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We are disappointed about the cancellation of Trelawny's annual yam festival due, its organisers say, to financial constraints.
Disappointed, because the cancellation of this particular festival, which highlighted the versatility of one of Trelawny's mainstay agricultural crops, sends a rather gloomy signal to the many who rightly believe in its viability.
And the truth is that yam, as a commercial product, has a lot of potential.
We recall, from a report earlier this year in the January 31 edition of our sister title, the Observer West, the launch by Trelawny's custos, Mr Royland Barrett, of a $2-million agricultural project for the cultivation and processing of yams.
According to Custos Barrett, it was his hope that the project, which was launched with a view to kindling an entrepreneurial passion among students in the parish, would facilitate the investigation and development of technology to give yams a longer shelf life and make the product more presentable and user-friendly to contemporary housewives.
The yam festival - which has, since its inception in 1997, garnered a faithful following of local and overseas patrons - would have undoubtedly played a role in the enhancement of the appreciation for this product, which has helped educate many a Trelawny native and, properly cultivated, has the potential to help educate many more.
We wonder, despite the explanation given by its organisers at the South Trelawny Environmental Agency (STEA) in yesterday's edition of the Observer West, if it had to end this way.
Surely, if there was really a will to make this festival happen, a way would have been found.
We think the STEA team needs to have a talk with the organisers of the Montpelier Agricultural, Livestock and Industrial Show, who, despite chalking up losses in excess of $238,000 from the staging of their event last year, are forging ahead with their show this year in confidence of making a profit.
For, in our opinion, the organisers of the Montpelier Show seem to have the right attitude in terms of the tenacity and determination they are displaying about their business.
Having analysed the reasons for their loss last year (which must be contrasted with the STEA team's small profit) Mr Glendon Harris, president of the St James Association of Branch Societies, which produces the show, is putting plans in place to mitigate any possible fallout in the event of rain.
We wish him every success as he embarks upon the venture which will give farmers, horticulturists, craftsmen and related agencies across the island an opportunity to exhibit their products, and to compete in a range of competitions.
It's just a pity we can't extend similar sentiments to his colleagues in South Trelawny.