JAMAICA

FAO

COUNTRY REPORT

1.0 Introduction To The Country And Its Agricultural Sector:

Size:

Jamaica has a total land area of 10991 Sq.Km. making it the third largest Caribbean . The maximum length of the Island is 234.95 Km and the width varies from 35.4 – 82 Km.

Geographical Location World Position:

Jamaica enjoys a favourable location in relation to the western world. As demonstrated in Figure 1, the total landmass of the , most of Europe and much of North and West Africa lie within a hemisphere centred on Jamaica, that is, within a 9 654 kilometres radius of the country. This hemisphere represents the major portion of the world’s economic activity and markets, although inhabited by less than half of the world’s population. Almost all of Jamaica’s cultural and economic associations are with countries in this hemisphere. Western Europe is within 9 654 kilometres, while Eastern and the are well within 3 218 kilometres. A further advantage is provided because direct travel distance lines to those three areas are mostly over water which is the cheapest form of commercial transportation. The increasing use and improvement of aircraft make straight-line distance from Jamaica to other places in the world very pertinent. The closest link with North America is Miami, some 965 kilometres to the north. Such major cities as New York, Montreal, Toronto and Mexico City are from 2 414 kilometres to 3 218 kilometres flying distance; Rio de Janeiro in South America, Dakar in Africa and London and Madrid in Europe are 6 436 kilometres to 8 045 kilometres distant; Tokyo, Cape Town and New Delhi are 12 872 to 14 481 kilometres; Singapore and Sydney are 16 090 to 17 699 kilometres away.

Completion of the Panama Canal in 1912 enhanced Jamaica’s position both economically and strategically. The Canal, located approximately 965 kilometres southwest of Jamaica, attracts much worldwide ocean traffic; Jamaica lies in the centre of the Atlantic entrance to the Canal and on the direct line of routes to and from it. Jamaica’s proximity to the Panama Canal gives it strategic importance during wartime because the Canal could be defended using Jamaica as a

1 base, and those countries deriving benefit from the Canal would find it in their own best interest to safeguard the security of the island.

Jamaica’s favourable location with respect to other countries of the western world has great economic significance. The rapid expansion of , an important component of the country’s economy, results in a large part from its proximity to the heavy population concentrations of the eastern United States and Canada and from the fact that Jamaica is the logical first stop on tours of several Caribbean . This proximity to North America also facilitates trade activities, especially the export of foodstuffs and raw materials. Although the distance to the United Kingdom and other European countries is considerably more than the distance to the United States and Canada, it is still closer than many other Commonwealth countries.

The favourable location of the country also makes it feasible for many Jamaicans to travel to North America and Europe in order to take advantage of employment and educational opportunities and generally become exposed to ways of life elsewhere. This cultural and economic exchange is of great benefit to Jamaica in terms of increased skills, the new awareness obtained and the savings sent home by Jamaicans employed overseas.

Regional Position: Jamaica being a part of the Greater is located in the Northwestern section of the Caribbean Archipelago between 76°11’ West, Longitude; Longitude 78°22’ West; Latitude 18°31’ North; Latitude 17°42’ North, at , Point, Lilly’s Rock and Portland Point respectively.

Jamaica lies 2071.50 km South of the United States of America, 145 km South of Cuba and 160.9 km. to the west of Haiti.

Political Geography (Regions): Jamaica is divided into three counties and these are further divided into fourteen parishes, each with its Parish Capital. The counties are namely Surrey to the east, Middlesex the central county and Cornwall to the west. Surrey has four parishes: Kingston, St. Andrew, St. Thomas and

2 Portland. Middlesex has five parishes: St. Catherine, St. Mary, Clarendon, St. Ann and Manchester. Cornwall has five parishes: St. Elizabeth, Trelawny, St. James, Hanover and Westmoreland.

Table 1 gives the area of Jamaica by parish.

Table 1: Area, By Parish In Square Miles And Square Kilometres Parish Capital Area in (sq. miles) Area in (sq. kilometres) Jamaica Kingston 4,243.6 10,990.5 Kingston Kingston 8.4 21.8 St. Andrew Half-Way-Tree 166.3 430.7 St. Thomas Morant Bay 286.8 742.8 Portland 314.3 814.0 St. Mary Port Maria 235.7 610.5 St. Ann St. Ann’s Bay 468.2 1,212.6 Trelawny Falmouth 337.7 874.6 St. James 229.7 594.9 Hanover Lucea 173.9 450.4 Westmoreland Savannah-la-mar 311.6 807.0 St. Elizabeth 468.1 1,12.4 Manchester Mandeville 320.5 830.1 Clarendon May Pen 461.9 1,196.3 St. Catherine Spanish Town 460.4 1,192.4

Source: Survey Department

Climate Jamaica has a maritime tropical climate mainly distinguished by warm trade winds, which, in the Caribbean generally blow from east to east-north-east. During the winter months, from November to February, cold fronts coming from the North American continent affect Jamaica with occasionally strong northerly winds and localized heavy rainfall, particularly in the northern half of the island. Synoptic scale features produce most of the rainfall year round.

Islandwide, long term mean annual rainfall shows a bimodal pattern with primary maximum in October and secondary in May, but this pattern varies significantly from year to year. March is, in the mean, the driest month. Mean raindays vary from 60 to 200 but whereas places with lower

3 numbers of rain-days receive low annual rainfall, high rain-day regions are not the wettest areas. Most coastal areas receive less than 80 rain-days per year.

The National Meteorological Service in Jamaica maintains 24-hour communications with the National and Regional Hurricane Centre in Florida, particularly during the official hurricane season which is from June to November, thereby ensuring the timely dissemination of forecasts and warnings.

Rainfall: Islandwide, during 1951 to 1980, annual rainfall range from a maximum of 2,593 millimetres (102.09 ins.) in 1963 to a minimum of 1,324 millimetres (52.12 ins) in 1976 with an average of 1,940 millimetres (76.38 ins.) annually. The long-term (1881-1990) mean annual rainfall was 1,895 millimetres (74.61 ins.). The wettest year on record was 1993 with an annual rainfall of 2,960 millimetres (116.54 ins.) while the driest year was 1920 with an annual rainfall 0f 1,299 millimetres (51.14 ins.). Some mountainous areas to the northeast receive more than 5,080 millimetres (35.00 ins.) annually.

Most parts of the island have 2 wet seasons, May to June and September to November and these annual wet seasons occur as regular cycles. The majority of the rainfall during the May to June period is as a result of the periodic march of solar radiation intensity, which peaks at that time. Rainfall in September to November is more directly dependent on the lifting and movement of the sub-tropical high pressure cell in the Atlantic Ocean. Such behaviour deepens the easterly Trades to allow the development of instability zones; as such, a significant portion of the rainfall during this period is produced by upper and lower level troughs, tropical waves, tropical depressions, tropical storms and hurricanes.

The driest period is usually December to March. Most of the rainfall from November to March is associated with cold fronts migrating from North America.

4 Whether during the dry season or rainy season, however, other rainfall-producing systems are influenced by the sea breeze and orographic effects, which tends to produce short-duration showers, mainly during the mid-afternoon.

Temperature: Apart from rapid temperature fluctuations associated with afternoon showers and or the passage of frontal systems, the island’s temperature are fairly constant all the year round under the moderating influence of warm waters of the .

In coastal areas, daily temperatures average 26.2° Celsius (79.2° Fahrenheit). Inland, temperature values are lower, depending on elevation, but irrespective of elevation, the warmest months are June to August and the coolest, December to February.

The diurnal range of temperature is much greater than the annual range and exceeds 11.0° Celsius (20° Fahrenheit in coastal areas. At elevations above 610 metres (2,000 feet), minimum temperatures of the order of 10.0° Celsius (50.0° Fahrenheit) have been reported occasionally, when very active cold fronts reach the island.

Wind: For most of the year, the daily wind pattern is dominated by the northeast Trades. By day, on the north coast, the sea breeze combines with the Trades to give an east-northeasterly wind at an average speed of 27 kpm (15 knots) and along the south coast an east-southeasterly wind at an average speed of 34 kpm (18 knots). In December to March, however, the Trades are weakest and the local wind regime is a combination of Trades, sea breeze and a northerly or north- westerly component associated with cold fronts and high pressure areas from the United States of America.

By night, the Trades combine with land breezes which blow offshore down the slopes of the hills near the coast. As a result, on the north coast, night time winds generally have a southerly component with a mean speed of 10 kph (5 knots) and on the south coast, a northerly component with a mean speed of 13 kph (7 knots). By day, from June to July mean onshore winds often

5 reach maximum of up to 42 kph (23 knots) along the north coast and 48 kph (26 knots) along the south coast during the mid-afternoon.

However, winds are generally lighter inland and towards the West. Calms, therefore, attain their highest frequency in the western extremity of the island and in the two intervening periods between the full development of the land and sea breezes.

Sunshine: Variation of sunshine from month to month in any area are usually small, approximately one hour. Differences, however, are much greater between coastal and inland stations.

Maximum day length occurs in June when 13.2 hours of sunshine are possible and the minimum day-length occurs in December when 11.0 hours of sunshine are possible. However, the mean sunshine in mountainous hill areas is influenced by the persistence of clouds.

Relative Humidity: Relative humidly is typical of subtropical islands ranging from 63-75 percent. Afternoon showers are the major cause of most daily variations in relative humidity. Highest values are recorded during the cooler morning hours near dawn, followed by a decrease until the early afternoon when temperatures are highest.

Although relative humidity in coastal areas averages 84 percent at 7:00p.m, temperatures at this time are in the mid-70’s therefore little or no discomfort results. At 1:00 pm the average relative humidity on the coasts is 71 percent; however, values in the plains will average about 77 percent reflecting the effects of afternoon showers in the nearby hills.

Hurricane: A hurricane is a storm revolving around a centre of low pressure, which contains almost no wind. As a hurricane develops, the winds from the area of high pressure rush towards the low-pressure centre, and as their centrifugal force intensifies powerful gales of up to 128 kilometres per hour are built up. The calm vortex in the centre, the “eye” of the hurricane, varies in diameter from 32

6 to a few hundred kilometres, and usually moves westwards. Hurricanes are invariably accompanied by driving rains.

The hurricane season is between July and October, though a hurricane may occasionally arise in June or November.

Table 2 gives the history of some natural disasters since the beginning of this century.

Table 2: Natural disasters in Jamaica’s history since the beginning of this century and year of occurrence Floods Hurricanes Tropical Storms Earthquakes 1901 1933 1903 1954 1916 1907 1902 1940 1909 1955 1924 1914 1904 1950 1912 1958 1951 1943 1909 (2) 1979 1915 (3) 1963 1953 (2) 1956 1915 (3) 1986 1916 (2) 1964 1955 (2) 1957 1916 1987 1917 1966 1956 1988 1918 1988 1923 1979 (2) 1958 1989 1919 1932 1980 1961 1993 1931 (3) 1933 (2) 1985 1939 1988 1944 1950 1951 Source: Statistical Yearbook of Jamaica 1999

Geographical Features

Mountains: Jamaica is a land of mountains, plateaux and plains. The eastern part of the island is composed of metamorphic rocks which form the imposing range of the . A sinuous central ridge runs north-west to south-east, with many long spurs to the north and south. The crest of this ridge exceeds 1,820 metres for 16 kilometres with the highest summit at Blue Mountain, attaining an elevation of 2,256 metres. Thus the mountains rise 2,100 metres from the costal plain in only 16 kilometres, a general gradient which has few equals anywhere in the world. These mountains are strongly dissected by a network of steep-sided ravines. The hilltops are clothed in forest and present a more rounded aspect than the peals of the northern lands.

7

Many great rivers radiate from these highlands, chief among them are the which collects much of the drainage of the north-east slopes and the which drains the central southern slopes. The latter has transported great qualities of materials to build a delta, which pushes the coastline almost two kilometres seaward.

Much of the rest of the island is built of . This gives a variety of scenery. The in north-east Portland are a strongly tilted plateau over 910 metres high between the Rio Grande Mountains and the Manchester plateau. Both are largely above 607 metres and temperatures are often 10 degrees below those of the coast.

Between these plateaux the land becomes broken, until the limestone cover is breached to reveal older rocks at the centre of the island. This region from Troy and Ulster Spring in the west, to Frankfield in the east is one of rich well-watered soils. Its many rivers include the Quashie, Hectors and Cave Rivers, which flow outwards and disappear underground soon after reaching the encircling limestone. Further west, the stretches for kilometres with a jumble of conical limestone hills and ridges divided by deep precipitous glades. This terrain is heavily forested and is among the most difficult to traverse in the island. Its forms are produced by solution of the limestone by rainwater, which exceeds 2,540 millimetres a year in this region.

The northern edge of the Cockpit Country and the Dry Harbour Mountains and the western edge of the Manchester plateau are marked by long straight scarps with the land falling away in front of them. The Spur Tree scarp runs some kilometres from north to south and falls 455 metres to the west. In places, these plains may be inundated to form swampland. The Black River is the island’s largest river with a winding course 71 kilometres in length. Much of this course passes through the wide swampland of the Upper and Greater Morass.

Table 3 highlights the principal elevations above sea level.

8 Table 3: Principal Elevations Above Sea Level NAME PARISH HEIGHT (METRES) St. Thomas – Portland 2,256 Blue Mountain East Peak St. Thomas – Portland 2,248 Sir John’s Peak (NE of Cinchona St. Thomas-Portland-St. 1,930 Plantation) Andrew Portland Gap St. Thomas-Portland 1,675 St. Catherine’s Peak St. Andrew 1,541 Morce’s Gap St. Andrew-Portland 1,524 Cold Spring Gap St. Andrew 1,311 House, Cinchona Plantation St. Andrew 1,223 Hardwar Gap St. Andrew 1,219 Bellevue St. Andrew 1,152 Newcastle Parade St. Andrew 1,143 Flamstead St. Andrew 1,116 Silver Hill Gap Portland 991 Content Gap St. Andrew 991 Mountain Denham Manchester 986 Arntully Gap St. Thomas 914 Bull Head Clarendon 848 Holly Mount St. Catherine 839 Cuna Cuna Gap St. Thomas 822 John Crow Mountains Portland 762 Dry Harbour Mountains (Cockpit Country) St. Ann 762 Mount Diablo St. Ann-St. Catherine 686 Guys Hill St. Mary-St. Ann-St. Catherine 640 Mandeville Manchester 628 Source: Survey Department

Caves And Sinkholes: A typical feature of the limestone areas of Jamaica is the very pronounced development of what is called Karst topography, that is, an abundance of cockpits, sink holes, caves, underground passages and other solution cavities, which penetrate the thick limestone formation in various directions, especially along the main structural lines and joints. The latter presents planes of weakness to the downward percolating water and have been widened by solution. Not only is the surface dotted with large solution depressions but in places the thick beds of soluble limestone are dissected by cavities and conduits along which underground streams can often be traced for distances exceeding 16 kilometres. The oldest caves and those at higher elevations are however, dry and penetrable. Most of them have been for years the dwelling-places of large

9 colonies of bats, which produce bat-guano and cave phosphates. Early man has also used several of them as homes and hiding places, and some have yielded Taino Indian remains, implements and carvings.

Although some of the caves of Jamaica lack the scenic beauty of the so-called crystal caves (as known for instance, in Capri), many of them are of remarkable beauty and grandeur, their chambers and vaults being largely adorned with fine dripstone formations; stalactites, sturdy stalagmites and draperies of fantastic shapes and appearance. Underground streams and pools and basins of clear, cool water encircled by travertine terraces and calcareous tufa, add to the beauty of the subterranean scenery and attract tourists and visitors.

One of the longest penetrable caves in Jamaica is St. Clair’s Cave in the parish of St. Catherine about three kilometres south of Ewarton, on the western margin of St. Thomas-in-the-Vale. The total length of its accessible underground passages including side branches, measures a little more than three kilometres. It is a typical underground conduit, winding but with a general east- west trend, usually dry and accessible, but carrying a flow of water after long rainy periods. In addition to the accessible caves there are many underground conduits and cave systems, through which subterranean streams flow, rendering them impenetrable or only occasionally and partly accessible during low-water stages in dry periods.

Excluding shelter caves and smaller cavities, some 380 caves have been registered and located by the Geological Survey Department and still others remain to be found. The most important, especially those containing phosphate deposits have been surveyed. Their distribution throughout the parishes is as follows: Hanover 20, Westmoreland 23, St. James 40, St. Elizabeth 44, Trelawny 48, Manchester 20, St. Ann 54, Clarendon 57, St. Catherine 44, St. Mary 3, St. Andrew 7, Kingston 0, Portland 14 and St. Thomas 6.

The Coastline: The island’s coastline has many contrasts. The coastline is 891 kilometres and is punctuated by numerous coastal features such as harbours, bays, mangroves, swamps, rocky shores, cays, coral reefs and lagoons. The north shore has calm clear seas and white sand beaches, backed by a flat- raised plain and uplifted coral reefs. The south coast has black sand beaches and long straight

10 cliffs such as Lover’s Leap in St. Elizabeth with a sheer drop of 300 metres. The island’s finest beach stretches six (6) kilometres on the west coast along a sandbar at Negril.

