THE agriculture ministry last week launched a training programme to assist farmers in improving their sheep and goat breeding and management practices.

Agriculture Minister Roger Clarke, who launched the Small Ruminant Industry Development Training Programme at the Bodles Agricultural Research Station in Old Harbour, St Catherine, said it was very timely as there was a shortfall in the supply of goat meat to fill local demand.

“The importance of us really getting into some serious production is borne out of the fact that between 2001 and 2005 we imported some 17.9 million kilogrammes of sheep and goat meat into the country at a cost of $2 billion. That is a substantial amount of money that could be saved in terms of foreign exchange,” said Clarke.

He said the supply from the local farmers was about 16 to 18 per cent of demand, while the island has a large amount of acreage able to be utilised for production.

“Having taken the decision that we are going to support this new thrust, through the ministry, we allocated some $50 million towards this project, with additional support from the Agricultural Support Services Project (ASSP),” added the minister.

According to the minister, 78 full-blooded (Dorper) sheep have been imported into the island at a cost of about $8 million to boost cross-breeding, a total of 218 cross-bred animals have been distributed to farmers for starter herds.

The agriculture ministry, he said, was working through the ASSP to establish a slaughtering facility.

“We’re moving in a direction to put in place a modern sheep and goat producing country where our farmers can be competitive, that they can get into the marketplace, can satisfy local demand, can satisfy the tourist industry, and if we move in that direction, we might even be able to export to some of our Caribbean countries,” the minister said.

He urged the farmers to adhere to good agricultural practices and to ensure proper sanitation on their farms in order to ensure food safety, to meet world standards and to compete globally.

Jasmin Holness, deputy director in the ministry and moderator for the training programme, said the objective of the programme is to expand the industry by 15 per cent over a three-year period, through the generation of improved genetic stock.

She explained that the training programme would be carried out in five modules with module one being introduced as part of the launch.

Holness said other training sessions would take place on June 29 at the Knockpatrick Demonstation Training Centre in Manchester on July 20 at the Hounslow centre in St Elizabeth, and on August 24 at the Bodles Research Station.

She said the training programme would be taken to the eastern and western sections of the island later this year.

Trainers will include Dr Osbil Watson from the Veterinary Services Division; Carlton Wedderburn from the Economic Planning Unit in the Ministry of Agriculture; and Albert Fearon Small, ruminant co-ordinator at the Caribbean Research and Development Institute.