Gov’t promotes Black Belly sheep rearing in livestock sector expansion

-150 farmers receive Black Belly sheep in Region Five

As the government continues to expand the livestock sector, the Ministry of Agriculture is making progress in promoting the rearing of Black Belly sheep in Guyana, shifting focus away from other breeds.

This was according to Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha, while discussing the progress of livestock development in Region Five on Thursday.

During an outreach at the Mahaica-Mahaicony Abary- Agricultural Development Authority (MMA-ADA) Scheme, minister Mustapha said:

“Over 150 farmers have already been benefitting from the Black Belly sheep project that was launched by His Excellency, Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali. I am hoping that we can start building that brand of replacing the New Zealand lamb and the Australian lamb with the Black Belly sheep that will now be coming out of Guyana.”

The Black Belly sheep programme was launched in 2022 with the government investing $600 million.

As of August last year, approximately 436 Black Belly sheep had already been brought into the country.

With numerous agricultural interventions implemented in the scheme, the minister is confident that increased productivity among farmers will significantly contribute to the government’s goal of reducing the food import bill.

“This is the largest agricultural scheme with the largest rice growing areas, cash crop areas, and livestock area in our country. We are working seriously, not only here but also across the country,” the agriculture minister asserted.

During the launch of the programme, President Ali noted that Guyana imports close to 18 metric tonnes of mutton annually, costing around US $130,000. This cost is expected to decrease significantly as the country focuses on rearing Black Belly sheep.