Dairy Programmes For AEIs Islandwide

The Jamaica Dairy Development Board (JDDB) is prioritising the development of dairy programmes in Agricultural Educational Institutions (AEIs) islandwide.

Fifteen schools across the island are slated to benefit from the AEI Programme, which seeks to strengthen in-school dairy production.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at the JDDB, Devon Sayers, told JIS News that this is an important strategy in safeguarding the future of dairy development in Jamaica.

“A number of schools, including Northern Caribbean University (NCU), Dinthill Technical High School, Munro College, Vere Technical High School and other colleges, used to have dairies. Through the AEI programme, we’ll be focusing on these agricultural educational institutions, to get them back up and running with their dairy operations,” Mr. Sayers said.

He also mentioned introduction of the Heifer Redeployment Programme. “We will be buying female dairy cows and distributing them to the schools. We are currently helping them with preparing their pastures and facilities to house the animals when we get them,” he added.

Meanwhile, small farmers in St. Thomas are to benefit from the redevelopment of a communal milking parlour in Hillside.

The decision to redevelop the milking parlour was guided by research done in 2019 through the National Land Agency, to ascertain the location of all small farmers in St. Thomas.

Mr. Sayers said part of the research was to find common locations where farmers would take 15 minutes in travel time to reach and then another 30 minutes for transport to milk processors.

“What we came up with were the ideal locations to build shared services for those small farmers. At these central points is where we created the clusters of communal milking parlours. From that study we came up with the first location. The building design and everything has already been done and we expect construction to start by late July,” he noted.

The CEO pointed out that improvements would allow dairy farmers in the parish to milk by machine and benefit from improved sanitation.

Larger scale farmers in the same location would also be benefiting from the distribution of mobile milkers. These portable devices improve the efficiency of the milking process for farmers.

Funding for these and other projects executed through the Dairy Development Board are provided through the one per cent cess on imported and locally produced dairy products.

Established in 1999, the Jamaica Dairy Board aims to create an internationally competitive dairy industry that is economically and environmentally sustainable.

The mission of the Board is also focused on contributing to the self-sufficiency and enhancement of the nation’s food security.