Local goat farmers will benefit from improved opportunities to further develop their herds and increase profitability as a result of the Jamaica Goat Breeders Society having moved to association status.

The name change, which was ratified at a recent annual general meeting of the society, puts the body in a much better position to access overseas and local developmental funding.

President of the newly esta-blished Association, Derrick Vermont said as a Society the organisation faced many obstacles.

"We have been operating as a breed society and because of this we cannot obtain grant funding for development from certain overseas international donor organisations because we are seen as part of the Ministry of Agriculture (and Lands)," he explained.

Change expected

With the name change, this situation is therefore expected to change. "So we are changing the focus because we want to become a producer organisation. We are setting up ourselves in a way that we can attract grant funding and also be more up front with what we are doing," he added.

The Goat Breeders Association has a registered membership base of more than 250. Mr. Vermont said despite some level of vibrancy in the sector the present membership continues to face some challenges as it strives to develop the sector.

He pointed out that as part of the strategy identified for the sustained development of goat breeding in Jamaica, there is an urgent need to import new animals to improve the island's breeding stock.

However, with the threat posed by the 'Scrapie' disease in the major supplier market of the United States, the Ministry's Veterinary Division has placed restrictions on the importation of breeder and other stock to the island.

"Because of this we have hit a big setback in Jamaica because we are unable to import goats into the country. The Veterinary Division has decided that no animals can come in until after a certain time," he said.

Artificial insemination

Mr. Vermont noted that all other major diseases affecting small ruminants, including sheep, are absent from the island. He added that one measure that could be used to avoid the importation of goat stock is the use of semen for artificial insemination.

One inspiring development in the sector is that goat breeders are preparing to re-enter the leather craft market, which was at one point a vital source of income for many. "We definitely want to go back into the goatskin leather craft. We were in it before and we have the trained people here so we want to go back on a larger scale," he said.

Entrepreneurs are also taking advantage of the local appetite for goat meat and are developing value added products. Businessman Brasco Lee, after a five-year development period, has now put out on the market a soup mix made from the meat of the 'ram goat', a distinct favourite of Jamaicans.

"It's a dried product, packaged just like other soup mixes on the market but it's the real 'ram goat' meat with other ingredients. The first time it was introduced in the United States one supplier wanted a trailer load. Unfortunately there isn't enough raw materials to fill the demand," he said.