Young pig farmer dreams of state-of-the-art facility Loop Jamaica

Black Immigrant Daily News

Twenty-four-year-old pig farmer Giovanni Morris dreams of establishing his own state-of-the-art facility, which will integrate technology into the animal-rearing process.

Currently, the Portland resident shares a farm in Boston Bay with mentor and business partner Seymour Duncan, which, he said, needs improvement.

“Whenever I reach a level where I can acquire the [farm] that I want, I want it to be completely indoors where I’ll be able to keep my animals cool, have proper waste management, proper air exchange management, and so forth. Hopefully, in the future, I can put that down,” he told JIS News.

Morris, who studies Construction Management at the University of Technology (UTech), Jamaica, said he intends to use the knowledge and skills gained from his studies to assist in the expansion and upgrade of the space he currently occupies until he can establish the modern facility he desires.

“We are planning to expand the facility that we’re using [because] it’s been there before I was born… but we try to take care of it as best as possible,” he noted.

The young entrepreneur, who started farming less than two years ago, said he decided to focus on pig rearing to tap into the high demand for jerk pork in Boston Bay.

He and his business partner also manufacture and sell jerk seasoning.

Morris told JIS News that there have been many challenges along the way, noting that proper waste management is the hardest part of his job.

A sow feeds her piglets on Giovanni Morris’ farm in Boston Bay, Portland. (Photo: JIS)

He said he must ensure that the “waste doesn’t become a nuisance to anybody, whether it is the smell or the spread of bacteria”.

“[Pig-rearing is] a very delicate situation [and] we want to be able to produce the best product possible without disturbing the environment,” he pointed out.

He added that even though he lives in a farming community, “every farmer should be conscious and know that if they are going to farm it will affect [others]”.

Proper access to a water supply is also critical, Morris said, noting that infrastructure work being done in the parish is expected to improve access to the commodity.

Morris, who was involved in party promotion before getting into farming, said he had to pivot due to the downturn in the staging of events consequent on COVID-19.

“My friends and I were promoters [and] we were focused on keeping our annual event. Unfortunately, when the pandemic hit, we had to put that aside,” he noted.

“So, I decided that I wanted to try something new, and that’s where I said, ‘I’m going to start raising some animals, seeing that I’m an animal lover,” he noted.

He said that his friend, Everton Dennis, who is a student at the College of Agriculture, Science and Education (CASE) in Portland, walked him through the processes involved in operating a farm before he purchased his first animal.

“He basically gave me a rundown of everything, and he said I should go ahead and try,” Morris told JIS News.

Pig farmer, Giovanni Morris, holds a jar of jerk seasoning that was produced by him and business partner, Seymour Duncan, in Boston Bay, Portland. (Photo: JIS)

With the mentoring support from Duncan, who offered to share his farm, he learned the practicalities of animal rearing.

“Every morning, Seymour would call me at 6am to go to the pen. He walked me through the whole process for about two months… and I had to get used to the animals,” he pointed out.

Morris said that due to the demand of his studies and the farm-upgrade plans, he has reduced the number of pigs to five, but should be back in full production in January.

He said that the farming experience has been rewarding, so far, and has changed his outlook on life as well as enhanced his belief in the importance of agriculture.

“I appreciate every type of farming because I think, going forward, we should be looking into growing what we eat and producing our own food. It can only be better for us,” he said.

Morris knows that his dream of a modern, technology-driven facility will not come overnight, but until that improvement comes, he says he remains committed to “doing it the hard way”.

“Doing it the hard way [helps me to] appreciate the basics. So, when technology comes in, it’ll be much easier for me to integrate and to be able to produce more while doing less… and that’s the dream,” he said.

NewsAmericasNow.com