Agriculture show to promote local food security

| 13/02/2024 | 32 Comments

(CNS): The Cayman Islands Agricultural Society will be hosting the 55th Agriculture Show on Ash Wednesday with the theme “Food Security – Everybody’s Business” to highlight the critical importance of ensuring a reliable and accessible food supply in the face of global challenges. With growing concerns about global food security, particularly during emergencies and natural disasters, the society supports the agriculture ministry’s goal to create a local Food and Nutrition Security Policy.

“This year’s Agriculture Show theme emphasises the crucial role each of us plays in ensuring the well-being of our community,” said CIAS President Justin Woods. “The event not only celebrates the hard work and dedication of our local farmers but also underscores the importance of food security as a collective responsibility. We invite the wider public to join us for this family-oriented event, showcasing the very best in the Cayman farming community.”

The popular annual family event, which takes place on a public holiday, will showcase the best of local farming and agribusiness as a whole, according to a press release. Attendees are encouraged to support initiatives relating to food prices, shortages and nutritional security.

The show, as always, takes place at the Stacey Watler Agricultural Pavilion in Lower Valley, Bodden Town, from 7am to 6pm. Admission is $10 for adults, $5 for children and free for children under 2 and seniors 65+. The official opening ceremony will take place at 10am.

Given the popularity of the show, Park N’ Ride locations have been established to facilitate a smoother flow of traffic. Ample signage will guide the public to the designated locations, and shuttle services will be available to transport attendees from the locations directly to the pavilion.


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Category: Agriculture, Business, Community, Local News

Comments (32)

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  1. Anonymous says:

    A good refrigerator provides my food security.

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  2. Anonymous says:

    Is local (and imported) produce checked for pesticides levels?

    Chlormequat is a pesticide used to help increase the amount of crops grown.

    And due to health concerns, it is banned from being used on food crops in the United States.

    However, the US allows for the importation of foods from other countries that use chlormequat on food crops – meaning Americans could be exposed to it.

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-13084299/This-raises-alarm-bells-Four-five-Americans-test-positive-little-known-toxic-chemical-CHEERIOS-cause-infertility-delay-puberty-research-shows.html

  3. Anonymous says:

    I was in stuck in traffic for 2.5 hours last night just because of cones in the middle of the road. For all the years this has been going on, why is it that the society come up with a better plan? Quite frankly I stop going because of the traffic and the heat.

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  4. Anonymous says:

    I would like to go, but the traffic situation makes it not worthwhile. I can get that tomorrow when I go to work.

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  5. Anonymous says:

    Cannabis legislation is required for self-sustainability purposes as a medical and therapeutic health supplement. Decriminalization needed. Medication is becoming too expensive.

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  6. Anonymous says:

    .

    Let us thank the Cayman Community Farm on Hirst Road which is a charity providing vegetables including scallions to the elderly and needy at no cost. They get little recognition and are always looking for help.
    Please support them as you are able.

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    • Anonymous says:

      5.43pm. Never heard about them before. They should do some self-promotion but thanks for the heads-up.

  7. Some guy with odd shoes says:

    We are on our own. What we can grow, we can eat and keep. What we can harvest from the sea, we can eat and keep. There is nothing more. There are no government programs that will help you. There are no government programs that will protect you.

    Health insurance will take everything financially from you, and deny you service. If you use your health insurance, it will double or treble, until you cannot afford to keep it any more.

    All governmental services are geared to make money and screw us the people in the process. Sorry for the heads up. Be well.

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  8. Anonymous says:

    The park and ride last year was so badly operated. Poor signage, then the buses got stuck in the traffic it was designed to stop.

    It’ll be bad this year, as everyone thinks that park and ride will suit everyone else but them.

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    • Anonymous says:

      We have a winner! Give that commentator a gong.

      Over 2 hours to go from BT to Newlands. Ridiculous.

  9. Anonymous says:

    Let’s hope they’ve finally wisened-up and dispensed with the “Farm Queen” and “Beautiful Baby” competition as advertised last year…right along side the livestock prizes. Honestly.

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  10. Anonymous says:

    So, why does the public have to pay admission to its own government (again), to attend a government-sponsored agricultural open house on a public holiday? Where does that ticket money go, and why? Make it make sense.

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    • Anonymous says:

      My goodness

      We need to make dunce proof keyboards. The show is put on by the Agricultural Society. The minuscule $10 entrance fee goes towards offsetting the costs plus there is always a generous amount of prize money for a raffle.

      Not everything has to be turned into a freebie.

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      • Anonymous says:

        The CI Government, and specifically Department of Agriculture is already sponsoring the “Agricultural Society”.

      • Anonymous says:

        A lot of us already pay the CIG via import, stamp duties permits, licenses. and other taxes, they fund an entire Agricultural Ministry, who are then sponsoring the Agricultural Society and this annual event. So the $10 is a second tax, going to whom, and for what? Maybe with a functioning public website and explanation, legitimate and transparent NGOs can answer via publication, rather than snark. Also, selling tickets to lotteries are also supposedly to be illegal in the Cayman Islands… why would a Gov’t sponsored NGO be doing it?

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    • Anonymous says:

      you do realize it costs money to put on events right? lol like theres people to pay. Its $10. Stay home if you cant pay that and be grumpy there.
      its “support local” not get free hand outs locally

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  11. Anonymous says:

    Get the supermarkets supporting more and at reasonable prices, that in itself could encourage more farming and food security.

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  12. Anonymous says:

    No $25K raffle this year I see. How disappointing!

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  13. Anonymous says:

    A great theme, no doubt! But it still cannot explain or justify local scallion at $7.46 a pound in the local supermarkets as opposed to imported scallion at $1.79 a pound. Just an example.

    Government should do more to reduce the costs to farmers of producing local crops….clearly the small discounts and allowances currently in place are not enough…..

    …or it is simply greed???

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    • Anonymous says:

      I’ve only ever seen imported scallions priced by the unit and not by the pound. They are very light and I pay less for the local ones than the bunch of 5 that you get imported.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Please let me know where I can get Scallions for $1.79 per pound.

      • Anonymous says:

        Jesus H Christ, just put what’s left once you chop it up in a glass of water and it’ll grow back in a week. Who the hell buys scallions?

  14. Anonymous says:

    No such thing. One storm and it’s all gone, we start again from scratch.

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    • Anonymous says:

      This is not entirely true. A local company, Primitive Greens, has been producing through every storm since they started business growing in container farms.

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      • Anonymous says:

        Them containers be on the bottom of the North Sound after a good storm. Also, can only eat so much lettuce.

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        • Anonymous says:

          are you slow? lmao you can grow anything in there… they started with lettuce, now mushrooms and cannot proceed into more without ofreg so that they can explore solar and more.
          they literally say that

          point is it works and can grow anything

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    • Anonymous says:

      No thought of indoor vertical farming?

      • Anonymous says:

        You forget where you are?

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      • Anonymous says:

        This already exists but ofreg said no so they cannot proceed. Search Primitive Greens on instagram to see what this CAYMANIAN family is trying to do but cant.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Not if they pull their heads out of their collective asses and allow container-based hydroponics farming. Approve the solar for these projects and we will have a number of new “farms” pop up to help move us in the right direction. As of now, with OfReg clearly in cahoots with CUC (and denying solar to anyone except those that don’t actually need the break from exorbitant electric bills), it is not a financially-sustainable option. Simply release the chokehold on solar, and a surprisingly-high number of Cayman’s issues go away.

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