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When Hurricane Gilbert struck Jamaica in 1988, it wiped out just about every living broiler chicken in the country. 

The destruction was total. Farms were flattened, production halted, and the poultry industry was forced to confront a stark question: rebuild the same way or rebuild differently.

What followed became one of the defining moments in Jamaica’s agricultural history.

A Clarendon farmer invested in the Caribbean’s first tunnel-ventilated poultry house, introducing climate-controlled infrastructure that would ultimately transform the broiler industry. That shift not only improved storm resilience, but it also raised production standards to first-world levels, improved efficiency and competitiveness, and laid the foundation for what is now the largest, most inclusive broiler industry in CARICOM with over 100,000 farmers.

Nearly four decades later, CB Group believes Jamaica stands at a similar crossroads.

Hurricane Melissa has resulted in the loss of more than 50 per cent of national egg production capacity and severely disrupted pig farming across several parishes. While the broiler industry has largely held, the country’s table egg and pork industries have been significantly weakened.

Rather than simply restore pre-storm capacity, CB Group has committed to rebuilding with modern infrastructure and an expanded integrated production model.

The company is investing just under J$1 billion across two new projects: a 40,000-layer climate-controlled egg farm expected to be operational by September 2026, and a 640-sow commercial breeding pig farm projected to produce more than 13,000 piglets annually by March 2027. 

These anchor investments will be supported by additional downstream facilities, including a modern egg packaging facility and a liquid egg processing plant, as well as a multi-meat processing plant to strengthen pork and wider protein processing capacity.

Both facilities will be built using tunnel-ventilated, climate-smart systems similar to those that reshaped broiler production after Gilbert.

Matthew Lyn, Chief Executive Officer of CB Group, said the historical parallel is instructive.
“Gilbert forced the industry to reset. When we rebuilt, we chose to modernise, and that decision changed the trajectory of poultry production in Jamaica. Today, Melissa has created a similar moment for eggs and pork.”

Tunnel ventilation enables producers to precisely control temperature, airflow and humidity, improving feed conversion, animal welfare and operational stability. Beyond resilience, the system also drives greater efficiency, a factor that helped the broiler industry expand by more than 400 per cent since 1988 and generate over J$300 billion in economic activity, according to a 2025 Caribbean Poultry Association study conducted by Ernst & Young.

CB Group is now seeking to extend that model beyond broilers.

As part of the expansion, the company has launched a recruitment drive titled “The Time Is Now,” aimed at attracting new Contract Growers – landowners, entrepreneurs, professionals and returning residents – interested in participating in a structured agricultural business model.

Under the integrated system, growers invest in and operate modern facilities, while CB Group manages genetics, feed, technical oversight and market access. The model is designed to reduce individual risk exposure and to provide more predictable returns than fully independent production.

“The majority of our existing broiler Contract Growers were not career farmers,” said Tony Blair, Divisional Manager – Integrated Poultry Production, CB Group. “They were businesspeople who saw agriculture as a disciplined, structured investment opportunity.”

CB Group maintains that the initiative is intended to expand overall national production capacity through a symbiotic relationship between independent farmers and contract growers rather than displace independent farmers. Jamaica continues to import significant volumes of protein, and the company argues that rebuilding smarter offers an opportunity to strengthen food security while reducing dependence on imports.

“If we are going to rebuild,” Lyn said, “we should rebuild in a way that makes us stronger and more competitive for the long term.”