Government has budgeted some $887 million for infrastructure needed to support the largescale cultivation of corn and soya bean by private investors in order to safeguard the country’s livestock feed supply.
Minister of Finance Dr Ashni Singh, during his budget presentation yesterday, told the National Assembly that government has committed $236 million for the procurement of a drying and storage facility and an additional $225 million installation and other works.
A further $426 million will be spent to complete the rehabilitation of 47 kilometers of a vital Ituni to Tacama farm-to-market road, starting from the junction of the Linden/Ituni road and heading east towards the Berbice River. Last year, some $102 million was spent to commence rehabilitation works on the road.
“This initiative sets the stage for large scale cultivation of corn and soya bean and related agro business development in the Tacama area… and will open up approximately 61,000 hectares of prime farmland in the Tacama, Wiruni, and Ebini Savannahs on the eastern side of the Berbice River,” Singh told the House.
The initiative is being spearhead by a consortium of businesses in the livestock production industry. They include the Guyana Stockfeeds Ltd, Royal Chicken, Edun Farms, SBM Wood, Dubulay Ranch, Bounty Farm Ltd, and NF Agriculture.
Singh explained that with the local poultry industry consuming approximately 113,000 tonnes annually, the rising freight cost and supply chain challenges has pushed them to eliminate their vulnerability.
“Anticipated increases in demand for poultry and other livestock as our economy grows and the demand for food supplies expand led to a strategic decision by government in 2021 to support the local private sector in a trial cultivation of approximately 200 acres of corn and soya bean,” he said.
With the success of the first trial last year, the private sector is set to increase production for commercial trial to cultivate 2,700 acres.
“This will result in 1,500 tonnes of soya bean and 3,000 tonnes of corn being harvested in the second half of this year. With the anticipated success of the commercial trial, cultivation is expected to ramp up to 12,500 acres in 2023, 25,000 acres in 2025 and 56,000 acres in 2028,” Singh pointed out.
From the 113,000 tonnes of feed, broiler birds consume approximately 100,000 metric tonnes of feed, and layers approximately 13,000 metric tonnes of feed annually. This feed comprises 60% grain (corn & rice), which is equivalent to approximately 68,000 tonnes, and 30% soya bean meal which is equivalent to approximately 34,000 tonnes per year.
