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He said the demand for land is a big issue in the agriculture sector and while they are working to fulfil it, numerous problems are still being encountered.
Baksh said farmers are crying out for more acreage and some have even threatened to occupy what is owned by GuySuCo if they are not provided for their cattle.
“They’re saying this not that they deliberately want to do it but out of a feeling that there is a need and a need that we must look at as a government,” he stated.
However, Baksh pointed out that there is a lot of infrastructure work ongoing in communities throughout the country, in keeping with modern day society demands.
In addition, he said that the Ministry will be collaborating with various agencies, at the different levels of government, to acquire more lands so that the sector can advance.
The minister urged the cattle rearers to work together with the different agencies within the Ministry of Agriculture to maintain, sustain and further develop the new pasture, assuring that the State will play its role, and admonished them to do their part.
He noted that Guyana is one of the countries in the Caribbean and Latin America that is free of foot and mouth disease and, therefore, opportunities for export are great.
Baksh added, that is the reason why farmers, today, are getting better prices for their cattle.
BENEFITS
“The facilities and the benefits are there and the farmers are seeing those benefits, and that is why they are so concerned and they are so creative in their minds that they want to do more,” he observed.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA), Dr. Dindyal Permaul said the Leonora Pasture represents a culmination of efforts over a long period of time, during which farmers in that area suffered to look after their cattle.
“We are happy that we are at the stage now where we are able to cultivate this pasture and put it in a form where it can begin to grow the grass which is required to feed the animals,” he said.
Permaul explained that famers in the area, particularly dairy farmers, have a history of taking good care of their animals and benefitted from artificial insemination over the years. He said the quality of their stock is, usually, high producing.
“They (farmers) have a very high dependence on these animals for their livelihoods. So it is with those factors in mind that we are working very hard behind the scenes to have, in the first instance, land allocated for this pasture and in the second instance, to develop these lands and put them in a manner which could be utilised to give the kinds of grass you may need to feed your animals,” he stated.
Permaul advised that, although the development of the pasture has come a long way, since it was once “virtually a jungle”, it is still a work in progress and they are constantly looking at ways and means of making it better.
