President Dr Irfaan Ali has proposed the establishment of a modern poultry farming hub in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) as part of a plan to expand economic opportunities, create sustainable employment and develop agriculture, tourism and small businesses across the region. Speaking during community consultations at Good Hope and Suddie, Ali highlighted the number of residents already involved in backyard poultry farming and the challenges that can arise when such activities are conducted on a small scale in residential communities. “In this whole area, the NDC (Neighbourhood Democratic Council), you may have about 40 people who are doing chicken in the backyard. Whether you’re doing 300, 400, or 500. And every day you’re in contact with a neighbour or somebody. Isn’t that true?” Ali said.

He proposed bringing the farmers together in a designated poultry farming cluster, supported through the Guyana Development Bank (GDB), allowing them to expand production while maintaining ownership stakes in the operation. “We can take those same 40 persons, put them in a cluster under the Guyana Development Bank and have an area designated for poultry farming where they can do 25,000, all of them owning a stake in that without having these conflicts in the community and making more money with a modern way of doing poultry,” the President said. The proposed model would allow farmers to move away from individual backyard operations and towards a structured commercial system, with the potential for significantly increased production. Ali said the initiative is intended to address conflicts associated with backyard poultry farming while providing farmers with an opportunity to increase their earnings through modern production methods. The proposal is part of Government’s efforts to establish designated agricultural hubs, where farming activities can be concentrated and developed on a larger and more sustainable scale.

Economic opportunities