Bathing Beaches: Numerous beaches along Jamaica’s coast are available for swimming under one or another type of status. The Beach Control Authority had, at mid-1971 secured, by ownership or lease, 27 beaches with changing facilities, toilets and showers and 101 beaches without such facilities. There are 22 seaside parks in addition to the 128 public bathing beaches. Some beaches, which are still under negotiation, are not yet necessarily available to the public. Several public bathing beaches are adjacent to designated fishing beaches and to private beaches; i.e., several users may share the one “physical” beach. Total frontage of bathing beaches and seaside parks is 22,934 metres. Some of the public seaside parks have beaches but they are mainly designated to take advantage of the water environment.

The 11 commercial bathing beaches are under private ownership and are open to the public on a fee-paying basis. Facilities vary from basic to high standard. The total commercial bathing beach frontage is 1,944 meters. The majority of hotel beaches are available to the general public on a fee basis, for patronage of the hotel’s facilities and some on payment of a club fee. The total hotel beach frontage is 9,898 metres. In addition to the beaches shown on the map, there are many which are in private ownership adjacent to beach cottages, resort subdivision or farmland. The quality of both public and private beaches varies appreciably.

For the island, the amount of usable shoreline is 47.5 percent of the entire coastline. The amount secured for public bathing and seaside parks is 5.4 percent of the shoreline, or 2.6 percent of the entire coastline. There are almost eight (8) metres of public shoreline for each thousand residents of Jamaica, compared with 470 metres of total coast line for each thousand of the population. Details of Jamaica coastline and beaches are highlighted in Table 4.

11 Table 4: Coastal Area, Shoreline and Beaches, by Parish Total Total Shoreline Total Extent of Total Total Total (usable Public Public Extent of Extent Parish Coastline Coastline) Shoreline Bathing Seaside of (kilometres) (kilometres) (Metres) beaches Parks Fishing (metres) (metres) Beaches (metres) JAMAICA 891.21 423.57 22,933 18,542 4,392 11,179

Kingston & St 64.37 48.28 1,476 931 545 610 Andrew St. Thomas 89.06 61.30 2,487 1,604 884 1,372 Portland 89.86 44.19 1,959 1,319 640 658 St. Mary 63.79 21.55 739 404 335 823 St. Ann 53.81 29.29 1,007 1,007 - 500 Trelawny 38.56 20.39 1,441 1,240 201 610 St. James 44.13 20.76 1,688 1,624 64 396 Hanover 76.35 19.04 4,724 4,206 518 2,370 Westmoreland 74.93 29.05 2,065 998 1,067 1,097 St. Elizabeth 60.16 30.03 1,257 1,120 137 975 Manchester 21.10 16.33 219 219 - 305 Clarendon 102.16 56.20 274 274 - 1,189 St. Catherine 112.94 33.60 3,597 3,597 - 274 Source: Town Planning Department, UNDP Physical Planning Project and the Beach Control Authority (UNDP – United Nations Development Programme)

Plains: The plains of Jamaica lie chiefly on the southern side of the island, and are all of alluvial formation. The principal plains are the Liguanea Plain in Kingston and St. Andrew, the and St. Dorothy Plains in St. Catherine, the Plain of Vere in Clarendon, the Pedro Plain in St. Elizabeth, and the George’s Plain in Westmoreland.

Harbours and Bays: Since the mountains are nearer to the north than the south coast, the bays and inlets of the north are more rugged than those of the south.

Kingston Harbour on the south coast is the finest harbour in the , and one of the six largest natural harbours in the world. It is almost completely landlocked by a long strip of land

12 called the Palisadoes. Tidal movements are negligible. Morant Bay, and Black River are the other important harbours on the south coast.

Port Antonio on the north with its twin harbours is the second best port of the island. Montego Bay forms a large harbour, through it is somewhat exposed to the north winds. on the north and Port Kaiser and Port Esquivel on the south are important ports from which and alumina are exported. Other important harbours on the north are Lucea, St. Ann’s Bay, Oracabessa and Port Maria. Runaway Bay and Columbus Cove are mainly of historical interest.

Cays: There are several cays off the coast of Jamaica, the most important of which are the Morant Cays and the Pedro Cays, groups of small sandy islands lying off the south coast of Jamaica. The Morant Cays lie on a crescent-shaped shoal, which runs in a more or less north-south direction and is situated about 53 kilometres to the southeast of Morant Point, Jamaica. There are four cays in the group, the largest being North-East Cay.

The Pedro Cays lie on the , which extends westward for nearly 161 kilometres from a point about 64 kilometres south south west of Portland Point, Jamaica. There are four cays in the group, the largest being South-West Cay, about 0.8 kilometres in circumference.

Mineral Springs: There are a number of mineral springs in Jamaica, some of them of high therapeutic value. The most important are the warm saline and radioactive spring at in Clarendon, the hot, sulphurous spring at Bath in St. Thomas; the Black River Spa in St. Elizabeth; the Moffat Spring on the . There are also mineral baths fed by cold springs at Rockfort, near Kingston, and at Port Henderson.

Rivers: Since the principal range of mountains run from west to east, the rivers, which start on their slopes, generally flow to the north or to the south.

13 Most of the rivers are not navigable. The height of the mountains causes them to run swiftly in deep beds, and their courses are sometimes broken by waterfalls.

Jamaica’s rivers, which are numerous, flow down from the central mountainous area, but owing to the limestone nature of most of the interior, several of these rivers appear only intermittently and, particularly in parishes of St. Ann, Trelawny and St. Thomas, rise only a few kilometres from the coast. Most of the rivers are narrow and fast flowing, and some have rapids; in general, those flowing south are longer and are fed by more tributaries than those flowing north. The principal rivers which flow south from the mountains are the in St. Thomas which rises in the Blue Mountains and runs south from short distance before veering sharply to the east to flow out into Holland Bay; the Yallahs River which rises under Silver Hill Peak and flows to the sea through eastern St. Thomas; the which rises near Newcastle in St. Andrew and flows due south; the which rises in Above Rocks and flows west to where it joins the Rio Cobre which then flows south and west through St. Catherine; the Rio Minho which rises near Spaldings and flows in a shallow area across Clarendon to enter the sea at Carlisle Bay; Milk River which rises in the vicinity of Porus and flows due south, being navigable for about 3 kilometres of its lower reaches; Black River which intermittently disappears underground, beginning as and flows for 19 kilometres east along the boundary between Trelawny and Manchester, reappearing as the One Eye River at Oxford in Manchester, disappearing once more and reappearing as the Black River near Mexico Estates in St. Elizabeth from which point it pursues a winding course of 71 kilometres to the sea. It has been described as the finest river in the island, is navigable by boats of considerable size for a distance of approximately 40 kilometres from its mouth and provides river transport to the sea for the produce of the area through which it flows. The Cabaritta, which rises near Birch’s Hill in Hanover, flows south into Westmoreland and winds across the plains to enter the sea at Savannah-la-Mar. The rivers flowing out on the north coast are the Rio Grande and its tributaries, which rise in the Blue Mountains and flow across Portland to enter the sea near St. Margaret’s Bay; the Wag Water which rises in the Blue Mountains near Hardwar Gap and flows across St. Mary to enter the sea to the west of Annatto Bay; the White River which rises near Guy’s Hill in St. Mary and whose course forms the boundary between St. Mary and St. Ann; the Martha Brae which rises near Windsor in Trelawny and flows out to the east of Falmouth; the

14 which, with its numerous short tributaries, rises in central St. James and flows east to Montego Bay; and the which rises in St. Elizabeth and as it flows north to the sea marks the boundary between St. James and Hanover.

Details of the main rivers of Jamaica are given in Table 5

Table 5: Main Rivers of Jamaica by Length and Parish Rivers Length (Kilometres) Parish Hope River 19.6 St. Andrew Morant River 25.9 St. Thomas Plantain Garden River 34.9 St. Thomas Yallahs River 36.9 St. Thomas 22.2 Portland Hector’s River 5.1 Portland Rio Grande 34.3 Portland 24.0 St. Mary 36.2 St. Mary White River 27.4 St. Ann 32.5 Trelawny Great River 46.0 St. James Montego River 24.1 St. James Lucea West River 14.0 Hanover Lucea East River 12.9 Hanover Cabaritta River 39.7 Westmoreland Dean’s River 17.1 Westmoreland Negril River 15.3 Westmoreland Black River 53.4 St. Elizabeth Milk River 36.4 Clarendon Rio Minho 92.5 Clarendon Rio Cobre 50.9 St. Catherine Source: Survey Department

Geology and Minerals: The island of Jamaica is comprised of three main physiographic regions each characterized by different types of land forms and relief; (1) the interior mountain ranges, (2) the dissected and karst limestone plateaux and hills and (3) the coastal plains and interior valleys. The interior mountain ranges are built up of the oldest rocks in Jamaica and constitute the core of the island. The most prominent topographic unit is the Blue Mountain, which occupies the axial part of the eastern portion of the island. The main ridge trends Northwest to Southeast sweeping round to a more easterly direction at its eastern end. It has a sharp crest consisting of a chain of

15 high peaks exceeding 1,800 metres in elevation and culminating in the Blue Mountain Peak (2,256 metres). The Mountains in the Wag Water belt form a chain of foothills running parallel to the western part of the main ridge, and comprising several peaks over 1,200 metres high. The axial central range in the middle of the island, and a few elevations in the western parts are much lower altitude, only in few points rising slightly over 910 metres. The topography of these mountainous areas is rugged, very picturesque, much dissected by deep erosional valleys and gullies with steep hillsides, being subject to strong soil erosion and land- sliding where deforested.

The Tertiary limestone areas, covering the flanks of the interior ranges and extending over the axis in the western parts, comprise more than half of the island’s surface. The limestone hills and plateaux seldom exceed 910 metres in elevation. In the higher regions a peculiar type of mature karst topography, called Cockpit topography prevails, while in the lower areas nearer to the coast a gentler hilly topography has developed. The Cockpit Country, being much dissected by deep sinkholes and glades presents a very rough topography, most difficult to traverse. The features are due to the intense solution of the limestone by atmospheric waters, and generally all the rainwater sinks into the fissures and cavities and flows in underground courses, forming large caves and subterranean water conduits. Relatively few surface streams are developed and water supply in these areas is a serious problem.

The coastal plains are low-lying level areas developed along the south coast, and are composed of alluvial sands, gravels and loams. They extend inland for several miles abutting against the limestone hills. These are the areas best suited for large-scale cultivation. The deltas and plains along the lower reaches of the main rivers are of the same nature. The interior valleys (‘Poljes’) are flat-bottomed or slightly undulating depressions occurring in the limestone areas at various elevations. They are floored with residual clay or alluvium. Although of lesser extent than the coastal plains, they also provide a fruitful soil for cane and other crops. The most important economic mineral is bauxite, which occurs, in large deposits associated with the Tertiary White Limestone formation. The is a soft to moderately hard, red earthly material, alumina content ranging around 50 percent, oxide about 20 percent, silica generally less than 3 percent, titania about 2 percent, and combined water about 27 percent. It is

16 of terra rosa type and fills solution pockets, depressions and glades in the limestone. The deposits have practically no over-burden and many are of considerable size, the reserves amounting to many hundreds of millions of tons. The largest deposits occur in the parishes of Manchester, St. Elizabeth and St. Ann. The maximum thickness in the deepest pockets exceeds 20 metres, while the average mineable thickness is in the range of 3-9 metres. Suitable process methods have been developed for the economic treatment of this relatively low-grade ore, and large-scale mining operations were set in motion in 1952-53.

Another mineral, which occurs in commercial quantities in eastern St. Andrew is . The largest deposit lies in the area of Brooks, near Bull Bay, within two or three kilometres of the coast. They are exploited by Jamaica Gypsum Limited, a subsidiary of United States Gypsum Company. The Company operates quarries and a crushing plant at Brooks in the Bull Bay area and a loading pier at Harbour Head. At present, the major portion of the output is exported to the United States of America. The remainder is sold locally to cement producers and others, except for a small quantity which is exported to and other Caribbean countries.

Metalliferous mineral deposits, such as of , lead, and occur in the form of smaller veins in andesites and other igneous rocks at several localities in Upper Clarendon, Portland and St. Andrew. They were mined to a small extent in the nineteenth century. Re-examination of these deposits is in progress and some of them may be worked again. The Hope Mine near Papine, St. Andrew, which had been worked in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, still contains workable deposits of lead and zinc ore of an average grade of 1.7 percent Pb and 3.8 percent Zn, in addition to small values in silver and gold. Several lodes of high-grade iron ore (magnetic and hematite) have been discovered in the parishes of St. Andrew and Portland.

Limestone is largely used as road building material and for the manufacture of Portland cement, of which about 500 000 tonnes are produced annually by the Caribbean Cement Company.

17 Population

Population size, growth, structure, and distribution provide the basis for the development of all policies, plans and programmes. Population size and growth result from the interplay of fertility, mortality and international migration. The current growth rate of the population of 0.6 percent in 2001 has been consistent with the National Population Policy target for a growth rate below 0.8 percent over the medium term and a projected population size of under 3.0 million by the year 2020. This growth rate has been consistently below 1.0 percent since 1997. The downward trend is desirable in light of national policy for achieving a stable population at zero growth. However, since the decline in the growth rate is influenced mainly by continuing high levels of emigration rather than declines in fertility it may have serious repercussions for national development. Life expectancy at birth is a good measure of the health status of the country, and stands at 69.8 years for males and 73.2 years for females or an average of 72.0 years. This is commendable as, at this intermediate stage in the nation’s process of demographic transition, it compares favourably with that of the developed countries. It is also indicative of the ageing of the population, which occurs when both fertility and mortality decline as a result of improvements such as in education, contraception and health care practices.

Population Growth: At the end of 2001, the population of Jamaica was estimated at 2 621 100, or approximately 0.6 percent over the 2001 figure of 2 604 800 (Table 6). Data from the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) estimated 55 300 births for the year, and deaths were 17 300. Natural increase of the population was thus 38 000. Loss to net external movements was 21 700, so that there was a net increase of 16 400. The combination of a relatively high number of estimated deaths and continued high levels of net external movements have been largely responsible for the population growth being held at 0.6 percent in 2001. The population density in 2001 was 239 per sq km.

18 Fertility: The estimated number of live births for 2001 is approximately 55 300, which equates to a Crude Birth Rate (CBR) of 21.2 per 1 000 population (see Table 6). It should be noted that the absolute numbers of registered births have been falling since 1998 and averaged 55 000 since then compared with 58 600 per annum from the early nineties up to 1997 (1992-1997). The General Fertility Rate (GFR) relates births to the actual number of women in the reproductive age group 15-49 years. In 2001 there were 696 228 women in this category which calculates to a GFR of 79.4 per 1000 women 15-49 years, up from 78.2 in 2000.

A more precise measure of fertility than the CBR or the GFR is the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) or the average number of children per woman. This was estimated at approximately 2.8 in 1997 down from 3.0 in 1993.

