– Regions Five, Six dairy farmers to become suppliers

BY the end of this year, Guyanese will soon be able to break the seal of a locally produced bottle of Mahaica Dairy Milk created by the premier brand of the Amaya Milk Company, as the construction of the first milk plant in Onverwagt, Region Five, is underway.

In April of last year, the path was cleared for the company to establish its local base, following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) among the Canada-based Managing Director, Omkaar Sharma of Amaya Milk Company, the Guyana Office for Investment (Go-Invest) and the Ministry of Agriculture.

As regards the project, Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha said that while there were some delays due to the rainy season, works are moving apace on the plant’s construction.

“That is in progress, he started the building there, he has already brought in some of the equipment from Canada. That is moving apace and hopefully, by the end of this year, we can have that facility complete,” Mustapha said in a recent exclusive interview with the Guyana Chronicle.

With construction moving along smoothly, Mustapha said the company is currently engaging several cattle farmers in Regions Five and Six to discuss plans for the supply and delivery of milk.

“We have already started to contact some of the farmers in Region Five who will supply milk to the plant, so that is an ongoing project.”

The $150M project is anticipated to see those cattle farmers earning $75 million monthly.

In an interview with this newspaper, Sharma said that some CAN$450,000 (G$85 million) has already been expended on equipment to outfit the milk-pasteurization facility.

This equipment has since arrived in Guyana. Once the facility is completed, Guyanese will see milk sold in returnable glass bottles, which will help minimise adverse environmental impacts and encourage recycling.

Sharma explained that the project will be rolled out in two phases, with the first phase focusing specifically on milk production. For this phase, the company has budgeted CAN$500,000.

During the initial stage of the project, the company will be producing whole and two per cent milk, after which they will make flavoured milk, specifically strawberry and chocolate, among other unique flavours.

Once the first phase has been completed and the market is responsive, the company, in about two years, will move ahead with phase two of the project, for which CAN$1M has been budgeted.

The company plans to eventually expand its production to include yogurt, cheese, paneer, and cream. As local dairy production increases, regional markets will be targeted.

The facility will not just create direct jobs, but will also allow local cattle farmers to sell their products and even increase their production to satisfy the demand.