Ministry of Information, Culture, Youth & Sports

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Mayor of Montego Bay, Councillor Charles Sinclair (right), is assisted by St. James Parish Manager of the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), Wentworth Mitchell (left), to plant a cherry tree at the Dumfries Primary School in St. James on Labour Day (May 23).

Residents of St. James, Hanover, and Westmoreland turned out early this morning to participate in work being carried out in the parishes for Labour Day 2008.

There were 227 registered projects in the three parishes with 132 for St. James, 65 in Hanover, and 30 in Westmoreland.

Additionally, there was evidence of a number of unregistered projects taking place across the region, most of which were in keeping with the National Labour Day theme: 'Eat what we grow, grow what we eat'.

In St. James, Mayor of Montego Bay, Charles Sinclair, led a contingent of approximately 100 persons in working on the parish project, which was the establishment of a farm plot on the grounds of the Dumfries Primary School. Participants included students and teachers of the school; residents; representatives from service clubs, government and non government agencies; private sector groups; and military personnel.

In an interview with JIS News, Mayor Sinclair underscored the importance of food security for the nation. "The nation needs to ensure that we have food security so it is most important. We should encourage that this type of activity does not only happen for today, Labour Day, but continues on an ongoing basis, and that persons should plant every available space of land whether in your backyard or otherwise, to ensure that first of all, you can sustain yourself," he stated.

Mayor of Lucea, Lloyd Hill, along with Acting Custos of Hanover, Enid Gonsalves participated in a farm project at the Georgia 4-H Training Centre in Jericho, while in Westmoreland, Mayor of Savanna-la-mar, Bertel Moore led residents to put in a school garden at the Little London High School.

Crops planted in all three parish projects included, banana, cassava, citrus, plum, cherry, ackee, sweet potato, and a variety of vegetables.

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