The Barbados Prison Service is waiting for government approval of a $4m budget allocation to expand and modernise its prison farm at Dodds, St Philip, in a push to boost food production and reduce dependence on external suppliers, Superintendent of Prisons DeCarlo Payne said on Thursday
The funds, once approved, would be used to significantly expand meat production on the prison farm in the next financial year, he added. The initiative is in line with the government’s goal to have the prison self-sufficient in food production within 18 months.
“We are actually going into the expansion of the farm as it relates to meat production,” Payne explained. “Hopefully, as soon as we get the estimates approved, that will see the expansion of the meat production in a big way come next financial year.”
“We are producing chicken, mainly … we are just preparing now to send out 2 500 chickens next week,” he said, adding, “We’re also raising beef, which is cattle. We have lamb. We also have pigs – pork and turkey for the first time this year. We just brought in 80. When I last checked, we had 67 because there are a few that would have died. We’re gonna be slaughtering them next month.”
He noted that 90 per cent of the arable land at Dodds is already under cultivation, with the prison currently harvesting a variety of vegetables.
“We’re reaping sweet potatoes. We’re going to be reaping yams shortly. We also have cucumbers that we’re reaping. So there are a lot of things.”
As part of its ongoing efforts to support national institutions, the prison chief revealed that about two weeks ago, the Prison Service supplied the Barbados Defence Force with 600 pounds of sweet potatoes and 150 pounds of cucumbers grown at the Dodds farm.
The $4m allocation would also fund the construction of seven new chicken pens, each capable of holding 3 000 birds. Payne said the long-term goal is to boost production to 21 000 chickens to supply the School Meals Department, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Barbados Defence Force, Government Industrial School and the prison itself.
In January, the University of the West Indies (UWI) Cave Hill Campus launched a six-week agricultural training programme in partnership with the Barbados Prison Service to integrate sustainable food production into its operations.
The initiative, run through UWI’s Centre for Agricultural Research and Innovation (CAGRI), was designed to reduce food costs, support national food security objectives, and provide meaningful rehabilitation opportunities for inmates.
The course covered sustainable crop production, soil management, poultry care, animal nutrition, and integrated farming systems, including practical sessions in butchery. It introduced both prison officers and inmates to modern agricultural practices, combining classroom instruction with hands-on training.
According to Superintendent Payne, the farming programme forms part of a broader rehabilitative approach that teaches inmates practical agricultural and business skills while helping institutions reduce costs and contribute to national food security.
The farming programme is part of a broader rehabilitative approach that teaches inmates practical agricultural and business skills while helping the institution reduce costs and contribute to national food security, said the prison chief. (LG)
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