WESTERN BUREAU:Jamaicans are being placed on alert for a possible shortage of chicken meat and eggs towards the end of March, heading into April, as a result of a recent animal feed shortage. Josephs said that the withdrawal of feed for broiler production, in particular, could result in stunted growth if the animals survive, which would mean a decline in the quality of the meat. “What RADA Westmoreland has been doing to stem or try to mitigate against any future feed shortage is to have farmers expanding their production into corn. “It could have some effect because it was a slowing up of the rearing of broiler chicken from mostly small farmers, who have roughly 40 per cent of the market,” Fulton told The Gleaner on Thursday. Fulton said that despite the crisis, small farmers were still getting a small amount of feed, which will result in smaller birds being slaughtered now.
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