Details of the population growth are given in Table 6

Table 6: Population growth Statistics 1992 – 2001 N U M B E R S RATES (PER 1000 POPULATION Crude Crude Rate of Natural Net Birth Death Natural Annual Rate Population Net Increase increase Rate Rate increase of Growth in at the end Mean Live External col(4)- col(7)+ col(4)/ col(5)/ col (9)- percentages Year of year population Births Deaths Movement col (5) col (6) col (3) col (3) col(10) col(8)/col(3) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 1992 2 423 700 2 411 300 58 600 13 200 -20 500 45 400 24 900 24.3 5.5 18.8 1.0 1993 2 445 900 2 434 800 57 400 13 900 -21 300 43 500 22 200 23.6 5.7 17.9 0.9 1994 2 472 900 2 459 400 59 200 13 500 -18 800 45 700 26 900 24.1 5.5 18.6 1.1 1995 2 503 300 2 488 100 63 500 15 400 -17 700 48 100 30 400 25.5 6.2 19.4 1.2 1996 2 527 400 2 515 400 59 200 16 900 -18 000 42 300 24 200 23.5 6.7 16.8 1.0 1997 2 553 200 2 540 300 59 400 15 100 -18 600 44 300 25 700 23.4 5.9 17.5 1.0 1998r 2 573 700 2 563 700 56 900 16 200 -20 100 40 700 20 600 22.2 6.3 15.9 0.8 1999r 2 589 000 2 581 700 53 600 17 5400 -21 000 39 600 18 600 20.8 6.7 14.1 0.6 2000p 2 604 800 2 596 900 54 000 16 300 -21 800 38 600 16 800 20.7 6.3 14.9 0.6 2001d 2 621 100 2 609 300 55 300 17 200 -21 700 38 100 16 400 21.2 6.6 14.6 0.6 Note: a. Figures in cols. 2 – 8 are approximated to the nearest hundred. Discrepancies are due to rounding. b. Number of births and deaths are the events registered by the Registrar General’s Department c. Net External Movement is a surrogate measure for Emigration and is based on movements of Jamaican nationals to and from the island in any given year. d. Estimates of births and deaths for 2001 (used as the basis for calculation of the 2001 population) have been computed by STATIN using regression analysis and hence differ from the numbers reported by the Registrar General’s Department r - revised p - provisional

Source: Statistical Institute of Jamaica, Registrar General’s Department and the Immigration Department

19

Mortality: The number of deaths in 2001 was estimated at 17 200 reflecting a Crude Death Rate (CDR) of 6.6 per 1000 population (see Table 6). This gives a 5.5 percent increase in deaths over the previous year. The overall death rate has remained low for two decades, varying between 5.5 and 7.0 per 1000. However, when age specific rates are considered there is cause for concern in relation to a number of demographic groups namely infants, mothers and youths. Infant deaths were estimated at 24.5 per 1000 live births, and maternal mortality estimated at 111.0 per 100 000 live births. Within the age group 15-30 years, there were high levels of deaths, especially among males, due to motor vehicle accidents, crime, violence, drugs and robbery-related violence. Non-communicable chronic diseases (lifestyle diseases) such as those associated with obesity, for example, hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, neoplasms, diseases of the respiratory, circulatory and nervous systems were largely responsible for deaths

Population Distribution: Population changes between 1991 and 2001, varied geographically, with large increases in some parishes and little growth, or even decline in others. Just over two fifths (43.5%) of the population continues to live in the contiguous southeastern parishes of Kingston, St. Andrew and St. Catherine. One of the most significant aspects of population change in the past thirty years has been the growth of the parish of St. Catherine. Simultaneous with this growth, has come the continuing decline in the population of the parish of Kingston and the slowing down in the rate of growth of the parish of St. Andrew. Kingston and St. Andrew had represented the major focus of inter parish movements and growth since 1921. Between 1991 and 2001, St. Catherine grew at an annual rate of 2.3 percent nearly three times the rate observed for the country as a whole. Kingston declined at a rate of 0.5 percent per annum, while St. Andrew only grew at a rate of 0.3 percent annually. Following St. Catherine the fastest growing parishes between 1991 and 2001 were Manchester (1.5%), St. James (1.3%) and St. Ann (1.1%). As a result of these differences in growth rates, the parish share of the total population has shifted considerably in recent decades. In 1982 approximately 4.8 percent of the population lived in the parish of Kingston, a proportion that declined to 4.2 percent in 1991 and by 2001 had fallen to 3.7 percent. Movements for St. Andrew for the same period was from 23.3 percent in 1982, to 22.7 percent in 1991 and declining to 21.3 percent in 2001. St. Catherine on the other hand moved from 15.2 percent in

20 1982 to 16.0 percent in 1991 and in 2001 accounted for 18.5 percent of the population of Jamaica. In terms of actual numbers, the parish of St. Catherine grew by 98 689 between 1991 and 2001, thereby contributing 45.1 percent of the overall growth of 218 668. Other important contributors to growth have been the central parishes of Manchester and Clarendon which grew by 25 661 and 21 446 respectively and in the northwest, St. James (20 437) and Northeast, St. Ann (16 720). St. Andrew gained 14 366 and therefore rounded out the top five largest gaining parishes. The 10 086 gain to the population of Westmoreland should be noted as this was the only western parish other than St. James to show any appreciable growth.

The parish of St. Elizabeth stands out as that which experienced the lowest rate of growth and the smallest addition to its population between 1991 and 2001. St. Elizabeth grew at the minimal rate of 0.02 percent adding less than 300 persons.

Urbanization and the Growth of Towns: The preliminary census data reveal that just over a half (52.1%) of the population live in areas classified as urban while (47.9%) lived in rural areas.

The urban population grew at an annual rate of 1.42 percent between 1991 and 2001, much faster than the population in rural areas, which grew at a rate of only 0.52 percent over the decade.

Economic Conditions: The economy of Jamaica is largely dependent on the production of bauxite, alumina, sugar, and tourism. These activities contribute nearly 50 percent of the country’s GDP and nearly 66 percent of its gross foreign exchange. Table 7 give details of the selected economic and social indicators.

21 Table 7: Selected Economic and Social Indicators

SELECTED ECONOMIC & SOCIAL INDICATORS 1997 – 2001 Unit 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 GDP at Current Prices J$b 240.6 r 254.1 r 274.3 r 307.0 r 334.7 GDP at Constant (1986) Prices J$b 19.62 r 19.56 r 19.47 r 19.60 r 19.94 Real GDP growth (1986) % -1.7 -0.3 r -0.4r 0.7 r 1.7

Goods Production as % of Total Real GDP % 41.1 r 40.3 r 40.2 r 39.1 r 39.4 Agriculture “ % 7.9 r 7.8 r 8.0 r 7.0 r 7.3 Mining “ % 8.9 r 9.2 r 9.1 r 8.9 r 9.1 Manufacturing “ % 16.4 r 15.7 r 15.7 r 15.7 r 15.5 “ % 8.0 r 7.5 r 7.5 r 7.4 r 7.5 Services “ % 76.6 r 77.5 r 81.4 r 84.5 r 84.2 Basic Services “ % 18.0 r 19.1 r 20.7 r 21.9 r 22.6 Other Services “ % 58.6 r 58.4 r 60.8 r 62.6 r 61.6 Imputed Services Charges % -17.8 r -17.8 r -21.6 r -23.7 r -23.6

Exports as % GDP (current) % 21.4 r 19.5 r 18.4 18.5 17 Imports “ % 49.4r 46.9r 44.4 46.0 41

Income (per Capita) Current J$000 93.2 95.9 103.5 114.6 n/a Constant J$000 7.5 7.4 7.3 7.4 n/a

EXTERNAL TRADE * Total Imports (c.i.f.) * US$ m 3 127.8 2 961 2 904 3 200 3 365 Annual Growth in total Imports % 6.6 -5.3r -1.9r -10.2 5.2 Consumer Goods US$ m 895.0 922.0 964.0 976 989 Raw Material US$ m 1 573.2 1 488.0r 1 471.0r 1 713 1 810 Capital goods US$ m 659.5 551r 468.3 511 566 Total Exports (f.o.b) * US$ m 1 387.3r 1 290.3r 1 247.3 1 293.1 1 224.5 Annual Growth in Total Exports % 0.5 -6.9 -3.3r 3.7 -5.3 Traditional Exports US$ m 945.4 840.4r 874.6r 909.2 897.2 Bauxite US$ m 72.8 81 55.9 45.5 93.8 Alumina US$ m 651.7 575.3r 627.9 684.3 642.6 Sugar US$ m 101.9r 94.6r 95.3r 83.3 70.5 US$ m 45.7r 33.2 29.8 22.9 18.3 Non Traditional Exports US$ m 409.3 400r 338.2r 344.2 301.5 Wearing Apparel US$ m 227.6 200.5r 159.1r 143.5 88.5 Trade Balance * US$ m -1740.7r 1 670.7r -1656.7r -1906.9 -2140.5

22

SELECTED ECONOMIC & SOCIAL INDICATORS 1997 – 2001 Unit 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 BALANCE OF PAYMENTS ** Current account Balance US$ m -332.2r -333.7r -216.3r -288.6r -650 Trade Balance ** US$ m -1132.3r -1130.5r -1186.5r -1353.5 -1 580 Total Imports (f.o.b) ** US$ m 2832.6r 2743.9r 2685.6r 2 908.1 3 –31.6 Total Exports (f.o.b) ** US$ m 1700.3r 1 613.4 1499.1r 1 554.6 1 451.6 Services (Net) US$ M 308.0 261.0 565.0r 594 546.4 Balance on Goods and Services US$ m -665.1r -653.6r -531.1r -759.5 -1 033.6 Income (Net) US$ m -291.9r -308.1r 332.5r -349.9 -488.7 Current transfers (Net) US$ m 624.8r 628.0r 647.3r 820.8 872.3 Capital & Financial Account Balance US$ m 332.2r 333.7r 216.3r 288.6 650 Reserves US$ m 161.3r -39.3r 133.6r -519.3 -871.3

Net International Reserves US$ m 541 582 450.2 969.5 1 840.7

Net Foreign Assets J$b 35.5 36.8 40.0r 69.8 116.6p

Nominal Exchange Rate (J$ per 35.6 37.2 41.4 45.5 47.4 US$) Million 1.9 1.9 2 2.2 2.1 Total Visitor arrivals Million 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.3 1.3 Stop-over Visitors Million 0.7 0.7 0.8 0.9 0.8 Cruise Passengers % 55.7 58.7 57 58.5 56.1 Occupancy US$ M 1 130.0 1 197 1 280 1 333 1 235 Foreign Exchange Earnings

Energy Mb 19.5 18.1r 20.1 21.4 21.9 Imports (d) GWh 2 768.4 2 949.6 3 099.5 3 301.8 3 360.8 Electricity Generated

Population 000 Persons 2 553.2 2 573.0r 2 589.4r 2 605.4 2 621.1 Growth Rate % 1 0.8r 0.6r 0.6 0.6 Crude Birth Rate Per 1000 pop. 23.4 22.2 20.8r 20.8 21.2 Crude Death Rate Per 1000 pop. 5.9 6.3r 6.7 6.3r 6.6 Natural Increase % 17.5 15.9r 14.1r 14.9 14.6 Net External Movement 000 persons -18.6 -20.1 -21 -21.8 -21.7

Labour Force 000 1 133.8 1 128.6 1 119.1 1 105.3 1 104.8 Male 000 613.8 614.3 611.7 615 618.1 Female 000 520 514.2 507.4 490.3 486.7 Labour Force Participation % 66.5 65.6 64.5 63.3 63 Male % 74.6 73.9 73 73 73 Female % 59 57.8 56.6 54.3 53.6 Total Employment 000 946.8 953.6 943.9 933.5 939.4 Male 000 548.9 552.9 550.3 552.4 554.8 Female 000 397.9 400.7 393.6 381.1 384.7 Total Unemployment Rate % 16.5 15.5 15.7 15.5 151 Male % 10.6 10 10 10.2 10.3 Female % 23.5 22.1 22.5 22.3 21 Average Weekly Earnings of All Employees (1990 J$) (e) J$ 5 177.2 5 881.9 6 869.1 7 277.7 n/a

23

SELECTED ECONOMIC & SOCIAL INDICATORS 1997 – 2001 Unit 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 Education Enrolment in: (000) Primary Institutions “ 306.2 318.2r 318.6 325.3 334.7 Secondary Institutions “ 219.3 227.2 228.5 226.4 227.5 Tertiary Institutions “ 4.1 10.9 12.7 12.5 12.1 University (f) “ 15.7 16.2 15.8 18.6 20.9 Literacy Rate 75.4 75.4 75.4 79.9 79.9

Health Infant Mortality Rate Per ‘000 Live 24.5 24.5 24.5 24.5 24.5 births Life Expectancy (at birth) Yrs 72.2 72 72.2 72.2r 72 Mortality Per 100 000 111 111 111 111 111

Notes: * STATIN’s methodology ** BOJ’s new methodology d – excluding marketing companies e – From Survey of employment, earnings and Hours worked in Large Etablishments, Statistical Institute of Jamaica f – Enrolment data for University in 2000 and 2001 included the Northern Caribbean University mb – million barrels r – revised n/a – not applicable

Source: Economic and Social Survey Jamaica 2001

24

25

Main Farming Systems

Description: There is 115 892.2 hectares of land in Jamaica according to the 1996 census of agriculture. The total area of holdings for agriculture and forestry was estimated at 407 434 hectares of the total agricultural land of 449 500 hectares. Agricultural land covers 38.8 percent of the total area of Jamaica. Table 8 gives the area of agricultural land by parish 1968 and 1996.

Table 8: Area of Agricultural Land by Parish in 1968 and 1996. PARISH 1968 1996 St. Andrew 13 000 7 100 St. Thomas 46 200 28 800 Portland 30 500 20 500 St. Mary 43 100 34 900 St. Ann 63 100 55 000 Trelawny 42 500 34 300 St. James 28 400 19 600 Hanover 25 800 21 700 Westmoreland 54 700 42 200 St. Elizabeth 72 000 50 400 Manchester 44 500 24 900 Clarendon 73 500 62 700 St Catherine 64 500 47 400 Total 602 700 449 500

Source: Census of Agriculture 1996

Estimates of total hectares in agriculture were 533 800 in 1998.

The data in Table 8 show that 57 percent of agricultural land in Jamaica can be found in the parishes of St. Elizabeth, St. Ann, Westmoreland, Clarendon and St. Catherine. St. Elizabeth, Clarendon, St. Catherine, St. Thomas and Manchester have seen the greatest fall in area of agricultural lands between 1968 and 1996.

26 Geographical Distribution of Agricultural Production The three principal type of agricultural usage are: (a) Plantation/permanent crops – grown mostly for export constituting the traditional export sector (b) crops/non-permanent crops for domestic consumption and export constituting the non traditional domestic food crop sector (c) Pasture for ruminants – beef and dairy cattle, sheep and goats Of the major export crops, sugar occupies most of the alluvial coastal plains and interior valleys and is grown in pure stand. Banana is grown in pure and mixed stand in several coastal and interior areas of the island. tends to be concentrated in the south central parts of the island.

Coconut is grown as a plantation crop for local consumption and is found mainly in the eastern and north central regions of the island. Pimento tends to be scattered over the drier parishes. Food crop occupies mostly the central uplands.

Lands used for pasture – improved and unimproved grasses are mostly situated in north central and western Jamaica. In addition, some of the extensive areas of woodland are utilized for grazing on a less intensive basis.

Structure of the Agriculture Sector The agriculture sector has traditionally been export oriented with sugar, bananas, , pimento and cocoa in that order being the main crops. The structure of the agricultural sector has changed significantly in the post-independence period. Economic policies emphasizing self- reliance and import substitution led to the growth of the domestic crop and livestock sectors. The agricultural sector therefore comprises two principal grouping: Traditional and Non- Traditional agricultural sub-sectors.

The traditional agricultural sub-sector includes the traditional export crops: sugar, banana, coffee, citrus, pimento and cocoa. The non-traditional agricultural sub-sector includes products such as a variety of tubers, herbs, spices, , vegetables and horticultural products that have experienced a remarkable growth in terms of export. Fruits include papaya and avocadoes. Condiments include hot pepper and thyme. Tubers include yams and sweet potatoes; vegetables such as pumpkin and cucumbers are examples of such crops. Foliage and cut flowers represent

27 examples of horticultural products exported. Another component of the non-traditional agricultural sector consist of locally produced meats such as chicken, beef and pork that currently serves mainly as import substitutes. Fish, lobster and crustaceans are also included.

The production, processing and marketing of livestock products in Jamaica is relatively well developed in the milk, beef and poultry sub-sectors. Goats and especially sheep are of less importance as a source of food but are buoyant sub-sectors that are now poised for growth.

Crops

Description: The Agricultural Census of 1996 reported that approximately 45 percent of farmland representing 177 600 hectares was in crops (excluding ruinate land not on farms and land with no information reported) see Table 9. Lands devoted to pasture for ruminant production could approximate 197 000 hectares, assuming that the categories of ruinate and fallow lands identified to be in farming, but no information reported indicate utilization for grazing (see Table 9). The non-ruminant population (pigs and chicken) should be in occupancy of some percentage of the remaining 32834 hectares of the total area of agricultural holdings.

28 Table 9: Area in Permanent Agricultural Crop by Parish 1996 Hectares Other Parish Banana Cocoa Coffee Citrus Sugarcane Pimento Root Total Crops St. Andrew 681 306 165 1 749 78 69 55 411 3514 St. Thomas 2 183 278 3 381 1 281 73 3 710 138 1 400 12 444 Portland 1 461 183 2 522 1 283 117 81 467 770 6884 St. Mary 3 572 2 644 3 405 599 1 124 476 1 087 2 154 15 061 St Ann 747 48 645 1 138 427 443 1 633 561 5 642 Trelawny 388 20 487 126 752 6 437 225 325 8 760 St. James 1 202 28 546 548 1 155 1 037 42 468 5 026 Hanover 717 117 689 76 493 1 701 433 881 5 107 Westmoreland 626 87 487 144 294 11 437 244 919 14 238 St. Elizabeth 315 29 164 174 263 3 154 337 715 5 151 Manchester 460 16 43 654 857 62 134 457 2 683 Clarendon 2 055 1 904 435 1 715 2 484 16 680 65 1 517 26 855 St. Catherine 1 668 1 366 914 1 320 3 691 8 007 201 1972 19 139 TOTAL 16 075 7 026 13 883 10 807 11 808 53 294 5 061 12 550 130 504 % OF TOTAL IN PERMANENT 12.3 5.4 10.6 8.3 9.0 40.8 4.0 9.6 CROPS % OF TOTAL AREA IN 9.0 4.0 7.8 6.0 6.6 30.0 2.8 7.0 73.2 CROPS

Non-Permanent Agricultural Crops by Parish 1996 Hectares All Grand Parish Vegetables Legumes Condiments Fruits Cereals Yams Tubers Other Total Total Crops St. Andrew 315 253 54 97 49 384 131 14 1 297 4 811 St. Thomas 1 045 495 103 274 65 299 278 55 2 614 15 058 Portland 258 48 81 60 46 455 750 93 1 791 8 675 St. Mary 739 137 137 243 106 698 445 98 2 603 17 664 St. Ann 1 825 593 242 25 514 2 598 1 284 91 7 172 12 814 Trelawny 272 109 115 522 175 2 441 231 11 3 876 12 636 St. James 210 51 50 157 62 502 176 14 1 222 6 248 Hanover 275 148 120 75 157 1 146 310 31 2 262 7 369 Westmoreland 511 333 110 151 450 935 501 61 3 052 17 290 St. Elizabeth 1 354 1 931 725 804 270 755 1 091 667 7 597 12 748 Manchester 1 085 657 447 138 172 2 110 1 192 44 5 845 8528 Clarendon 1 130 565 186 82 138 2 205 808 160 5 274 32 129 St. Catherine 803 374 179 263 150 1 455 830 87 4141 23 280 TOTAL 9 822 5 694 2 549 2 891 2 354 15983 8 027 1 426 48746 179250(a) % OF TOTAL IN NON 20.0 11.7 5.2 6.0 4.8 32.8 16.5 3.0 PERMANENT CROPS % OF TOTAL AREA IN 5.5 3.0 1.4 1.6 1.0 9.0 4.5 0.8 26.8 CORPS Source: Census of Agriculture 1996 (a) Minor inconsistence in reporting cause the total figure to be greater than the area under crops according to Table 9.

