$143M surveillance projects launched to strengthen market access for Guyana’s cattle

In an effort to guard against food-related diseases while advancing the food production sector, the Government of Guyana has collaborated with the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) to launch two critical projects to enhance traceability for food products and achieve export certification for bovine (cattle) and other small animals.
Execution of the “Development of a Food Products Traceability System for Pineapples and Leafy Greens in Guyana” and the “Bovine Tuberculosis (BTB) and Bovine Brucellosis (BB) to Improve Market Access” projects will be done through funding from grants from the Bank’s Special Funds Resources totalling a whopping €636,000 or approximately $143.17 million.
Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha, while delivering remarks during the launch ceremony held at the Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA), Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara, on Tuesday, highlighted the projects’ importance. He said that they addressed critical challenges while unlocking new opportunities for growth and development.

In underscoring the importance of having an agricultural traceability system, Minister Mustapha stressed that an effective one could promptly identify, single out, and remove unsafe food products from the market.
“We are pleased to undertake these two projects, which will enhance our agricultural capacity, with the support from the Caribbean Development Bank and facilitated by the European Union Economic Partnership Agreement, CARIFORUM, and the Caricom Standby Facility. The first project, the Development of a Food Products Traceability System for Pineapples and Leafy Greens in Guyana, is a transformative initiative that underscores our commitment to ensuring quality and safe food. A traceability system in the agriculture and food sector is particularly important, and an effective one can promptly identify, single out, and remove unsafe food products from the market. Food traceability is a requirement for access to specific regional or international markets. For Guyana to become a major exporter of agriculture products, we are ensuring that systems are in place for us to meet all the requirements,” the Minister explained.
With regard to the second project, Mustapha said that it would address critical issues impacting Guyana’s livestock industry.
“The second project, Bovine Tuberculosis and Bovine Brucellosis to Improve Market Access in Guyana, will address critical issues impacting our livestock industry. These diseases not only pose significant health risks to our cattle population but also hinder market access for our farmers. By addressing these challenges head-on, we are not just protecting the livelihoods of our farmers but also fortifying Guyana’s position as a reliable supplier of high-quality livestock products.”
EPA and CSME Standby Facility Project Manager Cyril Gill, who gave an overview of the projects, related that they were based on developing a strategy towards eradicating tuberculosis and brucellosis in bovines as well as establishing a food traceability framework.
“As it relates to productivity, this project is based on developing a strategy towards streamlining the eradication of the two diseases and we expect that with the framework in place to manage the reduction of these two diseases, we can have better control towards the food systems that we have in the Guyana borders so that we can supply other regional member states with effective and efficient food throughout the system. As it relates to the leafy greens and pineapple project, this project is primarily to establish a food traceability framework. What will be essential here is that this project is being set as the pilot project that can be expanded and taken across other areas in the agriculture sector,” he explained.
He added that the primary focus would be on Regions Four and Five where the Government has provided a number of initiatives such as the shadehouses that have been established.
“These areas that we’re focusing on: we saw as prime opportunities to develop these key initiatives because of the high consumption of these products. We also found that many youths were employed in these sectors and we thought it necessary to provide that developmental support in these areas,” the Minister said.
Given the high production of pineapples and leafy greens in Regions Four and Five and the importance of these products to ensuring food security, the traceability pilot will centre on agro-food stakeholders for these products and within the aforementioned regions in Guyana.
BTB and BB are both highly-contagious zoonotic diseases that have a serious impact on farmers and the farming industry in Guyana.
BTB in particular is infectious to cattle as well as other animal species while the BB disease spreads rapidly in unvaccinated animals with affected cows aborting once after exposure and thereafter giving birth to full-term dead or weak calves.