THE Boer goat, described as one of the world’s most meat-productive goats, will soon be widely available to local farmers, thanks to a groundbreaking  artificial insemination (AI) programme being launched by the Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA)  with support from the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO).Chief Executive Officer of the GLDA, Dr Dindyal Permaul disclosed last week  that the new service is in keeping with the GLDA’s mandate to promote  greater efficiency in the livestock product industry and to provide enhanced services in livestock husbandry and health.
He said that  the AI programme for goats, the first of its kind,  is expected to get underway from early next month on the arrival in Guyana of a  technician from Jamaica who will equip local technicians with the required knowledge and skills.
Soon thereafter, local goat farmers will be able to get access to the breed by requesting AI services.
He said: “With respect to the Boer, we have all the genetic materials we need. We know that we are good at AI of cows but have never done goats before. So the training has to be done first, and the service made available shortly after.”
He said that apart from improving productivity, AI  for goats will be a great benefit to farmers  since the service eliminates the necessity of keeping one or several bucks on the farm (depending on herd size).
Additionally a top quality buck for breeding purposes cost upwards of $100,000 locally.
Costs of feeding, housing, separate fencing and labour will also be eliminated.
Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the GLDA, Dr Dwight Waldron disclosed that a similar AI  programme for the introduction of high-quality sheep will get underway later this year or early next year.
The disclosures were made among others which stated that small ruminant  farmers in Guyana  have every incentive for increasing production since the markets are available locally and regionally.

Head of the Animal Production Unit of the GLDA, Dr. Gavin Peters recently said that the Caribbean region produced  approximately 7.4 million kilograms of sheep and goat meat in 2008, but imported 14 million kilograms for that same period from as far away as New Zealand and Australia.
He told local small ruminant farmers  that the aim of CARICOM countries is to reduce this import by 10%, and this offered a great opportunity for them to increase their income as commercial goat meat producers.