Karasabai gets abattoir

Karasabai and surrounding communities in Upper Takatu-Upper Essequibo (Region Nine)
Livestock farmers will now be able to slaughter animals for human consumption under hygienic
conditions, following the commissioning of a $2 million abattoir there.
Elvis Edwards, Deputy Toshao told villagers that they been slaughtering their animals at home
and under trees, a practice he deemed unsafe. He expressed thanks to the government for
providing the community with a facility which he said caters to the needs of the people. “It
(abbatoir) will serve a great purpose in our village, in terms of our health. This world is
changing, you know, things that we did in the past can no longer be done like this and so this
facility will allow us to do things by the book for the safety of our people, especially the
children,” the Deputy Toshao said.

Edwards said that the facility will complement the council’s plan to start cattle rearing among
other sustainable projects from its $15 million one-off COVID-19 relief grant.   He pointed out
that the grant is one of the many initiatives of the Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali-led Government to
support Amerindian communities from the effects of Covid. Community Service Officer (CSO)
of Karasabai, Deborah Rodrigues, also expressed thanks for the project. Rodrigues said the
facility “will be a great help to the people because these days, I see people slaughtering under the
tree and that is not good for human consumption. It is time for us to move away from that and
this building will help us to do that.”
The Deputy Toshao reminded that livestock farmers will be required to notify the council at least
72-hours to use the facility on the specified Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. He said that
close to 3000 animals are owned by villagers. He noted that the facility is in keeping with the
Ministry of Agriculture’s plans to establish modern abattoirs countrywide, to boost the country’s
beef and pork production. This will also allow government to tap into the international market as
a long-term goal.
Earlier this year, Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha said, “there are big lucrative markets
around the world. Imagine, countries from the Middle East are importing beef from our
neighbours in Brazil, we can tap into some of those markets. That is why we are concentrating
and investing in these sectors, especially the livestock sector.”  Guyana’s municipal abattoirs
process about 75 per cent of the meat sold on the local markets currently.
Among those facilitating the commissioning was Local Government and Regional Development,
Minister, Nigel Dharamlall, along with Region Nine’s Regional Executive Officer (REO) Karl
Singh, and Regional Chairman Bryan Allicock.