DDL on track to build CARICOM’s largest state-of-the-art dairy farm at Moblissa

Jan 13, 2024 News

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– US$20M project capable of producing 5 million litres of high-quality raw milk per annum

By Kiana Wilburg

Kaieteur News – Demerara Distributors Limited (DDL) in collaboration with its Israeli partner, the LR Group, is progressing well with plans to build CARICOM’s largest and most modernized dairy farm in Guyana. Media operatives were on Friday given an exclusive tour of the extensive land preparation underway at Moblissa, a strategically located village along the Soesdyke-Linden Highway.

During a briefing session on, Project Advisor, Wesley Kirton told Kaieteur News that the project is set to position Guyana at the forefront of dairy production in the region. He said during the stage of the feasibility study, the project was pegged at US$15M. “The assumption at the time was that we would get all the land from government…This did not pan out and from the time we did the study to now, some costs such as those for shipping and materials have gone up,” he explained. As a consequence, the project will now cost US$20M.

DDL Board Chairman, Komal Samaroo explained that the company’s subsidiary, Tropical Orchard Products Company Limited (TOPCO), is at the forefront of this transformative agro-processing project.

Reflecting on TOPCO’s evolution, Samaroo said, “We are embarking on yet another phase of a journey that began in 1995 when a gentleman had a little cherry farm and he made juice under his house. He was supplying same at Timehri…When he wanted to sell his business, he had approached me and we decided to buy it.” This acquisition was a turning point, as under DDL’s stewardship, from 1995 to 2003, TOPCO launched a 200ML Tetra pack line of juices, now a staple in the National School Feeding Programme and a favourite in the local market.

Fifteen years later, the Chairman said his team took a business decision to advance its agro-processing line. “In keeping with the thrust for food security and the need for agro-processing, we decided to develop a modern processing and Tetra packaging facility. This gave us the ability to process fruits to produce pulp, as well as processing milk, pasteurizing it, and packaging it in a one litre Tetra pack box and a 200 ML Tetra pack box,” said the Chairman. He noted that that investment was worth just over $4 billion (US$20M) and was successfully executed during the COVID-19 season.

“It was one of the most challenging projects we have had,” expressed the Chairman.

He noted however that the decision to establish a modernized packaging plant to produce liquid milk, was all part of his company’s master plan to bring to life, Guyana’s first state-of-the art dairy farm.

“Two years ago, we started to produce liquid milk from reconstituted, imported milk powder. That was the first stage of our process because we believe in market-led growth. And we wanted to start building a brand before we actually get into the production of milk using our own farm,” the Chairman said.

Samaroo said Guyana imports about US$35M in milk a year. He believes his company’s project can make a real difference in slashing those costs that are handled by the national purse. “We believe this project could be transformative not just for Guyana but the entire region and so here we are again, committing another $4 billion towards this farm,” the Chairman said.

During her remarks, DDL Director and Analytical Chemist, Sharon Sue-Hang Baksh explained that the dairy farm project will utilize approximately 100 acres of land, with 60 acres for feed and 40 acres for farm buildings, initially acquired from the Guyana Lands & Surveys Commission (GL&SC). She said an additional 150 acres was recently acquired with land clearing in progress.

Further, Baksh said that the farm is being established to support about 915 animals in Phase One. This includes 500 milking cows and 415 heifers. There will also be a feed centre to store and prepare feed rations for all animals.

“We are expecting this project to be completed in February 2025,” the DDL official said.

Speaking to herd management, Baksh explained that daily production is expected to be five million litres of high-quality raw milk per annum. She further noted that each cow will annually produce 10,000 liters of milk. “The cows will be milked three times a day every 8 hours. The milking system will be equipped with automatic cluster removal. Further, an Advanced Management system will monitor the milk production and practices and detect cows in heat and health disorders of each individual cow and of groups in the herd,” the Analytical Chemist said.

Baksh noted that once the milk is produced at the Moblissa farm, it would be taken to TOPCO’s processing plant at Diamond which will be capable of producing approximately 19.2 tons or 18,600 L daily (5 days/week) of premium milk products. She said the milk will be transported to Diamond in stainless steel refrigerated tanks for pasteurization and processing into boxes.

Kaieteur News understands that the dairy project operation will impact the Linden region by providing at least 70 direct jobs and about 150 indirect jobs.

During the establishment stage, it is expected that an additional 200-250 direct jobs and 500 indirect jobs will be created.

Baksh said the project, which is the first of its kind in Guyana, will also provide top level training programmes for the employees by highly experienced persons.

She noted that there would be training in crop production, irrigation, fertilization, tillage and soil preparation, plant protection, post-harvest, herd management, artificial insemination, nutrition, and other programs as the need develops. The Director said too that this level of knowledge transfer is expected to enable the local team to manage all aspects of the farm’s operations.

Director General at the Ministry of Agriculture, Mr. Madanlall Ramraj said this type of project “fits in well with the vision of the government to ensure food security and reducing Guyana’s reliance on imports.”  He said it is critical that Guyana’s private sector remains at the forefront of innovation and in taking the risks necessary to ensure that the nation not only has a diversified economy but also realizes its potential of being the breadbasket of the region.

During his remarks, Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar was keen to highlight the marketing prowess of DDL as he recalled being in many nations across the world and unwittingly observing that many bars and shops were stocked with the El Dorado Rum brand. “That tells you about the company and its reach, the way it markets its product. They’re literally everywhere. I believe with that kind of management, this project is sure to be a sustainable success,” the minister said.

The media engagement closed with a tour of the plots which will be dedicated to growing feedstock such as corn, grass and legumes as well as the space where other facilities would be housed.

Kaieteur News understands that the project is supported not only by President, Dr. Irfaan Ali but several government agencies including the Ministry of Agriculture, the Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA), and the National Agriculture Research Institute (NARI).

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• DDL Chairman, Deodat Indar, Komal Samaroo, Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, preparation

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