THE Guyana state’s general Economic Planning and, in particular, the Ministry of Agriculture under the leadership of Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha, have been acutely aware of the danger of the onset of the Dutch Disease, also known as the ‘Resource Curse’: They are aware that small, underdeveloped economies which are unexpectedly blessed with ample oil resources almost deterministically focus on the lucrative oil industry and the industries which had kept their economies afloat before the oil boom are allowed to drift into oblivious neglect.

When this era of oil prosperity begins to come to its end by the exhaustion of the oil resources, or when fluctuations in price reduce revenues, economic distress sets in, resulting in the Dutch Disease.

Before the oil discoveries, agriculture was the mainstay of Guyana’s economy and there is a determination to keep developing and expanding it. There are several facets of agricultural development, and in this offering, we shall consider the facet of increasing meat and dairy production, which encompasses several activities. The first of these is the improvement in the breeds of the animals so that they would be able to produce more meat.

This is done both scientifically by genetic insemination, embryo transplantation, and cross-breeding and practically by integrating Brahaman bulls into the local herds. In this regard, the ministry in July/August imported 63 Brahaman bulls from Texas in the USA and in the words of the minister while addressing farmers, “If you form yourselves into groups I can give you proper breeding bulls so you can develop your stock.”

The sheep breeds are also being improved in collaboration with Barbados, which has supplied Guyana with over 1000 Blackbelly sheep. In this programme, the ewes outnumber the rams manyfold, as, for example, in the shipment in August last year, there were 112 ewes as against 20 rams. This sheep project will not only satisfy local needs but also work towards building a regional Caribbean brand of sheep that will decrease the import of lamb and mutton products into the region.

Pasturing is essential in any breeding programme and pastures are being developed in Regions Two, Four, Five, Six And 10 and farmers will be utilising them, since their own holdings would not be big enough to accommodate expanding herds. Another essential in the development of an expanding meat and dairy industry is self-sufficiency in feedstock. At present, Guyana imports US$6 million yearly in feedstock, but with the developments already embarked upon, self-sufficiency will be attained by the end of 2025.

Over 3,000 acres in the Tacama savannahs have been cultivated with corn and soya and three 3,000-tonne silos have been constructed at the Tacama Landing, so that barges and ships could easily load their soya and corn cargoes. Supportive of the ministry’s efforts and also as a profitable investment, seven private firms have formed a consortium to expand the corn and soya production. These companies are Guyana Stockfeeds, Royal Chicken, Edun Farms, SBM Wood, Dubulay Ranch and Bounty Farm with the Brazilian company, NF Agriculture.

In the development of the meat industry, clean, modern abattoirs are an essential feature and a state-of-the-art abattoir is being constructed in Region Five. The Georgetown abattoir has been going through steady improvement. With regard to milk production, the ministry expects to have three milk parlours by the end of the year.

One element that could have been included in the ministry’s programme is goat production. A few decades ago, the government was interested in goat production and the main expert in the field, a Malaysian, was invited to advise the Ministry of Agriculture. The project was very viable and popular among farmers, but unfortunately , it never materialised.
Most economists and agriculturists are confident that Guyana’s agriculture would grow in step with the oil industry and would in a few years be able to satisfy the US$6 million Caribbean food market and fear of the Dutch Disease would have disappeared.