Young farmer thinking of expansion

A little over a year into his farming journey, 22-year-old entrepreneur Cleo Jones is thinking big in terms of expansion.

Jones started his business, Raised Right Farm, with 100 boiler chickens on his uncle's farm in rural St Catherine, but now the enterprising young farmer has almost 2,000 chickens.

"I see myself with a nice meat shop or a nice wholesale in a fast area, where I can supply myself with things like chicken, egg, pork, mutton, you name it, creating a storefront for the farm. I see myself even expanding into layers and taking it to another level," Jones said. He told THE STAR that despite being a relative newcomer to farming, he is already benefiting from the booming industry.

"Since I have started my business, I have stopped living [from] pay cheque to pay cheque, and I have been able to start saving some money," said Jones, who is also a human resources officer at a business process outsourcing entity in St Catherine. While many persons between the ages of 20 to 30 are still trying to figure out how to spend their money wisely, Jones, who advertises his business by using original songs on social media, has managed to acquire financial security through farming and is encouraging others to do the same.

"I can see where I can make plans and know that in a di next couple months, this is where we're going to be. It really provides a sense of financial security and I'm grateful for that," he said.

Prior to farming, Jones had a party rental business, renting tables and chairs, which was thriving. That was until the COVID-19 pandemic hit, resulting in islandwide lockdowns of smaller events. Jones lost all his customers. Still, with his entrepreneurial mind, Jones was not deterred and decided to tap into his passion for farming.

"The lockdown really opened my eyes and showed me that essential businesses are the best way to go, because throughout the pandemic, we did a eat food and chicken same way... we born come see people a eat chicken, and you and I are going to die see people eating chicken," noted Jones.

Jones told THE STAR that ever since he was nine years old, he has been captivated by farming and believes more young people need to join the profession, not only to acquire financial security, but to ensure that the vital industry never dies out.

"Farming is the most important industry, agriculture is the most important industry; and after the farmers dem in a them 50s, 60s gone on, we still need a generation of young people interested in feeding the nation," said Jones.

"We need food security here in Jamaica. There is a problem where we are importing a lot and we're not exporting as much, so if we can really grow what we eat and eat what we grow, that will be great," added Jones.