Agriculture Min –1000 black belly sheep to arrive in Guyana next week

Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha revealed that one thousand black belly sheep are set to arrive in Guyana from Barbados next week. Mustapha made the revalation as he addressed residents of No.28 Village and surrounding communities, in Region Five.

“We will be having a 1000 black belly sheep coming from Barbados, the ship will be leaving Tuesday to bring these sheep,” Mustapha said. The minister revealed that the sheep are expected to arrive in Guyana within 48 hours after departure from Barbados. He disclosed that before the sheep were cleared to be shipped, they were examined for signs of illness.

President Irfaan Ali launched the black belly sheep project in Mahaica-Berbice back in March where he declared that the region could be the livestock capital of the Caribbean. It was disclosed that it is an investment of US$3M for 2000 black belly sheep. The second batch of sheep will arrive in the near future.

Mustapha revealed that close to 100 farmers have already signaled their intention to be a part of the project, making close to 1400 acres of their land available. “The president has instructed that 30 per cent of women and 20 per cent of youth must be involved in the project, not only men,” Mustapha stressed.

Ali at the launch of the project pointed out that the world import value on mutton and mutton products is US$ 8B. further, 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 the President has pointed out.

“We have right within our arms’ reach a market that can generate a value of US$48 million. And who supplies CARICOM right now? Australia and New Zealand. With the cost of freight and logistics cost increases, it is becoming more and more expensive, that is why this is a low hanging fruit, CARICOM is right within our arms reach,” the Head of State said.

He continued, “I am presenting you this to show you the opportunities so that you will know in this project there are great opportunities. This is not a project by guess, this is a project that is supported by scientific research, market research and strong negotiations on the trade side.” It was revealed that the Government in its 2022 budget has earmarked $28.7B to ensure the rapid growth and development of Guyana’s agriculture sector.