-additional pens being constructed in Region Five

IN advancing efforts to reduce CARICOM’s food import bill by 25 per cent by 2025, Guyana has begun the expansion of its Black Belly Sheep programme.

According to information shared with the Guyana Chronicle, the country, to date, has imported 472 sheep from Barbados and the flock has since grown to 494, as a result of births.

Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha, in an invited comment disclosed that the remaining sheep will arrive within this year’s first quarter.

A total of 500 will be in that shipment, he said.

Further, he noted that expansions are underway in the West Coast Berbice area for additional sheep farms to be established.

“The housing for the sheep is currently being constructed at the site Ellis, West Coast Berbice. The current batch of about 500 heads is being housed at [Guyana Livestock Development Agency] GLDA, Mon Repos. GLDA is currently taking care of this batch until they move to Ellis,” Mustapha explained.

In August 2022, Guyana received the first flock comprising 20 rams and 112 ewes from Barbados. A second shipment arrived several months later.

The GLDA was tasked with weaning the sheep to ensure that they could adjust to Guyana’s climate as well as introduce them to new diets. 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 said previously.

President, Dr. Irfaan Ali, during the launch of a Black Belly Sheep Project at Onverwagt, WCB, back in March, had said the project was 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 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 had pointed out that the world import value on mutton and mutton products is US$8 billion.

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.

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 region’s food import bill by 2025.