation of ganja in 2015, a number of licensed cannabis producers, including Itopia Life, have made St Ann their home.
This led to both entities creating an out-of-the-box exhibit to help change the narrative around ganja’s role in Jamaica’s national economic development plans.
Aptly named the ‘Ganja Story Wall’, St Ann’s main display featured both an architectural and artistic treatment of ganja’s history, trials, and commerce and the promise the plant holds for a better quality of life.
“It is meant to be both an artistic statement and an emblem of truth,” said LeVaughn Flynn, vice-president of marketing and communications at Itopia Life.
“It’s also important that as the medical ganja industry grows the public evolves with it. Events of national importance such as the Denbigh Agricultural Show allow us to appropriately represent the plant and reframe the narrative around ganja,” added Flynn.
What a delegation…750 lbs and not an ounce of it integrity.
At least 1,000…
I’m betting 1,001.
10.28am even you are way off, “a number of civil servants from various ministries and departments plus of course Eric Bush and Roy Tatum who climb aboard every junket there is, my guess is close to 3,000 lbs.
I thought I recognised that inane grin from Eric. What the hell was he doing there…..
McKeeva: “Jump”
Alden: “How high?”
As if either one of our delegates will be sweating their behinds in the hot sun with cattle or crops!!! The Jamaicans will be hired to tend to it all!! What a laugh these imbeciles in Government have turned out to be. Just count the Caymanians you will see doing any of these jobs. Like selling snow to the eskimos.
Alden sweats his collar on his farm in East End every chance he gets.
Stop being so jealous that he has more ackee and salt fish than you do.
Lose some more weight and it will improve your chances.
I am sure someone feels at home there!! We should try to limit connections between the two countries as most of the work permit holders are just here for the money, they do not care about the people of this country. A lot of them do not have any respect for Cayman!! Please wake up and let us try to limit work permits from there. Why don’t someone move there to live? Maybe Cayman is a lot safer. Please do not pee on the bed that you sleep on and expect it to be livable. Cayman is one of the top islands in the world, please keep it that way!! I love my little island !!!!!!!!!!!!
You sound just like the shooter in El Paso
Might as well have open borders then…..
Not really.
I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Jamaica and Jamaicans on this milestone in their history. I remember attending the university college in 1966 and fondly recall the great times I had there. I remember walking to Papine to buy fried fish, bun and cheese etc., with batch mates, going to the Carib theatre and Hope Gardens on the weekends. Jamaica was such a lovely place to be back then. I often wonder when I read some of the stories in the gleaner if the people causing so much havoc even realizes the beauty and the richness that they are destroying? Today I feel nostalgic and sad and pray that the perpetrators will pause and reflect and try to give jamaica the respect that is due. God Bless.
Independence from prosperity is hardly a reason to celebrate.
Safe travels.Jamaica remains one the most dangerous places in the region.
Any body from the actual Department of Agriculture in attendance with them? Seems like something a miss here????? Where my yams?
Yups!
At first glance I see Adrian Estwick (Director of Agriculture) in the front row.
Blows my mind that Mac is still flouting that government expenses card and swimming in gravy. Glue wouldn’t stick to him.
How dat Jamaican Doctorate going Mac, eh?
Why don’t the whole bunch of them do us all a big favor and just stay there in Jamaica!
Yes please
It sounds like we have dozens of civil servants attending this jolly, wasting taxpayer;s money – did they charter a jet?. The P.M says it is important that we seek other resources to develop our access to agricultural food supplies. Our delegation are also seeking to learn from Jamaica’s technical expertise and how they meet international standards in agricultural production.
Why then have we banned the import of Jamaica’s excellent mangos for decades and rely on imports from South America shipped via Miami, or the local very expensive product?.
That’s the big question. Why are Jamaican mangos banned in Cayman? Never could figure that out as the Jamaican ones are much better than the mangos from Mexico and Central America we get through Miami.
We want Jamaican mangos now.
And what about dem gorgeous grapefruits from Jamaica????? Most amazing grapefruit I’ve ever tasted in my life. From up in the Blue Mountains.
There would be no need to import so much chicken, eggs from overseas, if they planning department would approve our own chicken farm. Thus providing more jobs for unemployed Caymanians. Oh no that is too good for there own people. Registered Caymanian voters. Government after Government has held us at ransom. It is high time, we come together and unite. And send a very loud and clear message, to this so called Unity Government. Your time has long past. Please vacate our honourable LA building. We the registered voters of this democratic country want early elections.
Thank you.
Planning only refused chicken farm because the neighbors objected.
Can’t blame planning for this one.
Would you like it in your own backyard? If so let them know. If Caymanians who own the land up there prefer to keep their property as residential I fail to see what business it is of yours and the rest of the posters advocating for the farm. We prefer to save our residential property for our children and grand children without them having to breath in fowl poop morning noon and night. If that is something you want to do, go knock yourselves out and put the coops on your property. Go ahead and let them use your acreages. We held on to our property when others were falling over themselves selling out now they are wishing they hadn’t..
There are numerous smaller scale chicken farms on Grand Cayman supplying eggs and fresh meat to farmers markets, supermarkets, restaurants and, directly to homes.
These are better scaled in size to our local demand and environment.
