Mel Cooke, Freelance Writer
Senator Norman Grant (centre), president of the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS), in discussion with Roger Clarke (right), Minister of Agriculture, and Graham Dunkley, director-general, Coffee Industry Board (CIB), at the launch of the Jamaica Coffee Festival held at Devon House on Wednesday morning. - NORMAN GRINDLEY/DEPUTY CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER
THE BEANS of organisation are being ground up, a fine blend of entertainment is being planned and the aroma of the 2005 Jamaica Coffee Festival is in the air.
Plans for the second staging of what president of the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS), Senator Norman Grant, described as a "perfect fit to the eat Jamaican, buy Jamaican" campaign, were announced on Wednesday morning on the lawns of Devon House in St. Andrew. And that is where the family-oriented festival will be on Sunday, October 2, starting at 10:00 a.m.
While coffee is at the heart of the event, including the historical significance of the beverage, entertainment and education will be added and stirred. Lisa O'Gilve of the festival's producers, Caribbean Events Group, said there would be a coffee seminar, dangled the prospect of a recipe for pork marinated in coffee liqueur, as well as a mini film festival, a mini-festival of the spoken word, a major scavenger hunt with a cash prize, performances by groups in the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission's (JCDC) performing arts contests, as well as a concert by Byron Lee and the Dragonaires.
VARIETY
That concert will have variety in itself, as there will be retro reggae and calypso hours, among others.
Guest speaker at a coffee industry seminar which will take place on the festival's grounds between 11:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. will be Rob Stephens, first vice-president of the Specialty Coffee Association of America.
Guest speaker at Wednesday's launch was Minister of Agriculture Roger Clarke, who is also patron of the festival. "Those who drink Jamaican coffee do it better and I want to be better at my job," Clarke said to laughter.
"It is an honour and a privilege to come on stream as patron of this event. This (festival) is testament to resilience of the coffee farmer. These farmers work under the most trying circumstances to eke out a living from the steep hillsides. They have made a statement by producing the best coffee in the world," he said.
He noted the hurricanes and drought which the industry has faced over the last two years, but added that "the real knockout punch has been the liquidation of Dyoll Insurance Company." With all the setbacks, coffee exports declined from US$36.4 million ($2.1 billion) in 2003/2004 to US$22 million in 2004/2005.
The event itself had not escape the natural disasters, as Lisa O'Gilve noted that "Last year, just before the staging of the first coffee festival, Ivan struck. There was a lot of debate over whether we should have it or not. It was meant to demonstrate that it was down but not out. It was a resounding success," O'Gilve said.
MAJOR ASSOCIATE SPONSOR
The 2005 Jamaica Coffee Festival's major associate sponsor, the Coffee Industry Board (CIB), was represented by its director-general Graham Dunkley, who defined the mission of the CIB as to regulate, promote and develop the Jamaica coffee industry "from the seed to the cup". He noted the fun family setting of the October 2 festival.
Denzil Wilks, director of the Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo.), said his organisation noted "with pleasure that the organisers have placed emphasis on the role of coffee in our history, from an agricultural, social and economic perspective."
