Ramsammy outlines strategy to bolster livestock rearing
LIVESTOCK rearing is a very important and significant part of developing agriculture in Guyana and, for that reason, the ministry responsible, through the Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA) will be working to improve local beef and milk production. Because of a series of initiatives to be undertaken, local livestock farmers can expect to have access to better breeds in the future, the portfolio Minister, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy said last Friday.
In an interview with the Guyana Chronicle, he underscored the need for enhanced production capacity to meet the growing demand for beef and milk in Guyana.
“We have a three-prong approach which is producing enough food to feed our people, producing food for export and producing for local use and for export. In terms of the first two, we see cattle production as very important, because there is a growing demand for beef as part of the Guyanese menu,” Ramsammy explained.
He posited that, as the calorie intake of Guyanese rose over the years to exceed the recommended amount, the demand for greater variety of food consumed has also heightened, including for beef.
In an effort to meet this requirement, local producers need to bolster their supply and the only way to accomplish this is to shift to large scale operations, the minister recommended.
He said: “In 1991, we consumed less than 100,000 kilogrammes of beef; in 2003, we consumed just over 200,000 kilogrammes and, in 2011, we consumed just over 2.3 million kilogrammes, the demand having risen. This does not, necessarily, reflect the demand. Even though we are able to meet this demand we, in fact, can generate even more.”
In addition, Ramsammy said, while much of the cattle reared is to meet the local market for beef to avoid large scale importation, the production of milk has been neglected, which, in itself, is an important part of our food requirement.

IMPORTED
He said: “Last year, we produced between 40 and 80 million litres of milk but the demand is for three times that much, so most of the milk consumed is imported.”
According to him, the challenge is in enhancing the local breeds to be able to produce a greater amount and a better quality of milk.
Towards that objective, he disclosed that several projects underway to ensure that local farmers will have the capability to do it, including improving pastures and enhancing breeds.
“We are approaching this by, first of all, developing 1,500 acres of improved pastures at Mon Repos on East Coast Demerara to support dairy in Guyana. The National Dairy Development Programme, from the 1980s did not deliver and now GLDA is mandated to reduce importation of milk by supporting the development of dairy farming in Guyana. Then we need to improve the genetic stock of the breeds,” he said.
Ramsammy said the Agriculture Ministry, currently, has pure bred Holsteins in stock (black and white) which will be used to inseminate cows across the country and, within the next couple of months, 70 heads of improved breed will be brought in to develop the local population.
As to how this will be accomplished, he said: “These will not be used to distribute but to develop a population. Also, part of this development will include improving the insemination lab at Mon Repos, which is now small and needs to procure semen from abroad and the vets are going across country to aid in this process. But the new lab will allow us to have our own high quality breeds to facilitate the process.”
The minister emphasized that the improvement programme has been designed in a strategic manner to allow local farmers to move away from subsistence farming to be able to enjoy a better quality of life, while supporting the local demand.
“This is something that the GLDA, as part of the Ministry of Agriculture, is working on to develop dairy farms. We want to develop better methods of dairy farming and we are looking to rediscover dairy farms producing milk,” he said.