Published 3 October 2019
Buckie Got It, St. Kitts and Nevis News Source
During an interview on September 30, Director of Agriculture, Melvin James, highlighted that the Meat Fabrication Workshop facilitated by the Manager of Nevis Abattoir, Garfield Griffin, is very important, as it allows for the overall increase in pork and goat meat on the islands.
Mr. James emphasized that, “The reason for this workshop is to be able to help our farmers add value to their animals.” He addressed the deficiencies in some farming methods, saying that an animal does not always have to be slaughtered for fresh meat alone, in that various animals can be cut into different proportions.
He illustrated that “meat has different categories [and] classifications and one needs to be able to cut the meat in such a way that they can be representative of these categories because each of these categories can be treated differently.”
Against this backdrop, Mr. Griffin during an interview, noted that in St. Kitts and Nevis, farmers would slaughter animals without knowing different cuts and sell each cut at the same price.
He stated that he facilitated the workshop to teach the farmers of different cuts to increase their earnings. He used the example of choice cuts saying that “it attracts a higher value.”
Mr. Griffin illustrated this by using a hypothetical scenario of a farmer originally selling his cattle for $1000. He said that upon using these choice cuts, the farmer would then increase the value of the cattle to about $1,900.
At the workshop, 13 stakeholders from the St. Kitts Abattoir, one from the St. Kitts President of Farmers group, and 5 from the Nevis Abattoir were present.
