Poultry supply sufficient to meet Christmas demand

By Nakinskie Robinson    

 

Minister of Agriculture Floyd Green is moving to assure the public that the country's poultry supply is adequate enough to meet demand going into the festive season.

 

Minister Green said the ministry will also be closely monitoring the poultry industry for any changes in the coming months. 

 

"Our poultry producers have thus far assured me that we will have sufficiency of supply for poultry into Christmas. We have sufficient supply of pork products. That is looking very very good. Our production has been doing well this year despite the heat. So we just have to continuously monitor it."

 

He said a team from the ministry has been tasked with monitoring production weekly. 

 

"If there needs to be any sort of supplementing then we will look at it," he added. 

 

Mr. Green was speaking Thursday at a World Food Day Expo at Newell High School in St. Elizabeth.

 

 

Meanwhile, Technical Field Officer at Grace Kennedy Limited Junior Ebanks has sought to explain the shortage of several fruits and vegetables.

 

He said this is due to the recent months-long dry spell across the island. 

 

The excess heat has reportedly affected melon, cantaloupe and cucumber crops, especially. 

 

"Climate change is real and it's affecting farmers and we have to plan a way how do we mitigate against this under climate adaptation to ensure that we have sustainable agriculture development that we can feed ourselves going forward [and] we don't have to import every time we have weather conditions like these, because it's gonna get worse," he warned. 

 

Mr. Ebanks said consumers should brace for an extended reduction in supply of fruits and vegetables in the coming months as the heat is expected to continue. 

 

"With that in mind, farmers are staying away from growing because it's a major loss for them and it's very expensive to grow a crop. The smallest of crop cost pretty close to a million or more per acre to produce. So who want to lose two, three million dollars every year at this time a year, planting crops and with no compensation, no crop insurance to cover them for this type of weather?"

 

Mr. Ebanks was speaking with Radio Jamaica News on the sidelines of the World Food Day Expo.