SOME 868 Black Belly Sheep are scheduled to arrive in Guyana from Barbados within the next three weeks, Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha disclosed on Friday. He said the arrival of the second batch will see the official role out of the project.

“The 15th of October, the sheep will be available to leave to come to Guyana, its 868 sheep have to come to Guyana to make up the 1,000… when all the sheep come to the country then we will roll-out the programme. We have already registered a number of farmers,” Minister Mustapha told the Guyana Chronicle in a telephone interview.

In August, the first shipment was received by Guyana; some 132 sheep, inclusive of 20 rams and 112 ewes arrived.
The Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA) was tasked with weaning the sheep to ensure that they adjust to Guyana’s climate as well as introducing them to new diets, and according to the agriculture minister, the weaning process thus far has been successful.

“This is a brand and an industry that we are now creating in Guyana; we will build the Black Belly brand in the Caribbean. We have the facilities here like land space, fresh water and good breeding ground,” Mustapha added.
President, Dr Irfaan Ali, during the launch of a Black Belly Sheep Project at Onverwagt, West Coast Berbice back in March, had said the project is intended to pave the way for Guyana to tap into the region’s hefty food-importation bill, which sees CARICOM countries collectively spending some US$43 million on import of mutton alone. And even though Guyana’s food production capabilities are impressive, the country still imports approximately US$130,000 worth of mutton.

With an initial investment of US$3 million, Dr Ali said that the onset of the Black Belly Sheep Project targets 2,000 heads of sheep, and is slated for significant expansion in order to produce at least 7,000 tonnes of mutton by the end of five years. It is also expected to create at least 4,500 direct and indirect jobs.

President Ali, at the launch of the project back in March, had pointed out that the world import value on mutton and mutton products is US$8B. CARICOM alone imports 7,900 tonnes of mutton at US$48M annually. Bahamas, Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago are the four major markets that Guyana can target.

Meanwhile, the minister disclosed that works were currently moving apace in Region Five to prepare several pens for the additional sheep that are scheduled to arrive in Guyana.
Already, several farmers have signalled their interest in the project, which is one of many initiatives being rolled out by Guyana and Barbados to reduce the Food Import Bill by 25 per cent in 2025.