Ministry Encourages Greater Youth Involvement in Dairy Industry

Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Reginald Budhan(r) engages Hugh Graham (c) CEO of the Jamaica Dairy Development Board and Ainsley Riley (l) agro-business specialist at the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) at a dairy farmers meeting on Wednesday, November 23, in Kingston to discuss revitalisation of the dairy industry.

As part of its ongoing efforts to boost revitalisation of the country’s dairy industry, the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries is encouraging greater involvement of young people and women in the industry.
The call came from acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Reginald Budhan, while addressing dairy farmers from St Thomas, Clarendon and St Elizabeth on Wednesday, November 23, 2016 in Kingston.
Speaking against the background of a decline in the industry, precipitated by the liberalisation of milk imports in the 1990s, and the subsequent attrition of farmers from the sector, the Permanent Secretary said the revitalisation efforts were not only aimed at re-engaging the services of those who were formerly involved in the dairy sector, but also to “attract and engage young people in this lucrative business”.
He cited, in this regard, a Memorandum of Understanding signed in July between Seprod and the College of Agriculture, Science and Education to assist in the ongoing transformation of the dairy operations at CASE to better prepare students for work and entrepreneurial activities within the dairy industry.
Acknowledging the support and collaboration of private sector companies and international partners such as the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), Mr. Budhan said Government was serious about resuscitating the dairy industry.
He said that although the industry faced real challenges such as the impact of climate change, praedial larceny and access to affordable inputs and financing, efforts were being made to address and resolve them. He called upon the farmers and stakeholders to make the industry a “model of success”.
The meeting of the dairy farmers was organised by IICA, in collaboration with the Jamaica Dairy Development Board, to strengthen the group clusters, which are now in the process of being registered or reregistered as co-operatives.
It was noted that one of the clusters in attendance, the Serge Island Farmers, currently has a membership of 52, some 20 per cent of whom are young farmers, while 30 per cent are female farmers.
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