Members of the Lydford/Moneague women’s farmer group have been reaping pig production successes beyond initial projections only a little over a year after the project’s implementation.

With support from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the group of women from rural Lydford/Moneague communities in southeast St. Ann parish have turned to pig production to support themselves and their families in the absence of opportunities once linked to the aluminum ore, bauxite, a product that was at one time Jamaica’s primary export

Under a project that began in 2016, FAO equipped the group of nine women with financial resources and technical expertise to provide additional employment for women in the community and introduce them to pork production and business management skills. Since then, the project’s beneficiaries have been commending FAO for what they say has contributed to the improvement of their incomes and livelihoods. 

The project created an 880 square feet piggery unit and adjacent sow paddock and the group received 15 pigs as well as feed and medication.

Women in the group were also trained in livestock management, land and animal husbandry, animal bio safety and pig reproduction. They also received business development training that included marketing and book-keeping.    

The group now has 42 pigs and are looking to expand into agriculture micro-enterprising.  Based on the active, jerk seasoning and sauce industry in neighbouring Golden Grove and Walkers wood communities, the Lydford/Moneague Women’s Group is assessing ways to move up the value chain, producing processed pork for consumers. There is also an opportunity to engage community youth through a collaboration with the newly-opened Jeffrey Ville Agricultural School in Moneague.