Company Information

Olive Downer-Walsh

April 2022

O live Downer-Walsh has dedicated over three decades to the growth and development of Jamaica’s agricultural sector.

Born and raised in rural Jamaica, the deputy chief executive officer of Hardware and Lumber watched her father earn an honest living through farming. The community, which functioned in a like-minded manner, used hard work to feed many families and sent many children to school. Downer-Walsh not only appreciated this feat, but respected the men and women who engaged in the strenuous yet skilful labour and enjoyed the natural fruits of it as well.

While attending Holmwood Technical School, the young scholar was introduced to agriculture as a subject. She marvelled at the thrill of applying theoretical knowledge to the pragmatic approach, already garnered in ‘home soil’. She fell in love with the scientific aspect, studying agriculture in Jamaica before going on to attain a Bachelor of Science degree in agriculture from The University of the West Indies, St Augustine campus, in Trinidad and Tobago.

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