Pres. Ali announces plans to transform ‘backyard poultry farming’ into organised commercial operations

President Dr Irfaan Ali has proposed the establishment of a modern poultry farming hub in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), aimed at helping backyard poultry farmers transition into larger-scale, organised production.

Speaking during community consultations at Good Hope and Suddie, President Ali highlighted the number of residents already involved in poultry farming within their communities and the challenges that can arise when such activities are carried out on a small scale in residential areas.

“In this whole area, the NDC, 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 neighbuor 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, where they could expand production while maintaining ownership stakes.

“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.

President Ali said the initiative is intended to address community conflicts associated with backyard poultry farming while creating an opportunity for farmers to increase their earnings through modern production methods.