Rampant rustling, new breeds, export markets to be tackled

Jan 30, 2011 News

By Leonard Gildarie

A body to regulate and increase exports of the country’s fledging livestock industry has been launched.
Several departments including Animal Services, National Dairy Development Programme (NDDP) and the Livestock Division, were all merged to form the Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA).
On Friday, last, farmers complained that the sector has been sorely lacking in training, with rustling remaining a major setback for cattle owners.
According to Roopnarine Matadial, a Corentyne cattle farmer who also sits on the GLDA Board of Directors, this has been a long-time complaint of farmers, especially in that area.
Many farmers are going to bed, only to wake up and find their best cows missing, all due to rustling.
And the farmer was not smiling when he told a story of a teenager with an injured leg, and a cartful of beef, escaping from pursuing police ranks.
Then farmers had also to deal with poor management and poor breeds.
Matadial is convinced that Guyana was on the right track, working to improve breeds, but stressed that it was useless unless the operators support the programmes.
The Ministry of Agriculture has placed its Permanent Secretary, Dr. Dindyal Permaul, as the Chief Executive Officer and nominated Patrick De Groot, a senior figure in Bounty Farms, as the Chairman of GLDA.
De Groot explained that the semi-autonomous body was established to boost trade, commerce and export of livestock in Guyana and develop enhanced regulations.
Government had signed an Agricultural Export and Diversification Programme loan with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), which was aimed to increase Guyana’s livestock exports, stabilizing both local and foreign markets at the same time.
De Groot noted that the GLDA’s primary focus would include marketing, training and research.
In the pork market, Eric Anderson, a swine farmer, believes that technology to improve quality breeding and process meat, have to be introduced if success is to be seen.
According to Minister of Agriculture, Robert Persaud, the reality is that the livestock sector has been done in a fragmented manner in the past.
Disclosing that the establishment of the GLDA was patterned after the Guyana Rice Development Board, which regulates the rice industry, Persaud pointed out that livestock is one of fastest growing agricultural sectors in the world, accounting for almost 20 per cent of the global agriculture output and 30 per cent of the available land mass.
With world projections expecting livestock demands to rise by 80 per cent by 2050, Guyana stands to benefit from available lands and water that it has to develop the sector.
According to the Minister, GLDA will be the “vehicle” that will help strategize to increase production and regulate the industry to increase exports.
Already, for the sector, government has put systems in place that will see $1.4B being plugged into the livestock sector within the next three years.
Almost $340M will be used to issue loans and grants in a small credit facility scheme for livestock farmers. Another $200M will be used to improve the genetic breed of animals, including the continuation of a successful embryonic transfer programme. A further $200M has also been allocated for the building of a state-of-the-art veterinary laboratory and a similar amount for an abattoir at Coldingen, East Coast Demerara.

Farmers, students and other invitees at the launching of the Guyana Livestock Development Authority at Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara.

Together with new regulations, the entire process is expected to not only offer greater market protection but also revitalize a sector that has huge potential, the official said.
Also commissioned at Mon Repos on Friday, last, was its headquarters, which would be boasting lab facilities and administrative offices.