Guyana to receive remaining 868 black belly sheep from Barbados in November

Following the arrival of some 132 black belly sheep from Barbados on August 04 2022, the remaining batches to make up the promised 1,000 sheep are expected to arrive in Guyana during the month of November.

Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha told the News Room on Monday that he is hopeful that all the remaining sheep will arrive at once.

“Remember is one set came in and it’s 1,000 that has to come and then the programme will roll out,

“Shortly, we will get all and then we will roll it out. Hopefully all should come by the end of November,” the minister said.

The government has said that 30 per cent of the imported sheep will be given to women, 20 per cent will go to young people and the differently abled are being included in rearing this livestock here.

The 132 sheep that arrived in August had to be quarantined in Barbados and it is, for this reason, that all 1, 000 could not be transported to Guyana initially.

“They don’t want to send it directly…they want to quarantine it to ensure that there are no diseases with these sheep,” Minister Mustapha previously said.

Also, the first batch of sheep was placed in quarantine at the Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA) while they await the arrival of the remaining 868 sheep.

Minister Mustapha explained that while in quarantine, the sheep will be introduced to the country’s conditions and feed.

Close to 100 farmers have already signaled their intention to be a part of the project where close to 1,400 acres of their land have been made available.

Once these sheep are distributed to the farmers, they are expected to undergo cross-breeding with the local sheep to create a new breed and further reduce the country’s food import bill

The government in its 2022 budget has earmarked $28.7 billion to ensure the rapid growth and development of Guyana’s agriculture sector.