Local feed company, Nutramix will this year return as title sponsor for the National Farm Queen Competition, marking the second time around that “The Big Feed” company will be a part of the event.
Held annually at the Denbigh Agricultural & Industrial Show, which is now in its 53rd staging, ‘Farm Queen’ is one of the major highlights of the three-day extravaganza. The competition highlights the often overlooked intellectual side of the agricultural sector, shining a light on the work of women in the field.
Many persons are surprised to learn that Farm Queen is way more than a pageant, it has a focus on critical thinking that no other national pageant really has, the young ladies have to present technical academic pieces focused on agriculture to participateTina Hamilton, Brand Manager for Nutramix.
The excitement and glamour of the pageant is a way to spark interest in farming, and gives young women an opportunity to have agricultural issues that matter to them, heard. In fact, many of the women that enter are already working on studies in agriculture, seeing the pageant as a means to get further exposure, experience and even investment in their endeavor.
This aspect of the pageant was a clincher for “The Big Feed”, a part of the large Jamaican agriculture player the CB Group, which sees national food security as critical for Jamaica. The company feels driving more youth towards agriculture is a key plank of ensuring this can be achieved:
Farming isn’t seen as fun, sexy or sometimes even profitable, but this is changing, more and more youth see it as a serious business path to pursue, not a fall-back for those in rural areas. Farm Queen does a great job helping thereTina Hamilton
This year’s competition in particular will be special for the young entrants as the 2016 winner will receive a scholarship to study at the acclaimed College of Agriculture, Science & Education (CASE).
Organizers have noted that while youth in agriculture definitely needs attention, women in particular are often unseen in the sector, and the pageant provides an avenue to correct this.
Visibility and representation matters. You can’t aspire to be what you don’t see. Women in agriculture are important to us and we really believe in what it is that they (Farm Queen) are doing,Tina Hamilton
The National Farm Queen winner represents the agricultural sector for one year and must be aware of the issues affecting the sector. This is why one of the major components of the competition’s judging is the presentation of a technical paper and the creation of an original performance piece from the same concept.
Last year, Peta-Gaye Stewart from St Mary walked away with the 2015 National Farm Queen title. This year’s competition finale is slated for Saturday, July 30, 2016 at the Denbigh Agricultural Show grounds in Clarendon.
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