29 The data in Table 9 show that 73.2 percent of the total crop land was in permanent crops and 26.8 percent in non-permanent crops. The data also shows that sugarcane occupies 41 percent of the area in permanent crops and 30 percent of all crops. Of the non-permanent crops 33 percent was in yam and 20 percent in vegetables.

Animal Products

Description: The livestock sub-sector is centred around the rearing of beef and dairy cattle, poultry, pigs, sheep and goats. Livestock makes a significant contribution to the Jamaican economy through - employment creation - contribution to Agricultural (16.3% Agri. GDP - 2001) - production of animal protein for local consumption

ƒ earning of foreign exchange through export of:

(a) live animals – cattle - dairy and beef (b) semen – cattle (c) beef (d) chicken

(a) Livestock Population:

30 Table 10 gives the livestock population by parish

Table 10: Livestock Population by Parish 1996 with Totals 1968, 1978

Other Parish Dairy Beef Other Pigs Poultry Goats Sheep Farm Cattle Cattle Cattle Animals(a) 1996 St. Andrew 800 1 200 1 500 6 800 100 000 7 200 100 200 St. Thomas 3 500 3 500 6 100 8 500 92 000 12 300 200 700 Portland 2 700 2 600 3 100 5 700 84 000 8 900 300 400 St. Mary 1 600 6 300 9400 15 200 138 000 19 400 200 400 St. Ann 4 600 21 100 25 700 10 400 1 431 000 23 000 700 1 800 Trelawny 1 400 7 000 7 500 5 900 258 000 16 200 200 800 St James 1 500 3 600 6 400 4 700 71 000 12 400 200 200 Hanover 3 700 4 400 8 700 5 000 92 000 17 100 100 900 Westmoreland 3 200 12 300 20 100 12 900 210 000 37 000 200 1 200 St. Elizabeth 2 500 10 600 16 500 13 500 186 000 38 800 900 800 Manchester 3 600 5 400 15 800 6 700 163 000 20 100 300 800 Clarendon 6 000 12 300 14 700 17 200 3 241 000 46 500 1 000 3 300 St. Catherine 3 600 5000 13 300 19 600 2 301 000 26 100 700 1 600 TOTAL 1996 38 700 95 300 148 800 132 100 8 367 000 285 000 5 100 13 100 TOTAL 1978 47 500 … 246 900(b) 143 300 5 881 000 295 900 6 800 41 500(C) TOTAL 1968 34 900 183 700 60 200 206 700 4 005 000 208 100 6 200 65 100 (C) Source: Censuses of Agriculture 1968, 1978 and 1996 a) Comprises horses, mules and donkeys b) Includes beef cattle c) Includes 23 500 and 24 400 rabbits in 1978 and 1986 respectively.

31 Table 10 b gives details of the number of holdings reporting cattle and number of cattle by type.

Table 10 b: Number of Holdings reporting Cattle and number of Cattle by Type and by Size Group of Holding NUMBER TYPE OF CATTLE SIZE GROUP OF TOTAL Steers Male Female HOLDINGS CATTLE Dairy Beef & Heifers Calves Calves Bull JAMAICA 51 215 282 991 38739 95325 42315 70 405 17 782 18 425 Landless Farms 4013 16719 1804 5929 2638 4614 878 856 Less than 1 hectare 22221 62272 6427 18807 11466 19450 3076 3046 1 to under 2 hectares 10246 33877 4479 9167 6494 10013 1910 1814 2 to under 5 hectares 10664 47876 53931 14078 9337 13492 2854 2785 5 to under 10 hectares 2307 16661 1791 5292 3082 4256 1142 1098 10 to under 20 hectares 863 11259 2247 3473 1656 2221 796 866 20 to under 50 hectares 505 17690 2567 5358 3462 4059 1130 1114 50 to under 100 hectares 150 7773 1558 2796 680 1426 615 698 100 to under 200 114 15334 3814 5520 1067 2607 1064 1262 hectares

200 hectares and over 132 53530 8659 24905 2433 8330 4317 4886 Source: Census of Agriculture, Volume 2 (1996)

Table 10 c gives details of the number of holdings reporting small stock by type and size.

Table 10 c: Number of Holdings Reporting Small Stock and Number of Small Stock by Type and Size Group Number of TYPE OF SMALL STOCK SIZE GROUP Holdings Total Small Reporting stock Goats Pigs Sheep JAMAICA 112 309 422 056 284 870 132 087 5 099 Landless Farms 14 685 62 440 44 144 18 039 257 Less than 1 hectare 59 544 187 323 135 572 50 279 1 472 1 to under 2 hectares 17 703 57 699 39 964 17 077 658 2 to under 5 hectares 15 606 62 270 42 030 19 625 615 5 to under 10 hectares 2 921 17 196 10 617 6 426 153 10 to under 20 hectares 1 007 11 564 4 627 6 824 113 20 to under 50 hectares 533 6 934 3 452 3 151 331 50 to under 100 hectares 155 4 920 1 259 3 478 183 100 to under 200 hectares 78 7 586 2 026 4 718 842 200 hectares and over 77 4 124 1 179 2 470 475 Source: Census of Agriculture, Volume 2 (1996)

32 Table 10 d gives details of the number of holdings reporting poultry and the number of poultry by type.

Table 10 d: Number of Holdings Reporting Poultry and Number of Poultry by Type and Size Group of Holding Number of TYPE OF SMALL STOCK SIZE GROUP Holdings Total Other Reporting Poultry Broilers Layers Breeders Poultry JAMAICA 26 671 8 366 965 6 421 936 470 102 1 300 109 174 818 Landless Farms 4 640 419 059 352 166 43 326 4 605 18 962 Less than 1 hectare 14 321 1 072 063 885 105 78 516 12 837 95 605 1 to under 2 hectares 3 608 603 758 540 378 34 334 3 077 25 969 2 to under 5 hectares 3 033 1 539 573 1 439 301 71 985 3 529 24 758 5 to under 10 hectares 632 386 958 290 419 90 309 731 5 517 10 to under 20 hectares 244 1 678 407 1 634 347 41 984 281 1 795 20 to under 50 hectares 120 446 866 420 940 24 531 31 1 360 50 to under 100 36 128 545 122 755 5 246 32 512 hectares

100 to under 200 21 418 287 407 025 10 969 0 293 hectares

200 hectares and over 16 1 673 449 329 500 68 902 1 275 000 47 Source: Census of Agriculture, Volume 2 (1996)

Livestock Sub-Sectors Sheep and Goat: The 1996 Census of agriculture indicated that the national population of goats 285 000 and that of sheep to be 5 000 with 84 540 farms involved in goat and sheep rearing. (See Table 10).

Current estimates indicate that the population of goats has ballooned to over 450 000, while the national flock of sheep has experienced attrition and is estimated to be in the region of 2 000 heads.

The Sub-sector is led by the Goat Breeders Society of Jamaica, which was inaugurated in 1997. The Society currently has 140 members with herd sizes ranging from 5 to 200 does. The focus of the Society is on meat production but milk production represents an opportunity to be explored.

33

The aims and objectives of the Society are: 1. To promote the improvement of goats through breeding and selection, leading to pedigree breeding through Herd Book Registration. 2. To promote economic interest in goat production through sustained application of improved husbandry and breeding programmes 3. To add to national development by developing breeds and eco-types

The genotypes represented in the goat population includes:

• Natives — Local Population • Anglo-Nubian — Purebred and Graded, Crossbreds • Alpine — Purebred and Grades • Boer — Purebred, Graded, Crossbreds • Spanish — Purebreds • Toggenburg — Diluted • Saanen — Diluted

The genotypes represented in the sheep population includes:

• Natives (St. Elizabeth type) • Suffock — Purebred and Crossbreds • Dorper — Purebred and Crossbreds • Kathardin — Purebreds and Crossbreds • Ramboulet — Diluted

The sub-sector has benefited from several projects supported by local, regional and national organizations, which have lead to substantial development and distribution of improved breeds. The Ministry of Agriculture (MOA), the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI), Prairie View University, the University of Maryland, and the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), have provided technological support to the industry.

The sub-sector generates 10.3 percent of the local demand for chevon, which suggest tremendous scope for the development of the sub-sector.

34 Pig:

The pig sub-sector in Jamaica has successfully grown from what was a traditional, unorganised operation to a system where almost 90 percent of pigs are now reared under quality management conditions.

The Sub-sector is divided into two distinct segments. 1. A large number of small farmers with backyard operations of less than ten (10) pigs each, the majority of whom utilize local feedstuff and produce non-quality pigs. 2. Medium to large-scale producers utilizing formulated rations and producing quality pigs.

The genotypes available locally are:

• Non-descript – local population • Large White • Landrace • Duroc • Hampshire (Diluted) • Crossbreds

A survey conducted by the Data Bank and Evaluation Division in 1998 revealed that there were 4 035 pig farmers with a population of 85 414 pigs. The following Table shows the distribution of farmers and pigs by number of pigs owned.

Table 11: Total number of farmers and pigs owned FARM SIZE BY NUMBER OF PIGS Item Total 5-9 10-19 20-49 50-99 100 and over Farmers 4 035 1 830 1 355 618 139 93 Pigs 84 414 12 038 17 754 17 895 9 455 28 272

The data in Table 11 shows that large producers dominate the production of pork with herd size of 20 pigs and over. Producers in this size group while representing only 21 percent of all producers account for 65 percent of total number of pigs being reared.

The local market for pork is comprised of three segments viz Jerk Pork, Fresh Pork and Meat processing. Seventy (70) percent of pigs slaughtered go to the fresh meat market (this compares with 16 percent in the USA).

35

The processing plants purchase about 60 percent of the raw material used (in the plant) from contract farmers, the remaining 40 percent is purchased on the open market.

Other important features about the structure of the sub-sector include: • Capital Investment in the sub-sector is estimated to be in the region of JA$5.5 billion. • The sub-sector contracts and expands every 2-3 years with the number of farmers fluctuating between 2 000 and 4 000. • Most of the pigs are reared in Westmoreland, St. Elizabeth and Clarendon. • Production is totally reliant on imported animal feed (corn and soya bean), which makes up approximately 70 percent of the cost of production. • Food safety is very pertinent as over 100 000 pigs per annum move off farms to at least 1 000 slaughtering facilities most of which are sub-standard. There is little or no traceability and no identification system. • Pork processing plants employ over 200 persons and have made substantial capital investment (US$10-15 million) but none run at more than 50 percent capacity and none have adequate HACCP system in place to meet international standards. It is estimated that it will require US$ 20 million to achieve this objective. • Farmers do not pay adequate attention to environmental safety. • Locally processed pork products are uncompetitive with Canadian imports while fresh cuts remain competitive. Threats to the sector includes: - Increased competition from imports of pork and other meats - Consumption of imported value added pork products has been increasing (accounts for up to 20 percent of total consumption) - The possibility of diseases coming in from neighbouring countries • It is argued and accepted that any further liberalization of Jamaica’s import regime at this time without formal recognition of the safety of the pig/pork sub-sector could have devastating consequences for capital, employment, alleviation and social stability in rural areas.

The Jamaica Pig Farmers Association, which was inaugurated on July 18, 2002, and the Pig Committee of the Jamaica Livestock Association represent the concerns of the sub-sector. Foremost among the aims and objective of the Pig Farmers Association are: - To promote, plan and implement pig development programmes that will make Jamaica self-sufficient in pork and also make local pork production a sustainable activity on a long-term globally competitive basis.

36 - To assist and organize an efficient package of services on a non-profit, no loss basis. - Improve feeding, breeding, management and marketing of pigs with the intent of maximising returns to pig farmers. - To promote and protect the Jamaican Pig Industry in particular, and pig farmers in general against the dumping of subsidized imported pork and pork products. - To promote research, development and application of science and technology in all aspects of pork production, processing, marketing and environmental impact issues. - To collect and circulate statistics and information of all kinds in respect of the pig industry. - To organize cooperatives and other forms of farmer organizations for small farmers in order that they may get the full benefit of the association.

Government support to the sector includes: • Policy intervention • Research and Development – breeding and selection, husbandry systems, ration formulation • Dissemination of improved breeding stock • Veterinary Services • Extension Services • Biogas production projects

Private sector support includes: • Feed formulation • Technical support • Material and supplies – feed, medication etc. • Marketing – contract pig rearing • Pig development projects – collaborative work with Pig Farmers Association

Poultry:

The poultry sub-sector represents the most buoyant sub-sector of the livestock industry contributing 70 percent to local meat production. As poultry meat consumption continues to increase, the poultry sub-sector in Jamaica has grown tremendously over the past decade.

37 The fortunes of the egg sub-sector are less spectacular with a low per capita consumption of eggs. The sub-sector is highly integrated with backward linkages from processor to farmer. The major processing plants are closely tied to breeder flocks for local production of hatching eggs, importation of hatching eggs to augment supplies, hatchery operation and distribution of baby chicks to growers. Feed manufacturing and provision of feed, animal care products, transportation, slaughter, marketing of broiler meat as well as field services are all included. Central planning of supply, demand and logistic support are key to the success recorded in this sub-sector.

The poultry-rearing component of the linkage is characterized by a system of contract farming where the individual farmers supply the processing plant with the finished birds. Sixty-five (65) percent of total broiler production is by farmers operating under this contractual arrangement. The remaining 35 percent come from small and medium sized farmers.

Poultry meat production is projected to grow conservatively by an average of 5 percent per annum in the medium term.

Major concerns of the sub-sector are:

(a) The availability of sanitary slaughtering facilities for the small producers; pre-requisites for this intervention and its sustainability should be: • Certification of small farm producers • An education campaign as to health requirements • Government support for construction of on-farm slaughter facilities • Monitoring by public health authorities

A subsidy on construction material for certified small poultry producers can be an incentive to increase the market share of non-contract producers.

(b) Massive increase in the importation of cheaper cuts of chicken meat in recent times is threatening the survival of the industry.

Arising from threats from imported poultry products, Government’s intervention has effected an increase in local production and market share, as well as tariff structure reform to protect the sub-sector.

38

Dairy:

The dairy sub-sector is represented by the Jamaica Dairy Farmers Association, the Dairy Committee of the Jamaica Livestock Association and the Jamaica Dairy Development Board. Together they provide the institutional framework for implementing the milk production strategy for Jamaica.

The goal of the milk production strategy is to advance Jamaica towards self- sufficiency in milk on a globally competitive and sustainable basis in medium term through an integrated effort to increase milk production and improve animal productivity and milk marketing arrangements. The strategy seek to build on the many positive aspects of the local industry including a strong cattle rearing tradition, effective epidemiological control of major cattle diseases, an excellent dairy breed in the Jamaica Hope, substantial land resource, and a reasonably successful dairy cooperative.

The objectives of the Jamaica Dairy Federation in the milk production strategy are to: - Provide a high measure of market security for milk producers - Establish milk prices - Provide a direct link between producers and consumers through its having a significant presence within the market place - Provide services such as feed, transportation and supply of farm inputs

The Jamaica Dairy Development Board is the government’s primary mechanism for overseeing the development of the dairy industry towards self-sufficiency in milk production on a sustainable, long-term globally competitive basis through timely policy interventions.

The players in the dairy sub-sector are: (a) Multinational Corporations – owners of the two largest dairy operations, WINDALCO and Serge Island Dairies, which produce approximately 50 percent of the annual, estimated fresh milk production. (b) Large privately owned dairies (c) Large Public Sector Dairy Farms – Agricultural Development Corporation and Bodles Research Station dairies.

39 (d) Dairy Cooperatives, Rhymesfield, Cabbage Valley, Bogue Spring and Luana Dairy Development Cooperatives constituting the medium scale producers. Categories b, c and d produce on estimated 40 percent of local production. (e) Small farmers producing an estimated 10 percent of local production.

There about 3 000 dairy farmers supplying milk in Jamaica from about 22 000 heads of cattle sharing 242 800 hectares of land designated as being suitable for pasture of which 196 000 hectares represents permanent pasture, the rest being marginal with little alternate use.

The sub-sector is dominated by large and medium scale producers who supply more than 80 percent of the Grade fresh milk from only 3 percent of the farms. These large and medium scale farmers own half of the milking cows whereas the small-scale producers own somewhere between one (1) and nine (9) dairy cows and make up 80 percent of the dairy farms producing approximately 10 percent of the fresh milk.

The five southern parishes of St. Elizabeth, Manchester, Clarendon, St. Catherine and St. Thomas accounts for 77 percent of the national dairy herd.

