Supporting the Cattle Industry in Jamaica

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Jamaican cattle farmers, in recent years have suffered a loss of revenue from climatic shifts, mismanagement of pasture-fed species, and a general lack of access to contemporary extension services. To take the first step in making cattle farms profitable again, the Ministry of Agriculture through its agency Agro-Investment Corporation (AIC) sought a F2F volunteer to help them design a business development plan that included standard operating procedures for calving, fattening, and marketing.

Dr. Jim Yazman, a livestock production and animal-source food market development specialist was chosen as the lucky volunteer. For two weeks he supported the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Forestry (MICAF) in developing a Five-Year Sustainability plan for the Minard Estate Farm, an asset of the AIC.




Dr. Yazman met with local beef cattle farms and fresh beef sellers to collect information and perspectives on the state of the business and the role of Minard Estate Farm and its herd of purebred cattle in the future development of the island’s beef cattle industry. As part of his visits, Dr. Yazman went to the Y2 Farm owned by Dr. Karl Wellington. Over 50 years ago, when he was an undergraduate student, one of the first documents he had studied in his International Animal Science course at the University of California, Davis was a report on the development of beef and dairy breeds adapted to the tropics by the same Dr. Karl Wellington.

Dr. Yazman was thrilled to be standing next to Dr. Wellington reviewing his beautiful cattle herd: “Dr. Wellington is a legend in the global community of international animal scientists. He, along with other Jamaican cattle geneticists formed the foundation for the creation of tropical beef and dairy cattle breeds based on Bos Taurus genes. He is a national treasure. I feel blessed and honored to have had the opportunity to meet him, even for a very short visit.”

Based on the information Dr. Yazman gathered, at the end of his assignment he concluded that Jamaican beef cattle producers can produce all the beef the island consumers, including the tourist sector requirements, but can’t compete at the higher end of the beef value chain. He also determined that beef fattening is a lucrative enterprise for small operators who can purchase weaners and who have access to small land areas, forage and family labor.


Dr. Yazman thoroughly enjoyed his assignment: “It was a tremendous honor to be selected for this volunteer assignment. It has been some 30 years since I had the opportunity to work in Jamaica, as a small ruminant production specialist collaborating with Ministry of Agriculture specialists based at the Hounslow Station, along with specialists from the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI). Jamaica has grown in many positive, and some negative directions (the Kingston traffic is horrible!) but the “heart of the Jamaican people” is still as warm and welcoming as I remember it back in the 1980s.”

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