TWENTY-ONE-YEAR-OLD poultry farmer Cleo Jones is using his talent as a deejay to promote his Raised Right Poultry Farm, and to attract more young people to the sector.

Since February he has been successfully operating his farm, located in Glade, St Catherine, as a supplemental income stream. Alongside his uncle Raymond McFarlane, he tends to more than 5,000 chickens. They also raise pigs while planting crops on the land.

With posts of original songs about agriculture and life on his farm Jones has racked up thousands of followers on social media, with more than 27,000 and counting on Tik Tok.

These posts have gained him valuable recognition, which has translated to numerous lucrative business partnerships.

Jones said he has been creative since his days at Kingston College.

“You know, one of those things that we did in school was clashing. Every Friday we set up the desks, benches, and the chairs and we clash. That’s where the musical journey basically started for me,” he said.

He decided to incorporate his talent in farming as a marketing strategy.

“I just wanted to be different. I was thinking about a marketing strategy and I’m like, ‘Alright then, I’m good at this. Why not infuse my creativity into the farming and basically see how best it can push sales?’

“Trust me, it’s doing a great job so far. Sometimes I walk into a restaurant to meet with the owner and they recognise me as ‘de yute pon Tik Tok a raise e fowl dem’.

“Right there and then, it sets off a relationship instead of me having to start from scratch. So basically, potential customers already know me,” he said.

Jones writes positive music to encourage his peers to make a living from agriculture.

The lyrics of one of the songs are:

Yutes, start farming an mek a million quick.

Next year di business ago gimmie wah whip.

Wi a try fi teach di yutes an mould dem.

If we nuh farm weh we ago nyam, rodent?

He believes there is value in self-sustenance and establishing businesses that build and serve communities.

“I always tell people: ‘We probably need a lawyer once in our life, or a doctor a few times, but if you eat five times a day you need a farmer five times.

Farming is very important to society. Farming has given me a sense of pride and belonging to know that I am doing something for society. I’m providing society with food,” he said.

Jones recognises the value his farm adds to the lives and livelihoods of community members.

“We’re providing jobs. Apart from permanent employment, we have people we will call to come to do work for a day or two when we’re slaughtering chickens. We also give back to a nearby basic school; sometimes we supply them with eggs and chicken. We also try to get the kids actively involved in farming

“We also bring students on the farm occasionally to spend the day, and at times the basic school kids are here for a half-day and the teacher will bring her [chalk] board and teach them here,” he said.

Jones is also attuned to the reality of the country’s food import-export imbalance and sees himself as part of the solution. “Jamaica is basically importing a lot of things that we have the potential to grow. I would advise youth to jump into farming. It is profitable and there is a great demand for it — you just want to market your business the right way,” he said.

“I would also encourage everybody to plant something, grow something. It’s always good to know that you can eat without buying.”

In addition to his vision of owning thousands more chickens and getting into the export market, Jones also has his eyes set on goat farming. “I also want a lot of goats as well because, based on my research [and] what other experienced farmers have told me, there is a massive demand for goat meat in Jamaica. I would like to tap into that in the next three to four years,” he said.