Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud commissioned the Didco Feed Mill at Friendship, EBD on Monday which is expected to be a boon for the livestock industry, providing high quality animal feeds that should reduce the cost of meat.
In his address Persaud said government welcomes the investment, noting that the ministry continues to receive complaints that some animal feeds on the market do not meet quality standards, yet are costly. Government has had to finance overseas testing of feeds of suspect quality, Persaud said, according to the Government Information Agency.
“This is important to the livestock sector which is now geared for export and we would have to look at competitive pricing that would eventually lead to affordable livestock and increased variety of feeds,” Persaud said. He also commented that Didco reopening its facility, which had been destroyed by fire in 2007, makes “great business sense” and is a positive step in the development of the livestock and aquaculture sectors.
The ministry has established a standard for mills which is being enforced by the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) and a mandatory requirement to have all chickens vaccinated. “Some persons complained that the chickens were not attaining the required weight and had stunted growth because of different ailments that could have been prevented were they vaccinated,” Persaud said.
Managing Director of Didco Feeds, Deonarine Singh said he invested $400M to rebuild the mill. Production should cause a decrease in the cost of meat in another six to eight weeks. He said the mill “will offer attractive prices, encourage greater competition in the marketplace and allow for a significant reduction in the price of poultry.”
Singh also said the mill will offer for sale all vegetarian brands with the necessary vitamins and electrolytes for chickens, pigs, horses, fish and cows and he urged all hatcheries to get involved in the vaccination programme. The Managing Director also said all feeds will be subject to weekly analysis and will be available to farmers for inspection.
Plans are in train to start selling feed today.