The main breeds of dairy cattle reared are the Jamaica Hope accounting for 57 percent of the dairy population, Holstein accounting for 15 percent. Other dairy breeds include Brown Swiss, Crossbreds involving the Jamaica Hope, Brown Swiss, Holstein and the Jersey.

There are about 20 000 beef farmers of which 14 000 own less than four (4) beef animals; about half of these farmers also produce milk.

For the decade ending July 2000 milk production on commercial dairy farms averaged 28.7 million litres reaching a peak of 38.8 million litres of milk entering the formal trade in 1992. At current levels of production per capita consumption is in the region of 160 millilitres, which compares with the minimum recommended intake of 200 millilitres (WHO).

Annually Jamaica consume some 140-150 million litres equivalent of milk comprised as follows: 28.7 million litres fluid milk; 42 million litres 24 million litres as in sachets

40 7 million litres in school milk and 40 million litres in the form of

Some 7 million litres equivalent of milk is used in other value added products such as ice-cream, yoghurt, malted milk, milk extracts etc.

The retail value of the market for dairy products in 2000 was estimated at J$7.5 billion. The share of the market by local dairy farmers was J$555 million or 7.4 percent representing 2.8 percent of Gross Domestic Product.

The average annual production of 28.7 million litres approximates an average of 3.6 litres per animal per day based on a national herd of 22 000 dairy cows. Productivity in the larger herds is considerably higher, in the range 8-15 litres per animal per day. Commercial operations generally milk twice per day where as small farms milk once per day.

Milk is collected through several processing companies. Most of the milk produced is marketed directly by the processors through a system of wholesalers and retailers. In 1996 the cost of milk production in medium and large farms varies from $15.39 to $18.20 per litre with farm gate price varying from $18.00 to $20.00 per litre for Grade “A” quality. For Grade “B” milk a farm gate price of $14.00 per litre is paid.

The small farmers cost are less than half that of larger farmers because of lower overheads, use of family labour and non-use of expensive concentrates, expensive milking parlours and milk coolers. Locally produced milk, which is retailed at approximately $55 per litre, is the most expensive form of milk compared to milk powder and condensed milk. This is because of: (a) The use of cheap imported milk solids at low rates of duty (5%) on raw material for manufacture of condensed milk, ice cream and other luxury products. (b) Duty remission on powdered milk used in the sachet programme. Processors involved in packaging milk in sachet can claim for a refund of duty paid on the imported powdered milk.

In view of the above expansion of the local milk market has proven to be difficult.

41 Beef:

The beef sub-sector is a fragmented one with the majority of farmers being small farmers. Seventy (70) percent of beef farmers hold 1 – 4 animals while 0.1 percent of beef farmers own 500 or more beef animals.

It is estimated that the sub-sector is supported by 242 800 hectares of land suitable for pasture with most marginal and of little alternate use. Of this total, an estimated 110 000 hectares of improved pasture support an estimated cattle population of 280 000 heads owned by 20 000 beef and dairy farmers.

The differentiation between beef and dairy cattle is blurred by the fact that some animals are dual purpose and owners do not milk some dairy types, while in the final analysis all cattle do produce some beef. It is estimated that 20 percent of the beef production comes from the dairy herd. It is also estimated that the beef population is supported by a breeding herd in excess of 120 000 cows.

Specialized and expensive cattle facilities exist with little alternate use. Slaughtering facilities includes 1178 slaughter houses in varying state of repair, most of which are obsolete. The cattle industry employs approximately 60 000 people plus 3 000 butchers.

The local beef breeds include the Jamaica Red Poll, Jamaica Brahman and Jamaica Black, which represent the seed stock resource pool for animal breeding, and constitute close to 50 percent of the total cattle population. Some imported breeds have been introduced to support crossbreeding programmes.

Beef production, processing and marketing in Jamaica is divided into sharply differing segments. There are the intensive feedlot based cattle production system tied to a highly mechanized meat- processing centre, supplying prime cuts to the hotel sector and hamburgers to the fast food chains. Coexisting with these enterprises are many small farmers with a few cows grazing private and public land supplying the village or town butchers who slaughter and sell beef to the community.

42

The beef sub-sector is lead by the Jamaica Livestock Association through the Beef Committee in conjunction with Cattle Breeders Societies. The industry in earlier years attained 85 percent self- sufficiency in beef production. Present levels of production suggest a 55 percent self-sufficiency. This situation is indicative of a sub-sector in decline or one that has surrendered to imports. Export of cattle genetic material and beef to CARICOM Countries constitute small volume and value.

The industry needs to become more competitive that is, to produce beef at a cost equivalent to what obtains in North America, and Ireland which export beef to Jamaica.

The industry is in need of restructuring on the basis of a business model, which will attract new and sustain existing investments.

Uses: The most important animal products in Jamaica are meat, manure, hide, egg, milk and to a lesser extent “storage for capital”. These products are important primarily for economic reasons but in some instances they are also of social value (see Table 12). In Jamaica there are no differences between different regions (parishes) in the importance of these products.

Species used in animal production Table 13 shows the species used in animal production and the products obtained from each

Importance of Locally Adapted and Recently Introduced Breeds in products: In Jamaica it appears that both Locally Adapted and Recently Introduced Breeds of animals are important in the production of animal products (see Table 14).

43 Table 12: Animal products and their relative socio-economic importance Product Relative Importance Economic Social Meat High High Egg High High Milk High High Capital store Low Low Source: Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute, Jamaica Unit

Table 13: Species and their respective products Species Product Cattle Manure Hide Milk Meat Some capital storage Goat and sheep Meat (Manure) Hide Some capital storage Pig Meat Manure (Biogas) Poultry Meat Egg Manure Source: Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute, Jamaica Unit

Table 14: Relative importance of Locally Adapted and Recently Introduced Breeds in animal products Production Product Breeds Locally Recently Adapted Introduced Meat (all class) High High Egg Low High Milk High Low Capital store High Low Source: Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute, Jamaica Unit

44 Import v. Export:

Data relating to import and export are highlighted in Table 15 .

Table 15: Imports

Year MEAT (Mt) Milk (Mt) Eggs (Million) Beef Pork Poultry Chevron/ Total mutton meat Imports 1990 3 104 330 26 459 1 256 31 149 12 958 43.55 1991 7 398 770 23 924 1 165 33 257 23 009 48.47 1992 9 061 1 449 27 200 933 38 643 14 633 33.35 1993 10 651 1 765 37 424 2 102 51 942 22 793 35.59 1994 8 860 1 909 38 537 2 589 51 895 11 862 37.85 1995 11 209 1 853 37 343 3 411 53 816 16 914 40.62 1996 9 537 1 980 40 333 3 258 55 108 14 974 43.50 1997 10 999 2 243 45 017 3 735 61 994 16 823 43.46 1998 11 875 2 129 50 834 3 967 68 805 16 690 49.91 1999 12 622 2 297 46 778 4 375 66 072 16 274 47.47 2000 10 757 2 058 35 899 4 877 53 591 14 881 61.72 Source: Data Bank and Evaluation Division, Ministry of Agriculture

Export of Livestock & Livestock Products:

The livestock sub-sector has earned foreign exchange from the export of cattle from our local beef and dairy breeds viz the Jamaica Hope, Jamaica Red Poll: Jamaica Brahman and the Jamaica Black. The destinations were mainly South America and Caribbean countries. Table 16 gives detail of cattle export by breed over the period 1973 to 2001.

Table 16: Export of Cattle 1973 – 2001 BREED NO. EXPORTED Jamaica Red Poll 352 Jamaica Hope 91 Jamaica Brahman 127 Jamaica Black 1 TOTAL 571

Source: Jamaica Livestock Association

45 Export of Semen:

Data on semen export are given in Table 16a. The data represents semen export from the Jamaica Red Poll, the Jamaica Hope and the Jamaica Black. The destinations were Caribbean countries.

Table 16a: Semen Export 1982 – 2001 PERIOD NO. OF STRAWS 1982 - 2001 5 000 Source: Jamaica Livestock Association

Export of other livestock Products:

Table 16b highlights the performance of the fledging livestock products export sub-sector

Table 16b: Export of Livestock Products 1990 – 2001 (Kg) MILK/CREAM YEAR B EEF PORK CHICKEN (UNSWEETENED) 1990 18 130 - 12 781 - 1991 - - 35 258 - 1992 6 073 - 89 394 53 448 1993 - - 125 366 85 259 1994 25 497 - 217 170 17 587 1995 18 418 130 291 938 13 861 1996 9 967 68 274 016 10 710 1997 372 - 238 574 140 1998 21 991 - 284 621 911 1999 1 992 673 230 810 18 461 2000 116 047 744 245 925 9 641 2001 245 625 - 223 454 - Source: External Trade Statistics (1990 – 2001)

46 Local Production versus Import Table 17 give details of local production versus imports for the period 1990 to 2000.

Table 17: Local Production versus Import of livestock products

Year MEAT (Mt) Milk (Mt) Eggs (Million) Beef Pork Poultry Chevron/ Total mutton meat Local Production 1990 15 020 7 390 51 940 660 75 010 32 177 124.89 1991 16 050 4 740 53 440 620 74 850 3\29 530 110.20 1992 18 210 5 930 52 470 640 77 250 39 951 114.20 1993 15 640 7 050 45 200 620 68 510 35 616 100.00 1994 15 790 7 250 44 950 510 68 500 25 860 102.00 1995 16 650 6 690 45 370 540 69 250 28 053 110.00 1996 15 640 6 550 55 140 550 77 880 26 957 116.20 1997 14 540 6 510 59 310 530 80 890 28 099 129.53 1998 14 250 6 830 63 170 550 84 800 28 389 148.27 1999 14 690 6 870 72 930 580 95 070 28 298 137.75 2000 14 040 6 620 77 120 560 98 340 26 214 106.60 Imports 1990 3 104 330 26 459 1 256 31 149 12 958 43.55 1991 7 398 770 23 924 1 165 33 257 23 009 48.47 1992 9 061 1 449 27 200 933 38 643 14 633 33.35 1993 10 651 1 765 37 424 2 102 51 942 22 793 35.59 1994 8 860 1 909 38 537 2 589 51 895 11 862 37.85 1995 11 209 1 853 37 343 3 411 53 816 16 914 40.62 1996 9 537 1 980 40 333 3 258 55 108 14 974 43.50 1997 10 999 2 243 45 017 3 735 61 994 16 823 43.46 1998 11 875 2 129 50 834 3 967 68 805 16 690 49.91 1999 12 622 2 297 46 778 4 375 66 072 16 274 47.47 2000 10 757 2 058 35 899 4 877 53 591 14 881 61.72 Source: Data Bank and Evaluation Division, Ministry of Agriculture

Per Capita Consumption: The per capita meat consumption trend is highlighted in Table 18 hereunder.

47 Table 18: Per Capita meat consumption 1990 – 2000 Years Per Capita Meat Consumption (Kg) 1990 56.9 1991 54.5 1992 56.7 1993 60.1 1994 60.7 1995 63.8 1996 66.8 1997 71.8 1998 74.1 1999 77.0 2000 71.6 Source: Data Bank and Evaluation Division, Ministry of Agriculture

It will be noted that per capita meat consumption in 2000 slipped by 7 percent to 71.6 kilograms when compared with 1999. This downward movement reflects somewhat a fall off in imports along with declining economic conditions among the lower quintile of the population.

Mean Consumption of Selected Dairy Products: For the decade ending July 2000 milk production on commercial dairy farms averaged 28.7 million litres reaching a peak of 38.8 million litres of milk entering the formal trade in 1992. The main products on the Jamaica market are fresh milk (pasteurised and homogenized) sweetened condensed milk; whole skim milk powder (re constituted or solid as powder) evaporated milk and cheese.

Total consumption of dairy products in 2000 was equivalent to approximately 153 million litres of milk. Of this locally produced milk accounted for 17 percent of the demand. This level of consumption correspond to a mean daily per capita consumption of approximately 160 millilitres which compares with the minimum recommended intake of 200 ml (WHO).

In monetary terms the 2000 level of consumption of dairy products translated to a mean per capita expenditure of J$2282 per year which represented a 7.5 percent of total food expenditure (PIOJ/STATIN : JSLC 2000).

48 Table 19 set out details of per capita expenditure on dairy products for year 2000.

Table 19: Per Capita Expenditure on Milk and Dairy Products 2000 (J$) Product Jamaica KMA Other Towns Rural Areas Liquid Milk 296 518 320 143 Condensed/Evap. 539 558 615 500 Powdered Milk 201 148 220 229 Food Drink 476 530 575 405 176 184 214 157 Cheese 274 349 309 214 Other Dairy 318 474 371 197 TOTAL 2282 2761 2623 1845 Source: Survey of Living Conditions (2000) STATIN KMA – Kingston Metropolitan Area

Given that consumption away from home represented an additional 27 percent of food expenditure, the retail value of the market for dairy products in 2000 was estimated at J$7.5 billion. The share of this market by local dairy farmers is J$555 million or 7.4 percent, which represent 2.8 percent of Gross Domestic Product.

Food Security Situation – risks of shortages and reasons: The livestock sub-sector contributes to the achievement of Food Security with respect to animal protein production for local consumption and export.

Between the periods 1999 to 2001 there has been significant increases in poultry, Chevon and mutton production and marginal increase in pork production. Beef and veal, milk and egg production recorded declines. In 2000 domestic meat production accounted for 59.3 percent of total meat consumption (see Table 17). The percentage contribution of each type of meat to total local production were: Poultry - 70 Beef - 13 Pork - 6 Mutton/Chevon - 1 Fish - 10

Arising form these production trends the following levels of self-sufficiency in livestock products were obtained in 2000.

49

Livestock Products Level of Self-Sufficiency (%) Poultry 68 Pork 76 Beef 57 Mutton/Chevon 9 Eggs 69 Milk 17 Source: Data Bank and Evaluation Division, Ministry of Agriculture

The largely contractionary performance of the livestock sub-sectors has been precipitated by circumstances both national and global. These include: 1. Implementation of the structural adjustment programme which effected: (a) removal of tariffs and stamp duties on imports and also removal of import restrictions (b) removal of credit subsidies (c) removal of fertilizer subsidy (d) private sector importers taking over from government importer monopoly 2. Globalization 3. Maintenance of imposition of production and export subsidies in exporter/trading partners.

The confluence of these factors led to the uncompetitiveness of local livestock production and the consequent increase in appetite for consumption of cheap imported livestock products. Local production finally surrendered to the unabated influx of imports as farmers experienced problems in marketing locally produced livestock and livestock products.

50 1.1 Animal Production Systems and Breed Involved

Species and their respective Product and Product Use:

Table 20 gives detail of species and their respective products

Table 20: Species and their respective products Species Product Product/Use Cattle Manure Organic fertilizer Hide Leather Milk Ice Cream, fluid milk Meat Beef Some capital storage

Goat and sheep Meat Chevon, mutton (Manure) Organic fertilizer Hide Leather craft Some capital storage

Pig Meat Pork Manure (Biogas) Fuel

Poultry Meat Chicken Egg Hatching, table eggs Manure Bio-fermented feed, organic manure Source: Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute, Jamaica Unit

Production Systems: • Mixed farming system, the traditional system in which the animal component may be: - Extensive system - Semi-intensive system • Monoculture: - Extensive system - Semi-intensive system - Intensive system Species used and importance of Locally Adapted and Recently Introduced Breeds: Species used in the various production systems and the relative importance of Locally Adapted and Recently Introduced Breeds are summarised in Table 21.

51 Table 21: Species used and relative importance of Locally Adapted and Recently/continually Introduced Breeds

System Species Breeds Locally Recently/ Adapted continually Introduced Mixed farming Extensive system Cattle (beef) High Semi-intensive system Fowl (poultry) High Goat High Pig High Low Monoculture Extensive system Cattle (beef) High Semi-intensive system Cattle (beef) High Cattle (dairy) High Low Goat and sheep High High

Intensive system Goat and sheep High High Pig High Poultry High Source: Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute, Jamaica Unit

Impact of risk factors:

Risk factors present in the primary animal production systems in Jamaica are presented in Table 22. The table shows that within production system risk factors could either be similar or different for the different species involved.

52 Table 22: Risk factors associated with animal production systems Systems Species Rick factors Mixed farming Extensive system Cattle (beef) Low risks Semi-intensive system Fowl (poultry) Low risks Goat Praedial larceny Pig Low risks Cattle (milk) Low risks

Monoculture Extensive system Cattle (beef) Drought, hurricane, disease, access to capital, markets Semi-intensive system Cattle (beef) Drought, hurricane, disease, access to capital, markets Cattle (dairy) Drought, hurricane, disease, access to capital, labour, markets, currency fluctuations Goat and sheep Drought, hurricane, flood, diseases, access to capital, labour, praedial larceny, dog predation

Intensive system Goat and sheep Drought, hurricane, flood, diseases, access to capital, labour praedial larceny, dog predation Pig Hurricane, flood, diseases, access to capital, labour, currency fluctuations Poultry Heat stress, hurricane, flood, diseases, access to capital, labour, currency fluctuations Source: Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute, Jamaica Unit

53 1.2 Conservation Activities/Programmes

Species and Breeds in Current Conservation Programmes: The following are measures to maintain live animal breeding populations to ensure the continued contribution of these resources to sustainable food and agricultural production now and in the future. The measures are largely in situ conservation strategies but also include ex situ cryo conservation of semen and embryos. Table 23 gives detail of programmes, breeds and species involved.

