Small Poultry Farmers In Parottee Receive Rebuilding Assistance

Small poultry operators in Parottee in St. Elizabeth, who suffered significant losses during the passage of Hurricane Melissa last October, have received crucial assistance to enable them to resume their livelihood.

The support package, valued at approximately $2 million, includes building materials, chickens and feed.

The supplies were provided under the Comeback Coops initiative, which is a $10 million programme by Hi-Pro and the Not In Vain Foundation (NIV), targeting small chicken farmers across western Jamaica.

Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Hon. Floyd Green, in his address at the handing over ceremony in Parottee on Friday (May 1) commended the donors for not just providing the birds but supporting the rebuilding of infrastructure.

“To build back these communities to again become producers of chicken, you have to be able to provide the infrastructure support so that they can build back their chicken coops, and that’s why I’m very happy with this programme,” he said.

The Minister credited the entities for working with the Government to bring back productive capacity to Parottee and other communities.

He noted that the support is crucial given that small farmers account for more than 30 per cent of Jamaica’s total chicken production.

“What we don’t want to do is to go back to a stage where we are depending on external sources for chicken meat. If we are really going to have a country that’s doing well, we have to be able to feed ourselves, and it starts from feeding ourselves with chicken,” he said.

More than 1.1 million birds were lost during the hurricane, including 700,000 broilers.

For his part, Vice President of Hi-Pro, Colonel (ret’d) Jaimie Ogilvie, said the initiative began in Westmoreland in March before expanding to St. James and now St. Elizabeth, targeting the areas hardest hit by the hurricane.

He noted that community involvement has been a key feature of the initiative, with residents working together to construct the coops to eliminate or minimise labour costs and strengthen the recovery effort.

“We did it because we saw the need. When you can give a man chickens, not just for themselves, but for their customers, and to restore their livelihood, then it is a no brainer. So, that is why we are here,” Mr. Ogilvie said.

Among the beneficiaries is Tannesha Drummond, who told JIS News that the support will go a far way in enabling her to resume business, and praised the partners in the Comeback Coops initiative for giving back to the community.

Sheldon Wright indicated that the opportunity to raise chickens again will allow him to generate income to better support his family, while also contributing to the wider recovery of the Parottee community.