THE United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (UNFAO), in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, conducted a stakeholders consultation yesterday on the draft national livestock development policy and strategic action plan for the years 2013 to 2023.

It was at the Regency Suites Hotel, in Hadfield Street, Georgetown, where the FAO Country Representative, Dr. Lystra Fletcher-Paul explained that the project has two components, dealing with the actual policy and developing manuals for livestock farmers.
She pointed out that the local livestock sector is one of great importance to the economy, noting that it contributed an estimated US$5.6M to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2012.
In addition, she said the industry played a significant role in food security, income generation, rural development, import substitution and foreign exchange bidding.
Fletcher-Paul stated, further, that the Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA) is a relatively new institution, which was established in 2011, with the aim of ensuring that the industry in Guyana develops in a sustainable manner, while contributing to the country’s drive for self-sufficiency in meat and meat products, as well as for the export market.
According to her, yesterday’s event was very timely because it helps to chart the course which the GLDA will take to fulfill its mandate.
She emphasised that the process is a participatory one involving inputs from all of the key stakeholders in the sector.
Fletcher-Paul highlighted that the FAO has a long history of collaborating with the Government of Guyana, particularly as it relates to the livestock sector.
She said, while the FAO and Guyana have collaborated on many projects, more recently, the country has benefitted from a number of regional ones, such as emergency assistance for early detection and prevention of avian influenza in the Caribbean.
National programmes
She noted that two national programmes have, recently, been approved and implemented, both of which have involved the livestock sector indirectly. They are the disaster risk management plan for the agriculture sector and the food and nutrition security strategy and action plan for Guyana.
“These two projects have been developed through extensive stakeholder consultations, involving stakeholders of the livestock sector and, in developing this strategic plan for the GLDA, I urge you to ensure that there are synergies with these two very important plans,” Fletcher-Paul told the gathering.
She advised the stakeholders that the development of the plan is a process and will not be “etched in stone” but rather would change over time, remarking that it is only a document and a piece of paper unless it is implemented.
“It is important that, after today’s consultation and after the plan has been finalised and approved that you work on realistic costings, planned activities and use these as a basis for mobilising resources for implementation,” she said.
Fletcher-Paul added that, in seeking resources, stakeholders should not only think in monetary terms but in other terms as well, such as transportation and sharing of personnel and information.
She also encouraged those in attendance to “think outside the box”, telling them to think about value-added products, not only in terms of dairy products like cheese, butter, yogurt and ice cream but of others such as leather, saddles and clothing as well.
“Broaden the range of products that can be marketed and expand your market,” she challenged.
Fletcher-Paul used the opportunity to pledge FAO’s continued commitment to work with the Government of Guyana to identify such opportunities for seeking partners and mobilising resources to help in the implementation of the plan and any other initiatives in the livestock sector aimed at reducing hunger and strengthening food security.
The consultative forum saw participation from various Heads of Department in the Agriculture Ministry, members of the GLDA Board, the Pig Farmers Association and Bounty Farms and Beekeepers, among others.
The session was facilitated by National Consultant, Mr. Nigel Cumberbatch, who has extensive experience in livestock development in Guyana, and international consultant, Mr. Nico van Wageningen from Holland, who has a wealth of experience in livestock development worldwide.