Egg and poultry leader outlines plan to unify small farmers

S mall poultry farmers in Barbados, long trapped in a cycle of oversupply and shortage driven by fragmented operations and price wars, have been given a plan to unite to be more competitive and lucrative. William Brathwaite, incoming president of the Egg and Poultry Association, said the solution lies in organising independent producers under a single brand and moving into niche markets where they can compete on uniqueness rather than volume. At the election of new members of the Pig Farmers Association, Brathwaite told reporters his main goal was to change the industry from a scattered, confusing situation into a highly organised and business-like system. He declared his intent to empower independent farmers so they are no longer left vulnerable to sudden market changes and tough competition that can force them out of business.

For many years, Brathwaite said, the poultry industry has suffered because small producers have not worked together. This long history of division is the main reason local growers face so many financial struggles, he said. He described a situation in which individual farmers compete for the same space in shops, ultimately hurting their own pockets: “Small farmers have been fragmented for years from the time they began. ” He highlighted the confusion caused by having “10, 15 different people going to the same supermarket trying to sell the products and cutting one another”. This competition, he said, lowers prices and creates major instability for everyone in the business. This ongoing instability traps farmers in a painful cycle of having too much chicken and then not enough. When independent farmers undercut each other’s prices, the financial pressure forces many to quit farming completely. “When the small farmers start to feel the pinch, they…