THE Ministry of Agriculture Wednesday signed four contracts to the tune of $65M with a view to building capacity in breeding enhancement programmes as a means of boosting export potential in livestock.
The signing took place at the Ministry of Agriculture’s Boardroom in the presence of staff of the many associate agencies of the ministry.
The project is deemed important as it initiates steps to see that systems are in place and to ensure that the work of the Agriculture Diversification Project can be realised, ensuring that the export targets set by the ministry can be achieved.
The four contracts are for the construction of pens for the breeding enhancement programmes, field equipment and pasture development, and provision of office furnishing for the technical officers working on the project.
General Equipment Guyana Limited will be dealing with the supply, installation and testing of field equipment for the breed enhancement programme. A.S. Woodworking will be supplying office furniture and equipment. The Guyana Livestock Breeding Station will also be rehabilitated as part of the project. Further, the International Pharmaceutical Agency will be dealing with the supply and delivery of metal storage cabinets and other paraphernalia.
The minister, delivering remarks after the signing of the contracts, said the ministry can now move very quickly on the projects. He said Guyana is self-sufficient in terms of livestock needs. “As many of us will be aware, for the fourth consecutive year, we did not need to import poultry meat,” he said, adding that some other livestock supply needs are also being met.
“But we have to break into an overseas market. We are doing limited exports of beef to the Caribbean. We want to move that up, not only in terms of beef, but also looking at mutton and other livestock products. We are aggressively engaging the authorities of both Trinidad and Tobago and Suriname. It was one of the issues of discussion when the president of Suriname was here,” the minister said. He added that Suriname indicated its willingness to look at the possibilities of sourcing poultry and cattle from Guyana.
He said Venezuela is not only a new market for rice, but in terms of livestock, and this is being examined.
As for the global food crisis, which is ongoing, he said that Guyana is positioning itself to capitalise on the opportunities. “We need to see these projects as gearing us so that we can capitalise on the opportunities [that the escalation in food prices presents to us] and fit into that larger goal,” said the Minister.
He said the ministry has insisted on timely delivery of work and at the required quality, and called on stakeholders to monitor their implementation to ensure that there is value for money.
“At the end of the day it is about creating opportunities for the farmers,” said the minister.