Table 23: Programmes Breeds and Species INSTITUTION/PROGRAMMES BREEDS/SPECIES OBJECTIVES • Public Sector Cattle, pigs, goat, poultry To protect and defend local - Policies livestock biodiversity Dairy Board Act Antidumping Act Tariff barriers Veterinary Act Safeguard regulations

- Research & Development Areas of focus Husbandry Native cattle breeds Breed preservation/ multi- Nutrition Pigs, goats, sheep plication and dissemination Breeding/Genetics of genetic resource

- Breed Society Recordation Cattle and goat Selection /registration /pedigree production/ genetic evaluation

- Dissemination Schemes Goat, cattle pigs Multiplication of the Loan Bull Scheme relevant breeds Livestock Improvement Centres (Stud Stations) Artificial Insemination Service

54 Table 23 cont’d. INSTITUTION/PROGRAMMES BREEDS/SPECIES OBJECTIVES Loan Buck Scheme Goat Commercialisation Programme Direct sale of seed stock (Pigs, cattle, sheep and goat) to farmers.

- Agricultural All classes of Livestock Training in Animal Science Education/Institutions and Husbandry techniques aimed at Livestock conservation and production.

- Veterinary Service All classes of Livestock Disease prevention and eradication to reduce mortality and morbidity.

Cattle, goat sheep, pig Dissemination of research - Extension service and poultry findings to preserve and develop the productivity of farm animals.

- Data Collection Pigs, goat, sheep, cattle Population census and Ministry of Agriculture – (Beef and Dairy) production data collection to Data Bank determine self sufficiency Statistical Institute of levels and inform production Jamaica (Statin) strategies

• Private Sector - Breed Societies Protection development, Cattle Breed promotion and marketing of Societies relevant breeds. Goat Breeders Society

- Broiler Production Companies Poultry Broiler Chicken research, contract rearing of Broiler chicken.

55 Table 23 cont’d. INSTITUTION/PROGRAMMES BREEDS/SPECIES OBJECTIVES

- Commodity Group Advocate the interest of Jamaica Livestock producers to ensure their Association - survival. Pig, Beef, Dairy, Poultry Committees, Poultry Farmers Association Egg Producers Association Pig Farmers Association

- Meat Processor All classes of livestock Processing and Marketing to (a) Poultry ensure buoyancy of (b) Beef Livestock projects. (c) Pig

- Feed Manufacturers All classes of livestock Production of feed to ensure proper nutrition for growth production and reproduction

- International Funding Agencies Cattle, pigs and goats Funding of livestock development projects.

- Jamaica Society For Prevention of All classes of livestock Promotion of humane Cruelty to Animal (JSPCA) treatment of livestock to ensure survival.

- Livestock Practitioners All classes of livestock Custodians of the livestock biodiversity seeing to their survival, reproduction and production.

56 1.3 Description of Breeds, their Uses and Technologies Employed: Different Breeds in Each Species and their Uses:

The different breeds of each specie are being used by farmers in food and agriculture production

Cattle - Dairy Jamaica Hope - Being actively developed commercially and at the level of Research and Development Holstein - Cross breeding work being pursued aimed at improved adaptation - Brown Swiss - cross breeding work being pursued aimed at improved adaptation

Beef. - Jamaica Red Poll - - Jamaica Brahman - Being actively developed - Jamaica Black -

Creole - No development activities being pursued

Goats - Native - - Anglo-Nubian - - Boer - Being actively developed to improve - Spanish - performance mainly for meat production - Alpine - Milk production

- Toggenburg - Not emphasized at this time

Pigs - Large White - - Landrace - Involved in research and development - Duroc - activities for carcass and litter traits - Hampshire -

57 Markets and Demands Influencing AnGR:

Changes in demand for animal products for the period 1990 - 2000 Demand for all meat increased by 43 percent and that for milk increased by 29 percent up to 1993. Since 1993 demand as more or less stabilized. Demand for eggs during the same period showed a declining trend up to 1994. Since 1994 egg production has shown an increasing trend

Table 24 gives detail of demand for animal products.

Table 24: Demand for animal products 1990 – 2000

Year MEAT (Mt) Milk (Mt) Eggs (Million) Beef Pork Poultry Chevron/ Total mutton meat Total Demand 1990 18 124 7 720 78n399 1 916 106 159 45 135 168.4 1991 23 448 5 510 77 364 1 785 108 107 52 539 158.67 1992 27 271 7 379 79 670 1 573 115 893 54 584 147.55 1993 26 291 8 815 82 624 2 722 120 452 58 409 135.59 1994 24 650 9 159 83 487 3 099 120 395 37 722 139.85 1995 27 859 8 543 82 713 3 951 123 066 44 967 150.62 1996 25 177 8 530 95 473 3 808 129 988 41 931 159.70 1997 25 539 8 753 104 327 4 265 142 884 44 922 172.99 1998 26 125 8 959 114 004 4 517 153 605 45 079 198.18 1999 27 312 9 167 119 708 4 955 161 142 44 572 185.22 2000 24 797 8 678 113 019 5 437 151 931 41 095 168.32 Source: Data Bank and Evaluation Division, Ministry of Agriculture

Effects of Trends on AnGR for each species and production System:

Mixed Farming: Extensive: Plantation crop and beef cattle production, and Goat production on Marginal Mountain terrain.

There has been a decline in focus on this production system due mainly to - increase land valuation and property tax. This had led to; - decline in value of livestock and livestock products, animals are abandoned - increase in urbanization consistent with population growth trends - decline in demand for bovine meat products due to health concerns. - increase incidence of praedial larceny.

58 These factors have negatively impacted both extensive bovine and caprine production systems, with the resulting decline in breeding herds.

Semi-Intensive – Poultry, Pigs and Goat Production Systems:

increased consumption pattern for these animal products has favoured this production system in rural communities.

The Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) has placed significant emphasis on goat and poultry production. The rural economy is being revitalized by the buoyancy in these production systems as rural communities are participating fully in these growth areas of the livestock industry. An important feature of the livestock component is that multiple species production is well developed e.g. goats, pigs and poultry in one holding.

Non traditional crop production is integrated into the livestock component of this system. Small ruminant and monogastric livestock production is gradually overtaking the dominance of bovine production. This production system is attractive for its viability and sustainability.

Monoculture

Extensive and Semi-Intensive Production System: There has been reduced emphasis on both Extensive and Semi-intensive system for cattle production precipitated largely by: - Reduced profitability of the cattle enterprise and the consequent downsizing and diversification into more lucrative non-traditional crop production.

The causal factors for this down turn are: - Importation of cheaper substitutes from developed countries, which benefit from trade agreements, which reduce tariff and stamp duties on agricultural products. - The rapid increase in the number of fast food outlets operating in the island which use specialize cuts based on quality specification has contributed to the significant increase in imported meats.

59 - Locally produced meats rely heavily on imported feed ingredients and medicines hence production cost remains high. This makes it difficult for local meats to compete with the cheaper imports - Increased urbanization - Increased property tax

Intensive goat, pig and poultry production systems:

This production system represent the growth centres of the livestock sub-sector. Projections for growth of these sub-sectors are given in Table 25

Table 25: Projected Livestock Production 2002-2004 Products Units 2002 2003 2004 Pork M/Kg 6.1 6.6 6.9 Chevon M/Kg 0.65 0.07 0.75 Poultry - eggs Million 130 144 150 Poultry - meat M/Kg 87.9 90.0 92.2 Source: Economic and Planning Division, Ministry of Agriculture

Factors contributing to growth in these sub-sectors include: (a) Strong growth in local consumption - Poultry meat, eggs (b) Government Policy Interventions – imposition of Tariff Barriers – Poultry: - Reduction in uncustomed entry of livestock products (c) Reduction in issue of import permits (d) Formation of Farmers Organization to defend and promote growth - Goat Breeders Society of Jamaica - Pig Farmers Association - Egg Producers Association (e) Introduction of New Technology – Poultry Meat Production via Tunnel Technology (high density broiler production) (f) Marketing strategies for Beef and other meat 1. Review of importation policy and tariff structure

60 - Increased stamp duty on imported beef from 46 percent to 86 percent. 2. Registration of meat importers and their facilities 3. Increase capacity of the Veterinary Division - Biochemical laboratory (pesticides, residue testing laboratory) has been made effective to test for antibiotics, heavy , pesticides and aflatoxin. 4. Legislation - meat and meat by-products Act (inspection and export) 1998. This has enhanced efforts to export meat, meat products, and meat by-products. It has strengthened the ability of Jamaican producers to comply with the requirements of international organizations on issues of public health and food safety. 5. Meat Grading – Meat grading committee has been formed in 1999 to establish standard for grades of meat in keeping with International Standards Organization (ISO). 6 Training – The services of a master butcher has been procured to give training in professional slaughter and processing techniques 7 Research and Development– maintenance and improvement of breeding stock 8 Inter-agency collaboration – closer collaboration now exist between the Veterinary Services Division, Revenue Protection Agency and Bureau of Standards with respect to proper monitoring of imports and establishing proper tandards for the meat industry. (g) Introduction of Exotic Germplasm to improve efficiency of local production through Farmers Organization and the Research Arm of the Ministry of Agriculture: - Use of Kathardin Sheep and Boer Goat germplasm - Dissemination of upgraded germplasm e.g. revolving doe programme to farmers (h) Attractive local prices – Chevon and Pork (i) Technical support – Farmers Organization in collaboration with the Research and Development Division of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), Inter-American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture (IICA), Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI), Eastern Jamaica Agriculture Support Project (EJASP), Feed Manufacturers, Pharmaceutical Manufacturers,

61 International Training Institution, provides technical support via project development model, seminars, field days, appraisals, livestock shows.

Dairy production although not as buoyant as poultry, pig and small ruminant production is poised for growth consequent on a number of initiatives.

A. A review of the sector was done by the Commonwealth Secretariat (COMSEC.) which made the following recommendations for its revitalization. (i) Implementation of a milk enhancement programme aimed at increasing milk production and productivity in the medium term to satisfy current demand levels from local production of milk. (ii) Establishment of a Cooperative Federation of milk producers as the primary vehicle for implementation of the milk production enhancement programme. (iii) Establishment of a Dairy Board as the Government primary mechanism for overseeing the development of the dairy industry ¾ Other Strategies to grow the Sector include: (iv) Implementation of a school feeding programme (milk) as an avenue for accelerated growth of the local sector (v) Tariff reform to significantly increase import duties on milk powder which has been legally established as a dumped product. (vi) Strengthening the Research, Extension, Veterinary and Animal Breeding Services.

Consequent on the above initiatives the sector is projected to grow as follows: 2002 2003 2004 Million Litres 26.23 27.55 28.93 Source: Economic and Planning Division, Ministry of Agriculture

62 1.4 Identification of problems in Conservation and Utilization as per the current Situation in your Country

Current Problems in Conservation and Utilization of AnGR:

A. Conservation

Insufficiency of breeding stock has been listed as a constraint. This is particularly true for breeding females of the small animal species and it seriously affects local production of meat. Suggested solutions to the problem include: - Concerted efforts at conservation of local AnGR to provide continuous source of gene pool for exploitation - Expansion of breeding and multiplication efforts, including establishment of rural breeding centres - In the short term the importation of reasonably quality, compatible but inexpensive breeding females wherever possible and appropriate.

The following are some of the sub-sectorial challenges to be confronted to ensure sustainability and competitiveness.

Sheep and Goat Production: - Poor quality breeding stock and disorganized breeding programmes - Limited technical and managerial capabilities of farmers - Inadequate research and development programmes - Weak institutional arrangements for transfer of technology - Inadequate socio-economic environment for farmers’ development - Limited value added to milk and meat production - Loss of animals due to praedial larceny and dogs - High import of chevon and mutton with the resultant tremendous scope for improvement in local production to substitute for imports - Development of technologies to further lower the cost of production and enhance competitiveness and to move the sub-sector to a level of commercial viability - Expansion of the national herd/flock to meet local demand.

63 In rising to these challenges the sub-sector can take advantage of the following opportunities. 1. High and increasing demand for chevon – only 10.3 percent of this demand is met from 2. Existence of large indigenous population, which can be genetically manipulated to realize incremental production, aimed at import substitution and ultimately self-sufficiency. 3. Goat and sheep production is more attractive than other livestock operations because the gross margin is higher and the productive cycle is more dynamic - Large-scale goat and sheep rearing is profitable if land and fencing cost are not excessive. Several operations have demonstrated that small stock rearing is responsive to good management and innovation - Praedial larceny is a serious problem to goat and sheep rearing. The best deterrent is to locate in areas where agricultural theft is less of a problem - High rate of multiplication and so potential for rapid population growth - The existence of vast renewable feed resource on marginally hilly areas ideally suited for goat production - Potential for value added products, viz specialized meat cuts, cheese, milk yoghurts, craft skins, organic fertilizer - Existence of a farmers’ organization, viz the Goat Breeders Society of Jamaica to drive the sub-sector through the expansion phases.

Pig Production:

The major challenges facing the pig sub-sector are: - Securing and maintaining quality breeding stock - Development of an appropriate and cost effective ration for the sub-sector - Maintaining a disease-free status - Industry planning to coordinate production and demand to minimize the incidence of gluts and shortages - Development of meat standards for pork - Timely marketing of slaughtered animals - Correcting misconceptions about pork through marketing and consumer education programmes - Adoption of sound environmental practices on the management of pig production units - Further development of value-added products - Meeting rising standards for food safety

64 Opportunities to be exploited to enhance pork production includes: - Existence of a demand gap to be satisfied from local capacities - Consumer preference moving from cuts to more value added fresh and processed products - Processing techniques and innovative packaging to adopt to new market trends - Development of alliances between producers, processors and distributors - Export potential within CARICOM market for genetic material and meat products to be tapped - Use of artificial insemination to upgrade the gene pool of the national stock - The existence of a farmers’ organization, viz the Jamaica Pig Farmers Association to pilot the sub-sector towards the goal of self-sufficiency.

Poultry:

The poultry sub-sector although experiencing buoyancy is not without challenges, which are impediments in the thrust towards self-sufficiency and full exploitation of the potential for export of chicken meat.

Foremost among these challenges are: 1. The massive increase in the importation of cheap cuts of chicken meat which is threatening the survival of the industry 2. Penetration of export markets – the existence of non tariff barriers are preventing entry to the USA, which is one of the largest export market 3. Supporting the viability of small producers who account for about 30 percent of the industry 4. Improving standards of sanitation and handling so as to better satisfy demand 5. Conducting an annual poultry industry survey to produce data for proper planning of production and marketing

Opportunities to be exploited by the sub-sector are: 1. Existence of a demand gap which can be satisfied from local capacities 2. Life style changes favouring chicken consumption 3. Consumer preferences moving to value added fresh and processed products 4. Increase in number of fast food franchises and local outlets 5. Potential for export to CARICOM

65 Dairy:

The challenges constraining the growth of the dairy sub-sector include: 1. A drive to reduce the cost of production and marketing in order to put the sub-sector on a globally competitive footing 2. Reduction in the import of dairy products through implementation of appropriate policy and tariff reform. This would encourage self-sufficiency in local milk production and the development of rural wealth and employment in a sustainable manner. 3. Increasing the demand and consumer awareness of dairy products through: (a) Marketing and promotion of local milk and milk products as a nutritional beverage for all especially in the feeding of adolescents and the aged while reducing the dependency on imports. (b) Product differentiation and segmentation to improve marketing and increase consumption. 4. Increase production through increased herd size, herd numbers and cow productivity 5. Farm gate and retail price stability consistent with rational milk price determination 6. Generation and dissemination of technologies to - Reduce mortality - Improve reproductive performance - Reduction in age of first calving and calving interval 7. Creation of an infrastructure to handle all locally produced milk 8. Training and organization of small farmers to manage their own enterprises

Opportunities to be exploited in confronting these challenges include: 1. Existence of a substantial demand gap which can be bridged by local production 2. Low per capita consumption of dairy products especially among the poor 3. A school feeding programme which has scope for expansion 4. Production differentiation to satisfy growing demand for value added products 5. Existence of under utilized processing capacities to handle incremental production 6. Existence of a local dairy breed with untapped genetic potential for milk production 7. Potential for export of semen and live animals consistent with the requisite performance recording programmes

66 Beef:

The beef sub-sector is challenged by the following forces:

The foremost challenge is for beef farmers to survive the unfavourable economic conditions under which they operate in order to preserve the valuable production base. - Having the entire supply chain working together to ensure maximum growth and international competitiveness - Meeting rising standards for food safety - Meeting import specification on a reliable consistent basis - Increase orientation towards client service, providing customized products rather than commodities. - A confident trusting producer/processor/distributor relationship. - Making beef into a - Ignorance in preparation of beef cuisines - Reduction in consumption of red meat due to perceived health risks and negative impact of the outbreaks of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) and Foot and Mouth Disease in Europe on consumption of beef - Illegal import of beef and beef products

Opportunities for beef production - Construction of a combined abattoir-aging, processing and storage facility that meets international standard - Consumer preferences moving from cuts to more value added fresh and processed products - Process techniques and innovative packaging to adapt to new market trends - New product development to meet peculiar needs - Opportunities to develop alliances between producers, processors and distributors to be identified and developed.

