GEORGETOWN, Guyana – Guyana has launched a black belly sheep project in the Mahaica-Berbice (Region Five), as government intensifies its agriculture program with an eye on feeding the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) region.
President Dr. Irfaan Ali addressing the launch of the black belly sheep initiative (Photo courtesy DPI)“Region Five, must be the livestock of CARICOM. That is the vision, so that we have to increase our production, we have to increase our quality, we have to improve our breed, we have to use more advanced technology, we have to invest in the infrastructure and we have to work on building the partnership, all of which is ongoing,” President Dr. Irfaan Ali said at the launch on Sunday.
He said with the region being Guyana’s largest producer of livestock, it has the potential to become the livestock capital of the 15-member CARICOM grouping.
President Ali told the ceremony that the world import value on mutton and mutton products is estimated at eight billion US dollars and that CARICOM alone imports 7,900 tons of mutton at US$48 million annually.
He said the four major markets in the region are the Bahamas, Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago.
“We have already agreed with Barbados that Guyana and Barbados would do a joint project to supply the Barbados market strictly from Guyana to start with. That is a market with a value of US$6.8 million,” Ali said.
He said that from 2016 to 2019, the industry has grown in CARICOM from US$36 million to close to US$48 million and that Guyana is looking to expand local production above 7,000 tons at the end of a five-year period.
He said this would require a capital investment of a US$175 million and approximately 25,000 acres of land, noting however that the expected earning is estimated at US$43 million annually.
“We have right within our arms’ reach a market that can generate a value of US$48 million. And who supplies CARICOM right now? Australia and New Zealand. With the cost of freight and logistics cost increases, it is becoming more and more expensive, that is why this is a low hanging fruit, CARICOM is right within our arms reach.
“I am presenting you this to show you the opportunities so that you will know in this project there are great opportunities. This is not a project by guess, this is a project that is supported by scientific research, market research and strong negotiations on the trade side,” President Ali stated.
Ali said that if Guyana is to tap into the available market, there must be consistency, farmers will be given the full support of his government with machines to bring their fields up to par to support the initiative.
Already, 78 farmers have signaled their interest in the project and have signed up, making about 1,325 acres of their land available for that purpose. Support will also be given by veterinarians to provide guidance and support the sect0r.
“We are going to hire specifically for this project a dedicated team that will in a full-time manner, work with the farmers here in support of the sector. We are building an entire machinery to work with you,” Ali told the farmers at the ceremony.
President Ali said that the black belly sheep project also falls under government’s ‘one Guyana’ initiative, insisting that it is not only a concept that deals with social issues, but also about bringing economic prosperity to every single citizen as it has the potential to create 4500 jobs directly and indirectly. However, the President emphasized that there is need for commitment by all involved.
“One Guyana requires all of us to work together and advance on the cause for development together. These projects can never be successful if we don’t understand that we must do it together, we have to it together and we are not going to fail by doing it separately. Every single farmer must be a support for the other farmer.
“We are not building a one-off project. The vision of this project is first to be self-sufficient locally but importantly in the short term to start supply regionally and then grow this grow it to an international product. And for that, we are bringing in the relevant players, the global players to work side by side with us.”
President Ali said that he wants the agricultural sector to be built differently and wants to see youths and women playing an integral role as there is great economic prosperity in the sector.
“For this specific project in Region Five, we want 20 percent of those farms to be led by women and 35 percent of the farms must have youth involvement that is young people below the age of 35.
“This is part of building the future, this is part of empowerment, these are real targets and a real approach in the involvement of people. So not only must agriculture be on food production, it must be built on erasing biases,” President Ali stated.
Government in its 2022 budget has earmarked GUY$28.7 billion (One Guyana dollar=US$0.004 cents) to ensure the rapid growth and development of Guyana’s agriculture sector.
