Local hatching egg programme targets 20M annually

The Government has set its sights on producing up to 20 million hatching eggs annually as part of a long-term plan to strengthen Guyana’s poultry industry, reduce dependence on imports and improve disease control across the sector. Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha said the initiative, which is already moving into the implementation phase, is aimed at ensuring that Guyana can eventually meet its own demand for hatching eggs while safeguarding the health and quality of broiler production. Currently, Guyana utilises approximately 53 million hatching eggs annually to sustain its poultry industry. While local production has already begun, the Minister said the new programme is a significant scale-up, with land clearing underway at Pokoribe, which is a settlement located in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice), to establish dedicated breeder facilities.

According to Mustapha, about 200 acres of land are being prepared for the project, and infrastructure, including specialised pens, has already been procured. The programme is being developed in collaboration with a Brazilian company, bringing technical expertise to a segment of poultry production that differs significantly from standard broiler operations. When fully operational, the facilities are expected to produce between 16 and 20 million hatching eggs annually. While this will not immediately satisfy national demand, the Minister said it represents a critical first step toward self-sufficiency, with the longer-term goal of producing all hatching eggs locally within the next five years.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA), Dr Dwight Waldron, explained that broiler breeder operations involve multiple integrated components, including parent stock management, specialised housing and strict biosecurity protocols. He noted that the eggs produced will be supplied directly to local hatcheries, strengthening the domestic poultry value chain. One of the major benefits of local hatching egg production, Dr Waldron said, is improved disease control, particularly in relation to infectious bursal hepatitis, which has posed challenges in recent years. By maintaining vaccinated parent stock, the programme ensures that eggs leaving the facilities already carry a level of protection, significantly reducing the risk of disease transmission. “This allows us to keep the prevalence of IBH very low moving forward and gives farmers greater confidence in the quality of chicks entering the production system,” he said. Dr Waldron added that the expansion of hatching egg production must be viewed alongside broader developments in the sector, including improvements in nutrition, feed quality and production efficiency. He noted that GLDA’s nutrition laboratory will play a key role in independently verifying feed quality, ensuring that farmers receive accurate protein levels and consistent standards.
Looking ahead, he said the growth trajectory of the poultry industry suggests that demand for hatching eggs could rise sharply. Projections indicate that annual requirements could increase from the current 53 million to as much as 93 million within the next five years, driven by expanding production capacity and new technologies such as tunnel-ventilated poultry houses. As a result, the hatching egg programme is being designed with future expansion in mind.