Now in its 47th year, the Cayman Islands Agricultural Show is not only one of the longest-running events in the country; it remains one of the most popular, with some 10,000 or so people expected to visit the Grounds at Lower Valley today.
Starring local farmers and artisans, the show’s main attractions are produce, livestock, plants, crafts and items that are grown, raised and/or made right here in Cayman.
The show allows tourists to see parts of the Caymanian culture they might not see along Seven Mile Beach, gives new residents the chance to try unfamiliar foods or products, and affords “old-timers” the opportunity to see friends and catch up on the most current Marl Road gossip.
All of this takes place against the bucolic backdrop of the Grounds, with plenty of refreshments, entertainment and family-friendly fun. The event is a joint effort from the Department of Agriculture and Cayman Islands Agricultural Society.
While farmers have been scratching at the patches of fertile soil scattered about Grand Cayman for hundreds of years, there is a good reason why Caymanians are known for being a seafaring people, not a nation of farmers: that is, a scarcity of arable land.
Not that a detail as inconvenient as that could ever dissuade Caymanians from trying (and some succeeding at) making their livelihoods from the ground. A perusal of colonial reports to Cayman’s supervisors in Jamaica during the first half of the 20th Century reveals multiple accounts of Caymanian farmers’ faith in their islands, and also as-yet-unrealized dreams of transforming Cayman into a “bread basket” for production of coconuts, mangoes and more exotic crops.
The common thread thwarting those plans, of course, has been that Cayman just doesn’t have enough good soil to grow sufficient quantities of food to feed the resident population, much less to export to other countries. However, the limited soil we do have is of high quality, and that combined with our generous amounts of sunshine and rainfall yields high-quality, fine-tasting crops — as anyone who’s tasted local tomatoes, pumpkins or herbs already knows.
While there won’t be any ostriches on display this year (after authorities rejected a Canadian entrepreneur’s plans to raise them in East End), there will be more familiar animals, such as cows, goats, chickens and horses.
Although Caymanians have persistently attempted to make agriculture a bigger piece of the country’s economic puzzle, it hasn’t been until fairly recently that local businesses began to embrace locally grown produce, locally raised meat and locally caught seafood.
Spurred by demand by the chefs at restaurants such as Michael’s Genuine Food and Drink and the Brasserie, local products are increasingly acting as the centerpieces of upscale dining menus, helping command prices above those of imported products.
At the same time, the islands’ grocery stores are stocking their aisles with local items — some of which, like eggs and mangoes, fly off the shelves as fast as they’re put there.
Culture, history and business aside, today’s Agricultural Show is, at its core, a good opportunity to have a good time.
And while you’re at the Grounds, don’t forget to look for Caymanian Compass representatives, who will be distributing a special commemorative edition of the print newspaper for the event.
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