Politician gives away goats in Trelawny

As the political season heats up, one parliamentary hopeful, Paul Patmore, has started giving out goats to youngsters in South Trelawny. He insists that it is about economic enablement, not about politics.

"If somebody say that, they don't know Paul Patmore," told THE STAR. "I've been doing this for the past 30 years. This goat project is something I did in the past. We do pigs; and one of the major water projects in South Trelawny -- I did that, and it was before I even thought about politics."

Patmore, who is running on the People's National Party (PNP) ticket, said he has already distributed 10 goats. He is targeting 91 recipients, one per polling division. He said that his goat distribution project represents a crucial step in the agricultural transformation he envisions for the constituency.

"This have nothing to do with politics. I'm a businessman, this is where I was born and raised, and I just want to encourage young people to get involved in agriculture; so win lose or draw, this project will continue."

Goat giveaways aren't new to Jamaican politics. In 2019, fellow PNP member Damion Crawford proposed a similar programme during his East Portland by-election campaign. Though he was ridiculed at the time and ultimately lost to the Jamaica Labour Party's (JLP) Ann-Marie Vaz, Crawford has since stood by his plan and pointed to a major push by the agriculture ministry to ramp up goat production nationally.

In Trelawny, Patmore is certain about the demand for goat meat, as well as the need to diversify agriculture.

"We want South Trelawny to start producing at least 20 per cent of what Jamaica needs," said Patmore, who defected from the JLP a few years ago.

"From early days, everybody just come and do the same farming their grandparents used to do. So I'm encouraging other types of farming, and we're starting off with livestock," he said about the need to diversify the agricultural offerings of the constituency.

The programme is focused on young people between the ages of 10 to 19. Patmore also explained that youth selected for the project will be encouraged to join their school's 4-H Club and will receive a goat to begin their venture into livestock farming. Each recipient must agree to return the first female offspring from the goat back to the programme, which will then be given to another youth. Patmore says this revolving model will grow the project's reach exponentially over time.

"In five years, we expect to have over 500 goats under the programme," he said.

"It's not a scarce benefit. It's helping someone start a business. My first business came from a common fowl my godmother gave me and I would sell those eggs to the shopkeeper and mek mi likkle money. That's what I'm trying to encourage."

South Trelawny is considered a safe seat for the JLP. It is currently represented by Marisa Dalrymple-Philibert. The PNP last won the seat in 1997.