Some 50 farmers from various communities along the Soesdyke-Linden Highway will receive two piglets each as part of government’s aggressive efforts to expand the livestock sector, a Department of Public Information (DPI) release said on Friday.
This announcement, the DPI stated, was made by Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha during several farmers’ meetings in Region Ten on Friday. The minister also told the farmers that work is currently being done at Garden of Eden, East Bank Demerara to build a cutting-edge processing plant.
“We are not only developing the crop sector. We are trying to develop all of the sectors within the agriculture sector. We want the livestock sector to be very vibrant. There is an investor who will build a processing plant to produce sausages. So, if that plant is built there, the demand for pork will increase tremendously and you can concentrate on doing that,” Mustapha was quoted as saying.
According to Mustapha, the processing facility will help to bring major relief to the farmers and it will also create avenues for investment and employment. He also assured those present that the government remained dedicated to boosting production and productivity through the promotion of high-value and value-added products, and facilitating market access for farmers.
Pointing out that the agriculture sector had a budgetary allocation of $32 billion, the minister declared, “We [government] are trying our utmost to ensure that we ease the burdens on the Guyanese people. That is our philosophy. We will work to ensure that we do that,” the release added.
