GUYANA’s livestock industry has been stagnated for the past two decades, and 50 per cent of the cows have been slaughtered, diminishing the national herd and placing the industry in a crisis, according to Agriculture Minister Noel Holder.“When you start doing that to the national herd, you start to destroy it. What is being done now is (that) the livestock authority is now buying females presented at the abattoirs — to put them back in the system to breed them to keep our national stock, which would be our seed stock to develop the savannahs,” Minister Holder underscored.

Reflecting that in the early 90s, the Livestock Development Company was the largest cattle operator in CARICOM, Minister Holder said, “At the time, we were using 1/3 of our milk requirements. We were always self-sufficient in beef, and were on the verge of being able to export. What was keeping us back at that time was the fact that we were not certified against various diseases, one being the foot and mouth disease.”

Contending that over the last 20 years nothing substantial has been done in the livestock sector, Minister Holder said a crisis almost now exists, because the abattoirs’ figures show that 50 per cent of the cows are being slaughtered.

The minister has said that if Guyana had chosen to head into meat export too early, it would have destroyed the national herd, because the pressure to satisfy external industries would not have been sustainable.

“Guyana is a peculiar country; we are probably one of the few countries in the world which has beef as one of the cheapest meats. In any other country, you would find beef being a very expensive meat, since it takes years for an animal to get to market weight. But because this country has a large Hindu population (which) does not eat beef, this may be one of the reasons that beef is not a high-priced commodity here, which makes it attractive to export,” Minister Holder explained.

Guyana is believed to have between 220,000 and 250,000 head of beef and dairy cattle, spread mainly in Regions 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, and 10. The main dairy producing Regions are 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, while beef is mainly produced in Regions 3, 5, 6, 9 and 10.

The 2020 vision of the Agri Minister is seeking implementation of a dairy plant, which would act as a stimulus for the dairy industry.

“What we can do is put down a milk cooling station in the Abary, one in Mahaicony, one in Mahaica, and farmers can bring their milk and cool it. And once a day, a tanker (can) bring it down to the milk plant. Even if there is not enough milk locally to supply the milk plant, we can reconstitute. Milk powder and butter oil can be put together, and the proceeds can help develop the industry,” Minister Holder suggested.

Caribbean countries have traditionally hosted dairy industries that were pivotal to the supply of fresh milk to domestic markets. The main dairy producers in the Caribbean Region are Jamaica, Guyana, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, and The Dominican Republic.

Noting that Guyana imports a lot of milk products, Minister Holder said the Caribbean dairy industry is dominated by fresh milk production, with a range of dairy by-products, including milk drinks and yoghurt, of which Guyana can contribute.

“Dairy can even compete with rice, since a very large import for Guyana is milk and dairy products. And if Guyana can produce, we can assist with savings in the foreign currency,” he said.