10,000 chickens will always create a problem for neighbours and environmentalists in this 2×4!
Scale it right the first time and stop blaming planning.
a jolly. end of story.
I admire the unity between both countries. That is PROGRESS!!
Unity is Jamaican mangos in Cayman. Let’s do it Premier.
The six thumbs down have obviously never tasted Jamaican mangos.
Well.. while they are there they should view the floatable dock that is being installed Port Royal and get some good ole common sense information as to why they are choosing this option over dredging! Nah…. unfortunately the train has already left the station and their is no conductor!
Well said 10:24 pm. Sadly this current so called Unity Government, could care less about protecting our very, very valuable assets that attracts thousands of visitors to the shores of Grand Cayman. Want to know what it is so called Unity Government. Sea, Sand, Sun and most importantly our beautifull underwater marine life filled with corals, called The Caribbean Sea that surrounds all 3 islands. Grand Cayman the big island aka. And Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, the Sister Islands. We have a right under The Cayman Islands Constitution and am praying hard that.This so called Unity Government will not play games with, the registered Caymanian voters.
And to finish, please pay close attention to our Prime Minister Boris Johnson in The United Kingdom. If he gets his way. All The British OverSeas Territories will be in some big trouble. He is worst than this so called Unity Government.
Thank you.
Kissing up and selling out, the whole lot of them.
Mac surrounded by what he wants Cayman to look like .
Waste of money on a personal junket.
Did they get visas to go there like the rest of us do, or did they travel on British passports?
9.04am I will bet my last dollar they all have British passports.
What is wrong with having a British passport?
5.00pm I think you’re rather missing the point.
5:pm if all Caymanians gets British Passports, then we are the same as them and they are the same as us, we will have to pay the same taxes as them, they will be able to come here without any restrictions and get the best jobs and run for elections etc, etc and so on and so forth.
1. Hope Eric Bush will now learn his history properly that Cayman was not a part of Jamaica
as he so I infamously misinformed people in the UK when he was the UK Representative.
Jamaica merely administered us like they did TCI, and kept the aid.
2. XXXX
3. Why do we need so many to travel, if it’s policy?
I see you’re a racists Caymanian. Get over it. History is long gone. Cayman and Jamaica has always been connected politically and culturally. If you don’t like Jamaicans including the black ones, please take back the many contributions they did to build your Cayman Islands, you un grateful twit! You can’t take them back! The many contributions are with us, and Caymanians married to Jamaicans too with beautiful families.
The most meaningful contribution Jamaica made to the Cayman Islands was to murder Jamaica’s wealthiest citizens and rape and murder so many tourists, that both Jamaica’s wealthy people and tourism industry substantially moved to Cayman. Many of their most educated and most productive citizens followed. There is nothing for Jamaica or Jamaicans to celebrate from that story.
The facts speak for themselves on this topic. Just ask our local eminent historians like Roy Bodden, Mary Lawrence and Steve McField who was on Radio Cayman on our most recent Constitution Day explaining the facts of the matter. Unfortunately, you have chosen to play the race card.
I could not agree with you more with the fact that our histories are intertwined up until this day. This does not mean however that we were a part of Jamaica.
Administering and being a part of, are two different things, and if you take an objective (if that is possible) look at our culture you will clearly see.
True born multi-generational Caymanians want to keep their separate identity.
Based on your views, please change your profile name since you cannot understand these facts, as I seriously doubt you are what you claim to be.
I had always understood that we were administered like a “parish” of Jamaican, and I see nothing wrong with that historical perspective.
See below Wikipedia, section on “Dependency of Jamaica”:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Cayman
My father, as did other Caymanian men, at one time shipped out of Jamaica. A whole “colony” of Caymanians were consequently established in the seaports of Jamaica.
I was born there and dearly loved Jamaica.
Sadly, Jamaica has lost some of that wonderful appeal. But, hey, sadly, too, so had Cayman!
Agreed Jamaica is a beautiful country and there are nice people there. However Cayman seems to have imported a lot of the less desirable aspects of Jamaica life and culture, and that is what is the ongoing subject of debate, not the mangoes or grapefruit which are wonderful as are most of the agricultural produce from Jam.
2003 really messed Cayman up for generations to come, if not forever. Thanks Mac, not.
Well, Jamaica is much closer and cheaper than Kenya, so I support the Minister of Agriculture in vacationing there. The rest of the group……. sure, why not. Bring me back some pimento seed and nutmeg, y’all.
What agriculture? You can’t even manage a chicken farm.
Sore loser you are.
No 10,000-chicken factory farm for you.
Move on!
Mr. Premier, why don’t you do for Caymanians what you did for Jamaicans, under 14 and over 70 of age, travelling to Cayman don’t require to get a visa, why don’t you do the same for Caymanians travelling to Jamaica of the same ages. SHAME ON YOU sir.
7:53 pm, can’t imagine 7 people gave the thumbs down to your statement about Visas, they must be all expats or otherwise drunk and stupid.
Trying to get their mind off of the CPR I see. Try Wray & Nephews.
I hope they get to visit Rocky Point.
I hope you stay in rocky point.
Why you want them to visit Rocky Point, what is in Rocky Point? Just asking.