by TREVOR YEARWOOD

YELLOW, pink, and even green baby chicks, comets, koi and other aquarium fish, and snow white rabbits were among the hits as hundreds of schoolchildren descended on Queen's Park for the start of the big annual agricultural festival, Agrofest.

"All our comets, koi and fighters were sold out in a hurry," said aquarium fish and fish-food supplier Cheryl Stoute of Unlimited Collections.

Her company, in operation for over ten years, reported good sales on the opening day of the exhibition hosted by the Barbados Agricultural Society and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, on Friday.

Primary and secondary school students also went in droves to Alko's Rabbitry to pet snow white, grey and black-and-white rabbits.

"We're educating the children, but also looking to do some business," said Allan Maloney, a young Coverley, Christ Church farmer who boasts of running the biggest rabbit business in Barbados.

The chicken people, Chickmont Foods Limited, created an instant hit with their brightly coloured chickens – the result of a food dye inserted in eggs. The colours will fade in two or three weeks, a company official said.

It was also a day for rarely seen birds to strut their stuff, as the Barbados Cage and Aviary Association came to town with finches, budgies, parrots and other varieties of feathered friends.

Some of the best-looking livestock, ground provisions, fruits and vegetables and flowering plants are on display in Queen's Park. At the show you will find black-belly sheep, massive red and black Poll bulls and pigs, along with baskets used in agriculture, agricultural soil types, plants of all types, fuel canes, leathercraft and a collection of processed food.

More than 100 exhibitors are in action, including several assisted by the Rural Development Commission, which itself has a booth.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation, credit unions, the banking sector, insurance industry, Government Information Service, the Council for Science and Technology, Barbados Horticultural Society, the 4-H Movement, Grantley Adams Memorial School and the Barbados Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation are all operating booths.

Agrofest continues today in Queen's Park. (TY)