Durrant Pate/Contributor

Best Dressed Chicken, a division of the Jamaica Broilers Group, has been named the CARICOM Farmer of the Year 2025, while Michael Joseph, president of the Antigua and Barbuda Agriculture Forum for Youth (ABAFY), has been named CARICOM Youth Farmer of the Year 2025.

The awards were recently presented at the opening ceremony of the 19th staging of the Caribbean Week of Agriculture, hosted in St Kitts and Nevis.

Receiving the award from director-general of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), Dr Manuel Otero, and Kittian Agriculture Minister Samal Duggins, Best Dressed was awarded for its integrated agricultural system spanning 73 farms and 249 poultry houses.

Best Dressed Chicken vice president Dave Fairman received the award on behalf of the company.

Joseph was named CARICOM Youth Farmer of the Year 2025, earning recognition for his innovative approach to agriculture that includes spray drone technology, water-saving techniques, and natural farming methods.

At the ceremony, Joseph’s story of walking four miles daily to his farm and starting with recycled plastic bottles for irrigation resonated with regional agricultural leaders focused on transforming Caribbean food systems.

“An investment in young farmers is an investment in food, and an investment in food is an investment in life itself,” Joseph told delegates at the St Kitts Marriott Resort.

Joseph operates just over one-and-a-half acres using no-till methods and sustainable practices that enable him to produce twice the average yield per acre compared to traditional farms. His operation includes two spray drones that reduce labour, water, and chemical use by over 50 per cent while increasing coverage and yield.

The Caribbean Week of Agriculture, which ends on Saturday (October 4), held several technical sessions, policy dialogues, and exhibitions focused on food security, climate-smart agriculture, and regional cooperation.

This year’s theme, “Sowing Change, Harvesting Resilience: Transforming Our Caribbean Food Systems for 2025 and Beyond”, reflects our commitment to advancing regional food security and supporting a vibrant, resilient agricultural industry. 

The event drew agriculture ministers, farmers, development partners, and stakeholders from across CARICOM and internationally, including a delegation from Nigeria, highlighting South-South cooperation initiatives such as the Nigeria-Caribbean-Latin American Food Security and Sovereignty Compact.