MANDEVILLE, Manchester:
FARMERS IN South Manchester are gearing up to participate in the potato festival slated to be held on April 16 in Mandeville. The farmers are welcoming the festival with the hope that it will revitalise interest in the local tuber and attract visitors to the parish.
During a Gleaner visit to South Manchester (including Ruds Corner, Rose Hill, Plowden and Grove Town), the farmers said that although their potatoes have a better taste, consumers have opted for the imported product due to the low price. However, farmers such as Dawn Reid are insisting that they will not be giving up their farms but will be researching ways to be more efficient and productive in their farming practice.
"We have a good product," farmer Alvin Solomon told The Gleaner, "but it has been placed on the back burner for fast foods and other less naturally nourishing foods". The potato festival, he added, will afford many persons the opportunity to learn the many ways the tuber can be used to supplement the family diet.
Organisers of the festival Francine Haughton, Enid Edwards and Albert Clarke are enthused with the response they have been receiving so far. Vice-president of the Jamaica Agricultural Society, Tony Freckleton, and Minister of Agriculture Roger Clarke, have given their support to the project.
President of the Manchester Chamber of Commerce Donovan Cover has also given the festival his blessings, the first of its kind to be held in the parish.