Opportunities in organized breeding Jamaica has several advantages for the development of tropical pedigree cattle Jamaica has three good breeds of beef cattle - Jamaica Red Poll - Jamaica Black - Jamaica Brahman

67 Each of these breeds gains weight well in the tropical climate - Jamaica has an established beef industry - Jamaica is relatively free of cattle diseases - Jamaica is a good location for export to other tropical countries notably the Caribbean and Latin America

The Jamaica beef sub-sector is interested in establishing Jamaica as source of tropical pedigree stock. The major difficulty is inadequate documentation.

Constraints to data gathering on ANGR - Lack of animal recording schemes. This must be encourage as a national priority - The collateral benefits of animal recording should be recognised as a catalyst in rural community development, social and environmental stability and national food security. These benefits must be documented - High cost of equipment necessary to take measurements – livestock scales, systems of identification - Inadequate institutional support. Technical capabilities must be enhanced in the following areas: • field level technical support • technical staff • research capabilities • data analysis - Inadequate budgetary support - Lack of premium price for seed stock of genetic superiority – no incentive for breeding farms - Low level of farmer participation at the planning and implementation stages of animal recording

68 B. Other Factors affecting Utilization External International Factors - The adverse marketing environment, which result from the policies of globalization and trade liberalization

Distorted trade/marketing - Cheap imported animal products - Shrinking local markets

Finance/Tax regime - Prohibitive increase in interest rate and property tax

Inputs - High input cost, unavailability and/or high cost and low productivity of labour in addition to change in work ethics manifested in segment of the labour force - Disharmony with input cost and output cost

Support Services - Decline in the level of services to the livestock sector resulting in insufficiency resources to support research and development, livestock advisory services and veterinary care.

Allocation of Resources - Shifting of basic resources to other activities

Post Production - Lack of value added to products

Social - Praedial larceny, trends in diet

Weather Conditions - drought, floods, hurricanes/storms

69 2.0 ANALYZING CHANGING DEMANDS ON NATIONAL LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION

2.1 Production and its Implication for Future National Policies, Strategies and Programmes Related to AnGR

Past Policy:

General The utilization of animal genetic resources is guided by the Food and Nutrition Policy of the country, which is designed to achieve the following objectives (i) Ensure the availability of good quality in sufficient quantities to meet the nutrient needs of the population at affordable prices. (ii) Ensure accessibility of food for those who are economically disadvantaged (iii) Ensure education of the population regarding the development of good/whole some nutritional habit (iv) Maintain good food safety and food standards (v) Ensure nutritional care – preventative as well as curative for groups identified as vulnerable

In order to ensure that the nation is reasonably well fed with the least demand on foreign exchange, the government through the appropriate agencies will “seek to stimulate local production of energy and protein yielding foods”.

Policies which affected the Agricultural and livestock Sectors are:

1) Implementation of the Structural Adjustment Programme. Pre-amble on the SAP (a) removal of tariffs and stamp duties on imports and also removal of import restrictions (b) removal of credit subsidies (c) removal of fertilizer subsidy. (d) Private sector importers taking over from government importer monopoly

2) Effect of Globalization – removal of or reduction in tariff barriers

3) Maintenance or imposition of production and export subsidies in exporter/trading partners

70 The confluence of these factors led to the uncompetitiveness of local livestock production and the consequent increase in appetite for consumption of cheap imported livestock products. Local production finally surrendered to the unabated influx of imports as farmers experience problems in marketing locally produced livestock and livestock products.

The emergence of the following socio-economic concerns became evident in this scenario. - Technical co-efficient of production were compromised by the need to adopt survival strategies - Upkeep of livestock production infrastructure became neglected - Curtailment in livestock breeding programmes - Slaughter of capital stock - Decline in national herds/flock and decrease in level of production - Hazard of unattended animals causing damage to crops and accidents on highways - Loss of employment and income to rural communities - Rural urban drift increased - Disgruntlement among employees over low wages - Insolvency of farmers due to * increasing cost of input * inability to market livestock on a timely basis * prices on offer for livestock products below cost of production

71 2.2 Analysing Future Demands and Trends

Recent Trends in Livestock Production

For the period 1990 –2000 the following general observations were made. Overall meat production had shown an increasing trend throughout the ‘90’s. However meat prices on the international market since 1997 have placed the local livestock industry under pressure as sluggish demand and importation of cheaper substitutes from developed countries wreaked havoc with the industry. The removal of stamp duties on certain categories of meats in 1993 under the Common External Tariff agreement encouraged excessive import of all kinds of meat. This, along with the outbreak of the Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) “Mad Cow” disease in 1996, followed by an outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease in European countries, resulted in the fall-out in consumption of meats, particularly beef. The rippling effects of the above-mentioned constraints plunged the local meat industry into stagnation.

Beef production has stagnated for the past four to five years precipitating a 6 percent decline in the sub-sector for the period. The Pork sub-sector recorded cyclical fluctuation in output. This reaction throughout the period is a reflection of sharp expansion and contraction due to the vulnerability of the industry, as large numbers of farmers leave the Industry in time glut and re- enter in time of shortages. Although the price of pork rose sevenfold over the period, the high cost of inputs and fierce competition from imported pork products have caused downsizing in breeding herds thus limiting the potential for expansion in the output.

The lack of modern slaughtering facilities hampered the production of pork for export in accordance with the Meat, Meat Products and By-products Act of 1999. These factors have contributed to the 10 percent decline experienced by the pork sub-sector over the period.

The performance of the Poultry sub-sector continues to be good and the country is moving towards full self-sufficiency in broiler meat. The first half of the period 1990 – 1994 saw fluctuations in production. However, increased consumer demand complemented with massive injection of capital by the two major players in the industry since 1995 resulted in constant

72 increase in poultry meat production. As a consequence the poultry industry recorded a 14 percent increase in production over the period.

Chevon and mutton production for the period remained somewhat stable with an estimated 500 metric tonnes average over the period. The 31 percent increase in production of all meats was attributable largely to the consistent increase in poultry meat production.

Egg production for the period showed a trend of increase which peaked in 1998. Sluggish market demand followed the high production in 1998, and triggered a 7.1 percent decline in 1999 followed by a further 23.05 percent decline in 2000. An overall 14 percent decline in egg production was recorded for the period.

During the period 1994 – 2000 the dairy sub-sector had undergone serious pressure as reductions of import duties, and increased global output of milk resulted in large-scale importation of cheap milk solids. Consequently the dairy industry slumped into decline and stagnation. The high point in milk production was 39951 metric tonnes in 1992. Production started to decline in 1993 through to 1994; a 35 percent decline was recorded between 1992 and 1994. Stagnation in production has been experience since 1995 (see Table 25).

During the period 1990 – 2000 meat production with the exception of chevon/mutton consistently contributed a greater proportion of total demand than imports. However, since 1993 the level of imports has risen significantly, thus narrowing the gap between local production contribution and the contribution from imported meats. This outcome is highlighted in Table 26.

73 Table 26: Percentage Contribution of Meat Production and Imported Meat to Total Meat Consumption each year YEARS 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1995 1993 1992 1991 1990 BEEF

Production 57 54 55 57 62 60 73 69 89 87 83 Imports 43 46 45 43 38 40 27 31 11 13 17

PORK

Production 76 75 76 75 78 79 79 75 89 94 96 Imports 24 25 24 25 22 21 21 25 11 6 4

CHEVON/ MUTTON

Production 9 12 12 12 14 14 16 23 41 35 34 Imports 91 88 88 88 86 86 84 77 59 65 66

POULTRY

Production 68 61 55 57 58 59 54 55 66 61 56 Imports 32 39 45 43 42 41 46 45 34 39 44

FISH

Production 33 31 41 44 51 52 41 39 44 42 41 Imports 67 69 59 56 49 48 59 61 56 58 59

Source: Data Bank and Evaluation Division, Ministry of Agriculture

The Percentage Contribution Of Each Meat Type to Meat Production:

Generally the poultry industry has been the largest contributor to domestic meat production. Throughout the decade it maintained an upward trend in its percentage contribution ranging from 53 percent in 1995 to 70 percent in 2000, approximately 5.5 times greater than that of beef, the second major contributor to meat production. Pork contributed an average of 7.0 percent to total meat production while chevon/mutton maintained 1 percent throughout the entire decade (see Table 27).

74 Table 27: Comparison of Percentage Contribution of Each Types of Meat to Meat Production YEARS 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 All Types 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 Beef 13 14 14 15 16 17 20 20 21 19 17 Pork 6 6 7 7 7 9 9 9 7 6 9 Chevon & 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Mutton

Poultry 70 68 63 60 58 53 57 58 60 63 61 Fish 10 11 15 17 18 20 11 12 11 11 12 Source: Data Bank and Evaluation Division, Ministry of Agriculture

75 2.3 ALTERNATIVE STRATEGIES IN THE CONSERVATION, USE AND DEVELOPMENT OF AnGR

Sheep And Goat Sub-sector: Programmes to be developed:

1. Implementation of Programmes to rapidly augment the number of breeding animals aimed at enhancing the availability of quality stock for commercial Production – an annual population build up of 30 percent is envisaged.

Strategic plan to be adopted: - Introduce and evaluate new breeds - Develop and evaluate under different management system for improved multipurpose crossbred types. - Multiply the appropriate breeds and breed types for distribution to producers. The native goats to be given emphasis in the upgrading /multiplication plan - Increase retention of doe kids for breeding. A retention rate of 75 percent is suggested - Improvement of reproductive performance through o improved prolificacy of 1.7 – 1.75 o reduction in kidding interval to 8 – 9 months - Reduction in kid mortality to 10-12 percent

This development programme will operate through existing stock distribution programmes viz

Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) Goat Commercialisation Programme and community-based projects sponsored and/or managed by CARDI, IICA/JBI, Alpart, EJASP, RIDGE to Reef, RADA/SESP

2. Implementation of programme to improve productivity

Strategic Plan - Introduction and evaluation of new and existing breeds with managed breeding programmes inclusive of A.I. to increase carcass size, dressing percentage, meat to bone ratio and reduce the effects of inbreeding. - Transfer of resultant technology to producers.

76 3. Development of cost effective and sustainable production systems to enhance competitiveness and move the sub-sector to a level of commercial viability.

Strategic Plan - Develop forage dominant husbandry and feeding system - Develop improved production systems for breeder, weaner and fattener herds; - Feedlot development to be given serious attention. - Investigate pest and disease management - Establish Industry best practice bench marks for production enterprises. - Transfer of improved technology to producers.

4. Conduct market surveys for small ruminants and their products

Strategic Plan

The current practice of marketing mostly whole or half carcasses should be altered over time for primal and retail weights and value added products. 1. Investigate opportunities to increase the use of existing and value added products 2. Develop state-of-the-art slaughter facilities 3. Implement training programmes in post and anti-mortem handling procedures and meat cutting techniques

5. Development of sustainable human resource base for the sub-sector.

Strategic Plan - Develop linkages and foster alliances with other R& D Institutions - Encourage profession development/ technical capabilities through workshops, - seminars, release of research , extension bulletins, fact sheets, newsletters, print and electronic media releases and handbooks - Collaborate effort with Caribbean Agricultural Information system (CAIS) - Encourage and assist with the formation of producer groups - Promote the participation in the Industry of young and technology receptive (“New farmers”) producers.

6. Need for Ministry of Agriculture to review draft document on Small Ruminant Policy.

Request to be made for Policy adoption

77 7. National Identification system to be implemented to aid in the fight against praedial larceny

8. Breeders Society Activity - The work of the Goat Breeders Society Jamaica to be promoted

Pigs:

Development of the Pig Industry will be based on cross breeding and pure breeding programmes within the existing population involving the Landrace, Large White and Duroc. The development programme envisage the importation of semen and live animals of these breeds.

The general approach will be to improve the three breeds by selection for the productive traits of carcass quality, inclusive of decrease back fat thickness, growth and feed efficiency and then to include these improved breeds in cross breeding programmes to improve reproductive performance and hence pre-weaning traits.

Selection of animals for the national breeding herd should therefore be based on the following criteria. - Feed efficiency - Body length - Carcass quality – backfat thickness, cut out, rib eye area - Number of functional teats - Fertility levels - Mothering ability

This general approach should be incorporated into a coordinated national breeding programme having the following components. - Maintenance of a nucleus herd and the operation of a performance test station at Bodles. The main function of this component would be to provide tested boars and gilts to commercial breeders. - Maintenance of commercial herds. The main function will be multiplication and further dissemination in addition to fattening to satisfy market demand - Grading Programme – This will form a valuable tool for Swine improvement on farms as well as accurate measure of the value of pig carcasses in the market place.

78 The specifics of the strategic plan for viability of the Pig/Pork sub-sector include:

1. Improvement in the size and quality of the National herd. - Implementation of an immediate and continued comprehensive pig survey - Importation of genetic material, semen and live animals, to produce a more competitive product through improved litter size, growth rate and carcass quality - Cross breeding, multiplication and dissemination of improved genetics to Producers. - Collaboration with the Veterinary Division to eliminate and eradicate some endemic diseases that are hindering the development of the sub-sector. - Provision of training in proper management practices to farmers and farmer groups to facilitate rearing of healthy stock. This could also include the Production Manual on standard procedures for pig rearing 2. Collaborative effort between MOA and feed companies to formulate and develop more appropriate and cost effective ration for the sub-sector

3. Review of pig slaughtering facilities with the view of enforcing meat inspection and sanitary standards as well as implementing mandatory HACCP programmes to meet international standards of slaughtering and food safety. Collaborative effort between Ministry of Health, and the Veterinary Services Division of the Ministry of Agriculture will be necessary to accomplish this proposal

4. Development of marketing and promotion programmes to dispel myths and increase consumption

5. Establishment of a national grading system

6. Development of environmentally friendly productions systems

- Resuscitation of biogas production projects as an approach to waste management

Dairy Sub-sector:

An expanded . dairy sector envisages 80.000 dairy cows producing 600.000 litres per day from 50.000 hectares of pasture land.

79 Strategic Plan

1. Twenty (20) percent reduction in cost of production - Expansion in utilization of forage based production systems inclusive of pasturage and conserved forage - Use of local agricultural by-products in zones where its use is cost effective - Judicious use of concentrate supplementation to offset seasonal herbage deficits and to support high stocking rates of Jamaica Hope cows identified to be or having the potential to be good converters of local feed into milk - Reduction in lending rates to 9 percent per annum to dairy farmers for dairy development project

2. Increase local production - Immediate and continued survey to determine productive dairy population - Increase animal numbers through multiplication, and selection for productivity o Establishment of new farms based on the cooperative model o Accelerate the implementation of the Emancipation Lands Programme to settle 250 – 300 trained young dairy farmers equipped with the technology to compete with international market place. o Funding of Research and Development Programmes to: - Execute milk recording and progeny testing schemes - Generate improved breeding stock

- Execute selection programmes to enhance availability of breeding stock of proven production potential - Disseminate sires of improved genetic potential through the Sire Service programmes of Artificial Insemination, Loan Bull Scheme and Livestock Improvement Centres - Resuscitate the national revolving heifer programme - Generate and disseminate technologies to reduce:

(i) Calf mortality to 10 percent (ii) Improve reproduction performance through lowering conception rates (1.6 services/conception and reduced calving interval, 12-14 months) (iii) Reduce age at first calving by appropriate calf rearing to enable breeding at 15-18 months - Incentive to reduce slaughter rate of potentially productive females - Reduce competition from imported milk solids

80 o Enactment and implementation of the appropriate policy to reduce import of milk solids - A tariff regime that places the appropriate duty on milk solids could be removed over a period of five years. o Imposition of a ban on the importation of luxury dairy products e.g. ice-cream. - Stimulate Milk Consumption o Increase demand for dairy products through marketing and promotion to target groups - The poor should be targeted as a potentially strong demand reservoir A price competitive blend could be formulated for this vulnerability segment of society - The school feeding programme to be expanded o Improved marketing strategy by Jamaica Dairy Farmers Federation - Product differentiation and segmentation - Direct marketing to consumer - Increase advertisement - Increase capacity to handle the bulk of local production - In collaboration with principals in the industry and requisite technical expertise, mechanism for rational milk price determination and stabilization should be pursued. - Creation of the infrastructure to handle all locally produced milk - Expansion of HEART/NTA dairy worker and management training programme.

Beef:

Strategic Plan for expansion of Beef Production and Consumption:

1. Improve price competitiveness of locally produced beef - Pasture development subsidy for five years or special low interest rate window at Development Banks for accelerated pasture establishment - Property tax rebate on lands utilized for livestock production - Research and Development to facilitate technological advances aimed at reducing cost of production

Areas of focus should be: - Husbandry and Nutrition Research Utilization of agro-industrial by-products to be an area of focus - Forage Evaluation and Utilization

81 - Establishment of an Animal Breeding and Genetics Laboratory to facilitate development of database to generate information on - Pedigree – parental/performance - Performance – individual/progeny - Estimated breeding values - Validation of breeding values and performance records

The database will facilitate the selection process to identify sires of outstanding merit to convert inputs into beef of competitive price. These sires will be allowed to impact the population through the various sire service programmes.

