WESTERN BUREAU:
CATTLE FARMERS say they are worried about the negative effects that the imposition of the General Consumption Tax (GCT) is having on livestock production.
They complain that massive devaluation of the Jamaican dollar and the decline in cattle population are already stifling the sector, but the imposition of GCT has been the hardest blow.
Concerns over the negative impact that the GCT is having on the island's ailing livestock industry dominated the Jamaica Red Poll Cattle Breeders' Society's (JRPCBS) annual general meeting on Thursday.
Livestock farmers said that although some of the high taxes have been removed from certain products for their farms, those remaining are counter-productive and could spell the end of the industry.
"Farmers are finding it very difficult to fund their operations and the high GCT is an added burden," Henry Rainford, managing director and chief executive officer of the Jamaica Livestock Association, said. "It is extremely difficult."
Alfred Morrison, owner of Greenwich Park Estate, St. Ann, said the taxes had affected his operations greatly. "The taxes have adversely affected the purchasing of some things because of cash flow," he said. "I am rearing goats, cattle, horses and the taxes are too high on the drugs, worm medication and sprays I have to use on my animals."
He said that although he has a small farm of just 220 acres, he was finding it hard to make ends meet. "I just cannot imagine how those who have big farms make it," he said.
OTHER COSTS TOO HIGH
Hugh Maitland-Walker, also a livestock farmer, said the GCT on fencing material was making his farm uneconomical. "I have a large herd of goats and I could triple the size of the herd but the cost of fencing is just too high," he said.
Added to the high taxes, said Mr. Maitland-Walker, who owns the Annadale Farm in St. Ann, was the difficulty in procuring funds to run the farm. "The costs of funds to borrow is very high," he said. "And to access some of these funds you have to be a professor with 10 degrees behind you or you will never get through."
Dr. Karl Wellington, chairman of the JRPCBS, described Jamaica's cattle industry as an "economic disaster".
"In spite of the fact that science and technology have been helpful in developing our cattle breed here in Jamaica, our cattle farmers are hurting very badly when it comes to finances," he said.
Some of the factors contributing to the woes of the industry, he said, included: accepting the 'gifts' of milk powder from overseas, cheap cuts of meat being imported into the island and the reduction of cattle herds across the nation.
"The World Trade Organisation's free trade agreement that Jamaica has subscribed to is also having an adverse effect on the industry," he said.
