Chicken farmers in St. Elizabeth getting help under broiler recovery programme

 

Over 50 chicken farmers in St. Elizabeth will benefit from assistance under the Agriculture Minister's Broiler Recovery Programme.

 

Agriculture Minister Floyd Green says some $100 million is to be pumped into the programme to resuscitate the sector, which was devastated with the passage of Hurricane Melissa.

 

He says under the programme, over 100,000 birds will be distributed across the island to restart the recovery process.

 

"We are working with our partners – partners like Hi-Pro – and we will be looking to spend about $46 million on one element of it, which is to purchase our chickens. We're also going to be purchasing feed, we're also going to be purchasing vitamins. But there is also another element because it don't make sense we give you the chicken and you don't have anywhere to put it. So as a part of the programme, we are going to be providing infrastructural repairs to poultry houses. We are providing roofing, wiring, fencing, and in fact our total package that we are looking to spend to resuscitate our broiler chicken sector is about $100 million," he disclosed. 

 

Minister Green said focus will also be placed on layers. 

 

"About 458,000 layer birds died in Hurricane Melissa, and that is 40% of our total layer bird production. So you know we were having a little challenge with egg before. It's going to be more difficult right now," he admitted. 

 

"Already, we are working with our two major players trying to ramp up their production of layers, of pullets, so that we can supply to the farmers who need it. That one is going to take a little bit more time. It's nature, you can't rush that process. And to be honest, we are looking to see if we can bring in some ready-to-lay birds, but we have to be careful. Because there are diseases out there that we don't have here, that we don't want here," the minister stressed.

 

Meanwhile, the Agriculture Minister said measures have been implemented to tackle the concerns raised by butchers in relation to the tagging of cattle. 

 

A group of butchers wrote to the minister seeking an urgent meeting over the difficulties being faced in obtaining tags. 

 

Minister Green said a meeting was held with a group of butchers that converged on the ministry's offices where it was highlighted that the increased enforcement of the National Identification and Traceability System has caused much delay.

 

But he said a tagging push has been launched to deal with the issues identified.

 

"What we agreed to do is, one, increase the amount of persons who are tagging. We have already added eight interns to the tagging team, focusing on the parishes of St. Elizabeth and Manchester. We have started doing some blitz where we bring in resources from the other parishes and focusing on these areas where we have identified a backlog," he said, pointing to the first blitz conducted two weeks ago in St. Elizabeth and Manchester in which 300 cattle were tagged.

 

"The butchers also made some suggestions about some of the areas and said that they would help in the process of identifying bonified owners of cattle who have cows that are ready to go to the slaughter but need to be tagged," added Mr. Green. 

 

He said a probe is to be launched into concerns about the practices relating to tagging.