This breed development strategy will be done in collaboration with the Breed Societies. It is also pivotal to improve the quality of animals and beef, thus allowing for standardization of prime cuts for various markets and reducing the variation in size and quality. Such development will also enable support for the production of high quality semen and embryo.

- The performance testing programme started at the Agricultural Development Corporation’s (ADC’s) Minard Estate should be restarted and expanded into a national programme.

Data generated at the Content Agricultural Products and Bog Walk slaughter facilities should be made available to the animal breeding and genetics laboratory for analyses.

- The meats laboratory should be resuscitated to do carcass studies to ascertain the optimal stage to market consistent with market demand and cost containment - Provision of advisory services in breeding, husbandry, and nutrition.

Strengthen animal health capability to maintain freedom from epizootic, and other animal diseases, which hinders cost effective production.

2. Implication of a comprehensive animal survey to determine - Number of beef animals in Jamaica - Land area currently utilized in beef production - Area in improved pasture, commons, ruinate - Ascertain factors influencing variation in production

82 3. Grow beef production and consumption - Beef farmers must operate in a market environment and be guaranteed a reasonable return on investment - Review import policy and tariff structure in order to implement a fair trading system for producers - Maximize capacity for export of beef, beef products as well as seed stock, semen and embryos * Evaluate and initiate the establishment of a modern state-of-the arts meat processing facility that meets international standard * Implement a national grading system with major focus on “tenderness” attributes aimed at improving the eating experience of locally produced beef * Implement the training of local butchers in the slaughter, cutting and presentation of products. - Expand into and sustain new local markets * Engender the collaboration between RADA Home Economics and the Private Sector for development and preparation of recipes for consumers - Further processing of beef to improve convenience of preparation * A major goal is the development of processing plants designed to meet health and food safety standards * Added value to primary products via processing/fabrication/agro-industrial initiatives e.g. canned beef, jerk beef. * Processing must be creative to facilitate export of frozen beef, beef patties, hamburgers to CARICOM - Control of praedial larceny - Development of a national identification system for livestock aimed at traceability and disease control - Provision of support services - Veterinary a) Monitoring of health status b) Expansion of the A.I. Services c) Implementation of the national identification programme - Extension a) Reorientation of officers to provide necessary technical guidance in livestock - Data Bank and Evaluation a) Implementation of continuous livestock survey through collaboration with RADA - Marketing and Promotion a) Promotional campaign for livestock products

83 b) Upgrading of meat outlet – re cutting and display c) Support for Minard Livestock Show and Beef Festival to stimulate interest in beef production and consumption especially among the youths.

Poultry:

The major development thrust is to bring the non-contractual poultry producers comprising 30- 35 percent of the sub-sector into organized poultry production consistent with public health and food safety standards.

84 2.4 Outlining Future National Policy, Strategy and Management Plans For the Conversation, Use and Development of AnGR

National Approach to AnGR Conservation

AnGR

Beef Cattle Policy Initiative

- Construction of modern meat processing plant capable of meeting international standards and for expanding the list of value added products. - The rationalization and upgrading the traditional network and meat slaughtering and handling facilities islandwide with a view to bring them up to international standard. - Improvement in carcass quality of animals produced as raw material for the new processing facility. - Development of feed supplements from local material aimed at reducing production cost. - Research and Development to facilitate technological advances aimed at cost effective production.

Areas of focus * Husbandry and utilization research - Utilization of Agro-industry by-products * Forage evaluation and utilization. * Establishment of an animal breeding and genetics, laboratory to facilitate development of database to generate information on: - Pedigree/parental performance. - Performance – individual/progeny. - Estimated breeding values. - Validation of breeding values and performance records.

The database will facilitate the selection process to identify sires of outstanding merit to convert input into beef at competitive prices . These sires will be allowed to impact the beef cattle population through the various sire service programmes viz loan bull scheme, stud station artificial insemination.

This development strategy will be done in collaboration with the breed societies.

85 The performance testing programmes started by the Ministry of Agriculture to b revitalize and expanded into a national programme.

Dairy Cattle Policy Initiative

The Ministry of Agriculture in collaboration with the dairy Farmers Federation and other industry stake holders will pursue a number of initiatives that are presently in various stages of planning and implementation. Foremost of these are as listed below:

1. The implementation of the Jamaica Milk Marketing Project. - The United States Agency is supporting this project for International Development (USAID) under the PL480 programme. The main objective of the project is to reduce the retail margin on milk from $16 - $22 per litre to about $10 per litre. The main components of the project include: * Establishment of a central dairy processing plant; * Establishment of milk collection and chilling centres; * Acquisition of milk collection tankers and vans; * Establishment of retail outlets; and * Promotion and publicity of locally produced milk.

2. Training of industry workers. A co-operation agreement was reached with HEART/NTA to train workers and owners in the dairy industry in specific areas of management, the goals of which is the creation of 7,000 – 10,000 additional jobs.

3. The acquisition of additional milking equipment. To establish kiosks in rural areas for the distribution of farmers’ milk.

4. Establishment of a Milk Production Enhancement Scheme geared towards enhancing production and productivity in the dairy industry is a complementary intervention to the Milk Marketing Project. Elements of this programme include: - Pasture development designed to improve production of grass and fodder crops as a viable substitute for feed concentrate. The strategy is to encourage lowering the cost of milk production through greater reliance on pastures rather than feed concentrates. - An expanded Artificial Insemination (AI) services to better meet the needs of the dairy farmers. - The school feeding programme which consumes some seven million litres of milk annually is a target market that the local industry has began to exploit. This will continue over the planned period.

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Pigs Policy Initiative

Over the medium term, the Research Unit of the Ministry of Agriculture will embark on a number of initiatives to alleviate the problems and to develop the industry to international standards. These initiatives include: - The use of Artificial Insemination to upgrade the gene pool of the stock. This will help to eliminate the problem of inbreeding and its associated difficulties. - The importation of genetic material (semen) to increase the size and growth rate of the herd, decrease the back fat content of the carcass and to increase the feed conversion ratio of the animals.

The development programme for the local pig industry over the medium term will include the following: - Adoption of sound environmental practices in the appropriate siting of Piggery units in the future development of the industry; - Efforts will be made to work closely with the feed companies to formulate and develop more appropriate and cost effective rations for the industry; - The Research Unit will work in close collaboration with the Veterinary Division to eliminate and eradicate some endemic diseases that are hindering the development of the industry; - The Research Unit will also assist farmers and farmer groups with the proper management practices that are necessary for the development of a healthy stock. This will take the form of a Manual on Standard Procedures for Pig Rearing; - The preparation of standards for meat which will include pork (to be done by the Bureau of Standards) - A pig-breeding unit will be established to provide quality stocks while attempting to influence the levels of production annually to minimize the incidence of gluts and shortages.

Goat Policy Initiative

The medium term objectives for this sub-sector are to achieve increased productivity and output of chevon at competitive prices. Collaboration with regional and international agencies will continue in the medium term. Goat Commercialisation Projects which is being implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture. This will continue over the planned period; the main element of the project are:

87 - A programme to rapidly augment the number of national breeding does; - The establishment of post-harvest and marketing of the planned output; - The development of technologies to further lower the cost of production and enhance competitiveness and to move the industry to a level of commercial viability; - Further expansion of the breeding stock through a stock distribution programme; - Production of commercial goat ration; - Feed lot development, slaughter and processing of goat flesh; - Promotion of specialized meat cuts through training in grading and cutting of meat.

88 3.0 STATE OF NATIONAL CAPACITIES AND FUTURE CAPACITY BUILDING REQUIREMENTS Description of Information Currently Available for AnGR Sector – the and Extent of information Available:

Information status on AnGR The available information base on AnGR is highlighted in Table 28 Table 28: Available information on ANGR

Species Breed Popula- Geographical Genetic Breed Performance Breed Research and Level of Level of Endangered tion Data Distribution Composition Characteriza- Data Society Development Introgression Adaptation or Not tion Activities Data Jamaica Hope Jamaica Red Poll Not Not Cattle Jamaica Brahman Available Available Available Available Available Available Available Available Jamaica Black Available Available

Not Not applicable Unknown Non-descript Unknown Not available Not available applicable Indigenous Unknown Work in Not progress applicable Goat Spanish Anglo-Nubian Not Boer Available Available Available Available Available Available Available Available Available Available Alpine Toggenburg Indigenous Unknown Unknown

Sheep Barbados Black Belly Not Limited data Not Available Available Available Available Suffock Available Available Available Available available applicable Dorper Katahdin Indigenous Unknown Not available Unknown Not applicable Unknown

Swine Large White Not Landrace Available Available Available Available Not Available Available Available Available Duroc applicable Hampshire Poultry Indigenous Not available Not available Unknown Not applicable Unknown Unknown Exotic (Meat Not Available Exotic (Egg) Available Available Available applicable Available Available Available Information Gaps in the use and development of ANGR

Gaps are identified in Output measurement - Production data gathering and analysis

Dairy Cattle: Lack of a sustained national milk production recording scheme aimed at progeny testing and estimation of breeding values within the established dairy breed

Beef Cattle: Maintenance of annual performance testing on a national scale to aid selection and breeding value determination within the native beef breeds. - Characterization and evaluation of indigenous types

Pig, Goat and Sheep: - Characterization and evaluation of indigenous types - Breed and breed cross evaluation - Genetic evaluation – meat and milk

Poultry: - Characterization and evaluation of indigenous type

Product quality measurement - Meat – beef, mutton, chevon Carcass evaluation studies to address market trends through breeding and selection - Milk – measurement of components of milk yield viz: protein and butterfat measurements on a national scale

Adaptation measurements for recently introduced breeds - More wide ranging indicators of adaptation needs to be measured

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Life history traits for indigenous breeds

Recording for genetic improvement in pigs, sheep and goats - Pedigree recording through herd book registration.

Demographic data gathering - population by breed - population trends - geographical distribution of population - extraction rates - levels of introgression

Enabling Policies and Legislations:

- Artificial Insemination: The animals (Artificial Insemination) Control Act provides guideline enabling the proper use of material (semen) which could adversely affect future generations of livestock.

- Research and Development: The Animal Control of Experiments Act seeks to regulate /control the experimentation and breeding of animals and the development of herds of stock.

- Scientific Research Council: The Scientific Research Council Act seeks to undertake, foster and coordinate scientific research in the island and to encourage the application of the results of such results to the exploitation and development of the resources of the island.

- The Caribbean Agricultural Research And Development Institute (CARDI) ACT (1982):

91 The Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute Act of 1982 established a Caribbean Wide Research Institute to provide, develop and disseminate agricultural technology through research activity. The Sheep and Goat sub-sectors benefited from this Act.

- The Rural Agricultural Development (RADA) (Act): The Rural Agricultural Development Act which enable the technology delivery link between rural farmers and research organizations.

- The Agricultural Development Corporation Act (1952): The Agricultural Development Corporation act of 1952 to provide commercial development and expansion of the livestock industry

- Animal Health/Disease Surveying and Control: The following acts and Regulations impinge on animal health and disease control. * Food and Drugs Act 1996 Regulates the importation, manufacture, trade and use of foods, drugs, cosmetics and attendant duties * Public Health Act 1996 - Public Health (Butchers’) Regulations * Public Health (Meat Inspection) Regulations 1989 Promote the hygienic production, processing, storage and sale of food for human consumption * Animal (Disease and Importation) Act Address animal health issues and regulations pertaining to the importation of live animals and animal products * Pesticide Act Provides regulations for the safe use of pesticides

Animal/Products Market Standards

92 - Standards Act: Promote and encourage the maintenance of standardization in relation to commodities, processes and practices.

- Meat and Meat Products and By-Products (Inspection and Export) Act (1998) Provides for the inspection and certification of meat, meat products and meat by-products for export and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto

- Praedial Larceny (Prevention) Act To prevent crimes dealing with theft and destruction of livestock, crops, fish including all marine and other aquaculture products.

The problem of praedial larceny remains in the forefront of government’s policies and to this end it is proposed that stiffer penalties be imposed on those guilty of the crime. In this regard, government proposes that the fine for unlawful possession of agricultural produce be increase as soon as the legislation is put in place. In addition, the Ministry of Agriculture in collaboration with Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS) and the Ministry of National Security and Justice has developed Praedial Larceny Support Programme. The overall goal of the programme is to reduce related losses to family income. More specifically, the programme intends to: - Create national awareness and alertness to the incidence of praedial larceny a - Establish a system of ongoing monitoring, prompt detection, reporting and prosecution of praedial thieves The implementation of this programme calls for legal reform to rationalize two related pieces of legislation: The Larceny Act (1942) and the Larceny Act (1983). The Agricultural Produce (Amendment) Act, 2004 attempt to address these concerns and if enforced should impact this scourge.

Environmental Legislations

93 Designated to protect and sustain the environment and the eco-systems - Animal Disease and Importation Act - Swine and Goat Act - Wildlife Control Act - Water Supply Act - Watershed Protection Act - Forestry Act

94 4.0 IDENTIFYING NATIONAL PRIORITIES FOR THE CONSERVATION AND UTILIZATION OF AnGR

The mission of the Agricultural Sector

To ensure ( ) National Food Security

(a) provision of high quality (fresh/processed) products for the export market and

(b) supplying of raw material’s future agro-industry segment.

Priorities for the utilization and conservation of AnGR are determined by the need to realize the aforementioned mission within the constraint of available resources and competing demand for those resources.

The overriding objective of prioritizing the utilization and conservation of AnGR will have to be 1) to determine the breeds and species of AnGR, in order of precedence, most likely to have a favourable and sustainable impact on National Food Security.

2) To identify constraints and problems that adversely affects the contribution of the breed/species identified to food security.

To design and implement research and development programmes and projects that will resolve problems and constraints identified.

The following are criteria used in priority setting in the utilization and conservation of AnGR. 1) The extent to which the produced of each breed/species is regarded as a staple 2) The potential of each animal product to realize import substitution 3) Cost to import the same animal product 4) Export potential 5) Feasibility for local production 6) Agro-processing potential Based on these criteria the priority commodities for research and development are dairy cattle, goats, pigs, beef cattle and sheep.

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In the analysis of the spectrum of constraint affecting the utilization and conservation of AnGR the following emerge as major constraints. i) Herd Health ii) Herd Management iii) Feeding Systems iv) Productivity of AnGR

In order to prioritize these constraints, the following criteria are utilized

i) Losses caused to Jamaica ii) Cost to farmer iii) Feasibility to correct iv) Existence of provisional answer v) whether basic or applied research is necessary

Within the priority commodities the following species/breed of AnGR will be of interest.

Species Breed Dairy Cattle - Jamaica Hope Goat - Native - Anglo-Nubian - Boer Pigs - Large White - Landrace - Duroc Beef Cattle - Jamaica Red Poll - Jamaica Black - Jamaica Brahman

Sheep - St. Elizabeth - Kathardin - Dorper

96 The various AnGR interest organized under species groups as breeder and farmer organizations coordinated at the national level participate in utilization and conservation approaches. They are as follows:

Species Breed Interest Group Cattle Jamaica Hope Jamaica Hope Cattle Breeders Society Jamaica Dairy Farmers Federation

Jamaica Red Poll Jamaica Red Poll Cattle Breeders Society Jamaica Brahman Jamaica Brahman Cattle Breeders Society Jamaica Black Jamaica Black Cattle Breeders Society

Goat Anglo-Nubian Boer Native Spanish Alpine Grades Goat Breeders Society of Jamaica

Sheep St. Elizabeth Barbados Black Belly Kathardin Dorper

Pigs Landrace Large White Pig Farmers Association Duroc

97 National and Regional Priorities for Animal Genetic Resources are identified as follows: 1) Implementation of a national and regional network for AnGR 2) Characterization of AnGR (recording systems, genetic evaluation genetic distances, etc.) 3) Breeding, conservation and evaluation strategies for small populations (Barbados Blackbelly, Trinidad and Tobago buffalypso, Jamaica hope, Creole populations, ....) 4) Training in the management of AnGR (valuation of AnGR) 5) Establish the Caribbean Society of Animal Production 6) Establishment of national committees to provide advise to government in the development of national policies regarding the management of AnGR 7) Inventory (census) of livestock 8) Development of nucleus farms and multiplication units to supply breeding stock, for AnGR that contribute most to food security 9) Ways to increase public awareness 10) Evaluation of imported breeding stock 11) Use of by-products from AnGR

98 5.0 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR INTERNATIONAL PRIORITIES FOR THE CONSERVATION AND UTILIZATION OF AnGR

1) Development of regional projects to look for financial and technical support 2) Implementation of a regional network for AnGR 3) ]software (and training) used in animal breeding analyses 4) Linkage between ecotourism and agriculture – AnGR utilization (changing consumer preferences) 5) Regional branding of unique animal products from the region 6) Exchange of learning experiences among countries 7) Availability of AnGR for specific studies (buffalypso, Barbados Blackbelly, ....)

Survey, identify and characterize - - Jamaica Hope herds – participate in regional progeny testing. - Native/Creole goats, St. Elizabeth sheep - Implement breeding, conservation and utilization strategies for these breeds.

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MAPS

- Land Capability

- World Position

- Regional Position

- Topography

- Distribution of Public Education Institutions

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Source: National Atlas of Jamaica Town Planning Department

Source: National Atlas of Jamaica Town Planning Department

Source: National Atlas of Jamaica Town Planning Department

Source: Statistical Yearbook of Jamaica