Guyana and the Caribbean are fortunate to be free of the dreaded foot and mouth disease (FMD) which created havoc several years ago across the beef industry in Europe and some other countries. When there was a severe outbreak of the disease in Europe our Ministry of Agriculture then under the stewardship of the late Satyadeow Sawh took immediate steps to ensure that all precautions were taken to prevent a similar occurrence here. And for this the Ministry must be given full credit because up to now there has not been any such outbreak in Guyana.
This is indeed a plus for Guyana as it is now embarking on a road aimed towards becoming a beef exporter as part of the overall diversification strategy of the agriculture sector.
In fact Guyana is internationally recognised as one of the two countries in South America that are FMD free without vaccination, a status of which it is proud and which it is committed to maintain.
Therefore Guyana would feel honoured to be the venue or the 37th South American Commission For The Control of Foot and Mouth Disease (COSALFA) meeting for the first time and the organisers must have recognised and acknowledged Guyana’s success in preventing an FMD outbreak as well as its potential to become a major beef producer and exporter in this region.
In terms of beef production, Rupununi has tremendous potential to become a huge producer of beef, which it once was. And with the Takutu Bridge now in operation export to Brazil, which has a large beef consuming population, would not be a difficulty anymore.
Prime Minister Samuel Hinds correctly pointed out  it is also important as, in the area of beef production, compared to other countries in the region, Guyana is still at an early stage and this is a good opportunity for its exposure to interested investors and take its livestock sector to another level.
He said this country has the necessary conditions, such as land, water and FMD free status and sees agriculture, which includes livestock, as remaining important.
He observed that COSALFA is very inclusive with a wide cross-section of the livestock sector encompassing private and public institutions.
Carlos Steiger in his insightful article: “Modern Beef Production in Brazil and Argentina” points out :
“Perspectives in the demand for meat products look promising because of increasing incomes around the world and changes in consumer preferences favoring meat and dairy products. Within that context, Mercosur countries seem to be in a good position to take advantage of this favorable scenario.”
“Brazil is a leading player in the beef, poultry, and pork world markets. Focused attention has now been placed on dairy production as well, in order to improve productivity to attain self-sufficiency, or even become a net exporter.”
“Argentina too has been a leading player in the world beef market, but has been losing ground because of domestic policies that favored domestic consumption, and avoiding inflation, over exports. Argentina has historically been a very minor poultry producer and a net importer, but recently has been able to use favorable exchange rates to become a net exporter. Dairy continues to be an active industry with strong exports. The pork sector is neither efficient nor large, and remains a minor activity.”
In view of the above Guyana could very well move towards gaining a stake on this market and it has been acknowledged that we have the potential and resources to do so. As such we need to move expeditiously in developing this potential and becoming a major producer.