Mocho Pear Festival targets rural growth

The inaugural Mocho Pear Festival is being hailed as a catalyst for rural economic development, with a focus on revitalising farming, promoting Clarendon’s avocado heritage, and creating opportunities for micro, small, and medium-size enterprises (MSMEs). “This is not just a celebration of our culture and our local pears, it is the birth of sustainable economic opportunities for our farmers and small business owners,” said Clarendon North Central Member of Parliament Robert Nesta Morgan, who contributed $100,000 towards staging the landmark event held last Saturday at Lennon High School. “By spotlighting the agricultural output of Mocho, we are laying the groundwork for community-led wealth creation, empowering local vendors, and placing our rural economy on a path of sustainable growth,” added Morgan who emphasised that the initiative represents a critical turning point for the economic landscape of rural Jamaica. Staged by the Mocho Homecoming Committee, the festival marks the beginning of a massive agricultural transformation for the region. Morgan revealed that local farmers and MSMEs can look forward to unprecedented support with the upcoming launch of 40 state-of-the-art greenhouses, scheduled for completion in 2027. “This major infrastructural development will provide local farmers with year-round climate resilience, vastly increased crop yields, and a stable supply chain. The explosion in production from these greenhouses is expected to anchor the future expansion of the Mocho Pear Festival, morphing it into a premier national agricultural marketplace,” a news release on the festival said. It added that the festival also underscores the massive, untapped international potential of Jamaican avocados as global demand for avocados and their diverse by-products is skyrocketing.

Miss Jamaica Universe Clarendon Taniquia Francis is about to enjoy a slice of bulla and pear with the help of Clarendon North Central Member of Parliament Robert Nesta Morgan at the inaugural Mocho Pear Festival last Saturday at Lennon High School in Clarendon.

Clarendon North Central Member of Parliament Robert Nesta Morgan slices open a bulla in order to add a slice of pear at the inaugural Mocho Pear Festival last Saturday at Lennon High School in Clarendon.

The release stated that Mocho is uniquely positioned to tap into profitable export markets. “By building capacity locally, Mocho’s farmers are being prepared to transition from subsistence farming to high-earning international trade, bringing valuable foreign exchange directly back into the local community.” Affirming his long-term vision for the constituency, Morgan pledged his unwavering support for the festival’s future stagings. He committed to ensuring the Mocho Pear Festival becomes a permanent, highly anticipated fixture on Jamaica’s national calendar, serving as an annual showcase of rural innovation, economic resilience, and agricultural excellence.