Farmers at odds with GLDA over access to abattoir

Jul 02, 2026 News

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– locals complain Brazilian beef flooding market

(Kaieteur News) – Local cattle farmers are at odds with the Guyana Livestock Development Agency (GLDA) over access to the abattoir at Onverwagt, West Coast Berbice.

The issues were first highlighted by Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed, who stated the struggles the farmers said they have been facing when trying to access the facility and other benefits.

Kaieteur News spoke Wednesday with a few farmers to hear of their plight.

Sayuad (only name given) a farmer and butcher in Region Five, said, “The issue what we have with the abattoir is that they bringing in foreign animals and slaughter them.”

He confirmed that local animals are not being purchased, neither do they have access to the facilities. Sayuad said as a cattle farmer and butcher, he has no idea who is in charge of the facility that they should be using.

“I went there when they invited me for some training, and next thing you know during the training session there was a lot of Brazilian people, so we did not really understand, what really was going on in there because they hardly understand English. If there was about two Guyanese in there, they were labourers so them ain’t know who is the boss them ain’t know what going on nothing,” he stressed.

Another farmer Herman, (only name provided) told this publication that the farmers in his area do not have access to the abattoir and the authorities have been sourcing animals from elsewhere to slaughter there.

“We don’t have no access they does bring them government bull and so and we don’t have no access. It been happening long now and they never offer we farmer anything. I don’t know where the government bringing the animals from, and sometimes they donate to the big farmers and we don’t get no benefit,” he added.

Romel, another cattle farmer told this publication, “I know that the abattoir open and thing but I never get no like feedback about it you know, that we can take our animals and get them to slaughter and them things.”

In a response to the recent reports, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Livestock Development Agency (GLDA) Dr. Dwight Walrond appeared in a live stream on Facebook to ‘clear the air’ on the matter.

Reading from what appeared to be a prepared statement, he said he had been seeing several reports circulating in the media, and was merely there to bring some clarity on the matter.

“Over the past several days, there has been a deliberate attempt by political actors to mislead the Guyanese public about the operations of the Guyana Livestock Development Authority, claims that the Onverwagt abattoir is not functioning, is underutilised because of corruption, and that’s a very strong word, or has been abandoned are completely false and are intended to create unnecessary alarm and undermine public confidence in the agriculture sector,” he said.

The CEO reminded that the system in place does not cater to a two-tier system in relation to food products being put out. Therefore, the functions of the abattoir are critical, and it should remain functional, continuing to provide slaughtering and other services to the livestock farmers.

He said anyone can access the facility, noting that to date, it has produced more than 112,000 kilograms of beef. Butchers are charged a minimal fee of $3000 and he vouched that the facility is primarily supplied by farmers from Regions Four, Five, Six and Ten, and supported by limited supplies from Bonfin, Brazil, through an approved importation channel.

“These are verifiable figures and demonstrate that the facility is functioning and contributing to the growth of the sector. Like any public facility, it’s the level of utilisation depends on market demand, seasonal livestock supply, and I’m sure most of you would recall that because of our cultural practices in Guyana, we have periods in Guyana when we have utilisation of animal-based protein is significantly reduced,” Dr. Walrond explained.

He further reminded reporters that the government has continued to invest in improving livestock infrastructure and expanding opportunities for farmers rather than allowing these facilities to deteriorate.

He clarified further, “What transpired based on the information that was brought to my attention, it was during the period when the facility was fumigated. Alright, so once remediation is taking place, there is no slaughtering of animals during that period. I was in the area recently because we have another project, so I stopped by, and I was prevented from gaining access because of the SOP that exists,” he added.

Slaughtering has been halted due to fumigation, but will resume on Friday.

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• (GLDA, abattoir, cattle farmers, Farmers, Onverwagt

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