By Byron McDaniel, Gleaner WriterWALDERSTON, MANCHESTER:
THE NUMBER of goats in Jamaica has doubled since 1990 but the demand for chevon (goat flesh) has still not been met, the Caribbean Agricultural and Research Development Institute (CARDI) has said.
In fact, it said only 20 per cent (less than one quarter) of the market is being supplied.
As a result, the price of chevon has soared to an average $150 per pound while imported mutton (sheep flesh) sells for about $60.
CARDI statistics indicate that there were 205,000 goats in Jamaica in 1990 compared to more than 400,000 this year.
Albert Fearon, head of CARDI's Livestock Section, explained that an estimated 2.5 million goats were needed to satisfy local demand.
He said that the institute has been importing breeds of goats, primarily Nubian, and that it has also been using technologies such as embryo transfer and artificial insemination to increase the number but "we are still a far way off and it will take a few years before we can satisfy the market."
Elvis McPherson, a 29-year-old farmer, rears 250 goats on a 30-acre Y.S. Farm in St. Elizabeth. He told The Gleaner that despite the demand for chevon, and the fact that goat rearing was a lucrative enterprise, many persons avoided the activity because it was very time consuming.
And Dwight Williams, a research scientist at CARDI, said "hard work" was not the only deterrent. There was praedial larceny, cost of feed, shelter and forage facilities, worm infestation and inadequate drinking water, he said. "The belief that goat does not drink water is a myth," he said.
Several breeds of goat are reared in Jamaica, including the 'native' breed, the imported Alpine (British and French) for milk, the South African Boer for flesh and the Anglo Nubian for both milk and flesh.
Persons interested in goat farming may contact CARDI, Bodles Research Farm, Hounslow or the Goat Breeders Association.
