Farmer says there is a market for sheep

Clarendon farmer Hanief Baccas' passion for animals was evident as he grinned while talking to our news team from his home, where he raises livestock. He started farming in 1969, at age nine, when his affinity for animals was discovered.

Baccas admits to having a special love for sheep.

"I started rearing sheep because of the love I have for animals from ever since. I am an animal lover, seriously, and it's not just with sheep but I love dogs, cats, I love everything. Once it's animal, I love it. I grew up here with my parents, who did their chicken thing, and when I was older, I decided that I wanted to do farming. My father bought couple goats give me, and that's how I started," Baccas shared.

He reflected that it was a family tradition for him and his father, Anieb, to journey to May Pen in the parish on Sundays to buy meat for dinner. On a particular occasion, his father queried the price of the butcher's goat.

"We saw the butcher man have some goats going to kill, and some of them was some little kids with the mother. My father asked what he was going to do with them and the butcher said he was going to kill them. Then my father said no, what's the cost for the goats, and he paid for them and carried them to me," he said.

Now, almost four decades later, Baccas has transformed his childhood passion into a full-time business. On his seven acres of land, he tends to his sheep, cattle, goats, pigs and chickens.

A mechanical engineer by training, Baccas says he cannot stay away from tilling the soil and interacting with animals.

"I took farming seriously after Hurricane Gilbert in 1988, which led to me being one of the leading goat farmers in Jamaica in the 1990s. The first Katahdin ram to come Jamaica, I brought him here from Texas," the 58-year-old bragged.

The Katahdin is a breed of sheep that has hair instead of wool. These medium to large animals are raised mainly for meat.

As Baccas caressed a young Katahdin sheep, a few others screamed to be a part of the conversation, while some lay unbothered on hay and others were busy enjoying freshly cut grass. The farmer says that the yearly drought makes his job as a farmer difficult, but Baccas is a relentless farmer.

"I'm keeping a keen eye on them. So, I have to ensure that I give them their medicine, carry out the deworming process. I have to make sure they get vitamins because they don't go outside that much. They deserve care just like humans. I check on them everyday from 7 a.m., make sure they get food. I am trying to build up my flock, because sheep are prolific when it comes on to that," he said.

Regardless of the downsides of livestock rearing, Baccas stays loyal to his semi-wooly friends. He blushed as he shares that just the mere sight of them gives him the satisfaction to stay committed to animal husbandry.

He urges more young persons to get involved in farming, as he believes it is the only thing that will turn Jamaica's fortunes around.

"We need the meat, but first, we need stronger laws against praedial larceny. Otherwise from that, I am committed to building up my herd because sheep farming is not as unusual as you think it is in Jamaica, it a step up. A lot of people are getting into it and the market it there," he said.