Continued Input of Local Industries will create Necessary Jobs – Hayles

State Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Ian Hayles, says the continued input of local industries will create the jobs necessary to further develop the country.

He emphasised that a major focus of the new Government is the creation of jobs, and “it’s our local (companies) that are going to play that role in going forward."

The State Minister was speaking to journalists, following a tour of the Jamaica Broilers Group of Companies in St. Catherine, on February 20.

Mr. Hayles praised local entities, such as the Jamaica Broilers Group, for providing jobs for citizens, with the company providing employment for over 2,000 Jamaicans. He added that these local businesses also have a role in reducing the country’s level of imports.

“Our importation bill right now stands anywhere between US$600 and US$800 million and it is companies such as Jamaica Broilers that are going to stop the high level of importation that is affecting us as a nation now,” he said.

The State Minister said that the Government will now have to put measures in place to ensure “that our local sector gets to play a vital role in going forward."

In the meantime, Mr. Hayles reiterated his plea to Jamaicans to “start buying Jamaican,” noting that the process starts by “employing our own people and it starts by what we consume and we have to start consuming products that are healthy."

President and Chief Executive Officer of the Jamaica Broilers Group of Companies, Christopher Levy, said the company is committed to the role it has to play in the development of the country.

“There is no doubt that the support of the Government in this process is critical; it’s a partnership and we’re ready to move forward with the Government and to help develop and grow Jamaica,” he said.

The State Minister’s extensive tour of the Jamaica Broilers Group of Companies took him from the Best Dressed Chicken Hatchery and Ace Farm and Garden Supercentre in While Marl to the Processing and Co-generation Plant in Spring Village, then to the Best Dressed Chicken Feedmill in Old Harbour. The tour ended at Jamaica Broilers Ethanol Limited at Port Esquivel, where he had a brief meeting with staff members.

Mr. Hayles has been meeting with critical stakeholders over the last several weeks, to get hands on knowledge on some of the issues affecting the sector, as well as to discuss his vision for the agricultural industry.

Jamaica Broilers Group of Companies started in 1958 as Jamaica’s pioneer producer of broiler meat on a commercial basis. Today, it has a fully integrated poultry operation and has diversified into feed milling, cattle rearing, beef production and fish farming, along with the development and marketing of other value-added products for both local consumption and export.

The company has also developed affiliated services that support various agricultural operations. These include veterinary and nutritional services, the wholesale and retail of a full range of farm products and the pre-mixing of feed ingredients and concentrate.

In addition to the local divisions in the Group, the company also has international subsidiaries.

By Alecia Smith-Edwards, JIS Reporter