Jamaica Broilers Group (JBG) has spent over $200 million — approximately US$1.5 million — on the rehabilitation and expansion of the Best Dressed Chicken hatchery in Cumberland, Portmore, in response to growing demand for table eggs and poultry.
The facility is one of two locations in St Catherine through which Best Dressed Chicken supplies baby chicks to poultry farmers throughout Jamaica. The other hatchery is located at White Marl.
“This investment has increased the capacity [of the hatchery] by 70 per cent,” group president and CEO Christopher Levy shared during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday, adding that it brings the “state-of-the-art” facility up to world-class standards.
The upgrade in the facility forms part of the company’s investment in the local poultry sector, which comprises some 200,000 small farmers, most of whom are women depending on the activity for supplementary income, Levy pointed out. As such, he argued further that investing in the local industry provides the “first line” of protection for farmers against imported poultry.
