MINISTER of Agriculture and Fisheries Floyd Green is calling for increased local feed production to strengthen Jamaica’s food security and reduce reliance on imports. Speaking at a forum hosted by Jamaica Broilers Group, Green emphasised the importance of public-private partnerships in strengthening local food production and reducing Jamaica’s heavy reliance on imported animal feed, which he described as a significant portion of the country’s food import bill.

Data from Trading Economics indicates that in 2023 Jamaica imported US$11.19-million worth of animal feed preparations from the United States. Additionally, the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (Statin) reported that between January and July 2023, Jamaica’s total import expenditure stood at approximately US$4.44 billion. Green also highlighted that feed shortages in late 2022 had severely impacted pig and poultry farmers, raising concerns over livestock losses and reduced meat supply.

“Just as global disruptions can shut down food supply chains, we have experienced similar issues with feed supply,” Green said. “That’s why I’m challenging our private sector partners to work with the Government to develop a greater local component of our feed production for poultry and other livestock.”

The 2022 feed shortage underscored the vulnerability of Jamaica’s agricultural sector to supply chain shocks, emphasising the need for resilient and sustainable local production systems. Green also pointed to the Caribbean region’s goal of reducing extra-regional imports by 25 per cent by 2025, though he acknowledged that weather-related disruptions had affected progress. He stressed that Jamaica has the potential to play a leading role in fulfilling the region’s agricultural needs.

“We should be working toward reducing the region’s dependence on extra-regional imports by ensuring that Jamaica can supply everything the region needs, starting with poultry and value-added products,” he said.

Beyond regional markets, Green sees Jamaican food products gaining global traction, calling for stronger private sector involvement to expand exports.

“We want to ensure that Jamaican food is on the shelves across the region, making the Caribbean more food secure,” he said. “And because whatever we do in Jamaica tastes better than anywhere else in the world, we should not just focus on the region. We are reaching a stage where we can make significant inroads into larger global markets.”

Green also highlighted that the poultry sector grew by 3 per cent at the end of 2024, despite the impact of Hurricane Beryl. However, he acknowledged ongoing challenges in the egg sector, noting that over 43,000 laying hens were lost. Those that survived experienced significant trauma, and unfavourable weather conditions further delayed their return to full production. Despite these setbacks, Green projected that 95 million eggs would be produced between January and July. Addressing global challenges, he emphasised the need for Jamaica to explore alternative sources for hatching hens, to strengthen the resilience of the sector.

“I think if we work together as the public and private sectors we can speed up some of those processes so that when we have trouble in our main market, we can go to other markets. But ultimately, we should not be looking at going out just for our country — we should be looking at going out for the region and ultimately playing our part in serving the world,” Green stated.