‘EAT JAMAICAN’ ROAD SHOW IN PORT ANTONI

PRESS RELEASE

18 APRIL 2011

‘EAT JAMAICAN’ ROAD SHOW IN PORT ANTONIO

Kingston, Jamaica: Scores of residents came out to Port Antonio Town Square to support the “Eat Jamaican” Campaign road show, as well as watch the popular comedy duo Ity & Fancy Cat in action, reinforcing the message "Grow what we eat - Eat what we grow".

The road show continued its island tour in Portland on Friday April 15, 2011 at 3 pm. The national "Eat Jamaican" campaign is geared towards increasing local production and encouraging consumers to make healthy choices by eating local produce, fruits and vegetables.

 
The campaign is a project of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, funded by the European Union Food Facility (EUFF) and implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.

Dr. Mark Panton, Chief Technical Director, Ministry of Agriculture & Fisheries commended the residents for coming out and supporting the show. He also encouraged those who are farmers and relatives of farmers, to support the ministry’s efforts in creating a culture of growing and eating more local foods. “When we eat Jamaican foods, we are not only benefiting from the nutrients, but we support over 2,000 local farmers and their families.”

Mayor of Portland, His Worship Lt. Commander Floyd Patterson showed his support for the “Eat Jamaican” campaign in his greeting to residents and visitors to Pot Antonio Square. “This is a great initiative by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, and I believe Jamaican farmers and Jamaica on a whole will benefit greatly from growing what we eat and eating what we grow.” Also present at the road show was Dr. Donald Rhodd, Member of Parliament, East Portland.

Visitors to the Portland show enjoyed displays and samples by Jamaica Broilers, Wisynco and Grace Kennedy, as well as giveaways from National Bakery and Island Grill.  Representatives from, Rural Agricultural Development Agency, RADA were on hand to encourage the residents of Port Antonio to ‘Plant Up Yuh Backyard’, and distributed brochures with helpful tips on backyard gardening. The residents were thoroughly entertained with a dance off between Doctor Bird, the “Eat Jamaican” mascot and Vinnie, the official mascot for Grace Kennedy. Ity & Fancy Cat, spokespersons for the campaign, riveted their audience with their humour while strongly driving home the “Eat Jamaican” message “Grow what we eat – Eat what we grow.”

This is only the third of nine road shows that will be staged across the island. In the past two weeks, Manchester and St Ann residents enjoyed the show at Bronx Taxi Park in Mandeville and Buckfield Playfield in Ocho Rios. The Eat Jamaican campaign has also been supporting the farmers’ markets throughout Jamaica, which have enjoyed significantly increased sales since the start of the project.

Six of Jamaica’s top Olympians have endorsed the campaign.  They are Melaine Walker, Brigitte Foster-Hylton, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Asafa Powell, Nesta Carter and Michael Frater. 

   
Contact:

Cecil Thoms

Director, Communication & Public Relations

Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries

T- 927-1872; E – cethoms@moa.gov.jm

Akhter Hamid

Project Manager

Tel: +1 876 978 2352

Mob: +1 876 322 7284

Email: akhter.hamid@fao.org

Staci Smith & Cleo Walker
PROComm
T 876-926-6740 | M 876-455-1166

M 876-375-9438