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EraThere has been strong opposition from herders to a joint venture with Guyana that aims to replenish dwindling numbers of native blackbelly sheep, with concerns raised about transparency and questioning the effectiveness of the scheme.
The program, which kicks off in 2022, involves the export of 1,000 Barbadian sheep to Guyana for breeding and meat production, with the carcasses and skins shipped back to Barbados. But Rommel Paris, president of the Barbados Sheep Breeding Company, told Barbados Today Many farmers are skeptical about the project’s progress and outcomes.
“There are a lot of farmers who are not in favor of exporting to Guyana at the moment. That’s a common concern,” said Paris. He highlighted the lack of corroborative data and detailed reporting: “We have not seen any photos or videos of the animals from the beginning. We have no corroborative data to go by and no detailed reporting.”
Despite assurances from Dr. Leroy McClean, a blackbelly sheep expert and consultant to the Department of Agriculture, that the project is progressing satisfactorily, Parris expressed skepticism about the information being conveyed. “We don’t know how hard they are working, if they are working at all. What kind of conditions are the animals being kept in, etc?”
Paris also claimed that the sheep exported to Guyana were mainly from farmers who were bankrupt or facing market challenges, rather than those who actively supported the program. “The farmers have not indicated that they will participate in this project,” he said.
“From what I understand, most of the sheep that were seized were bought from farmers, not from the Greenland Livestock Research Station. They bought the sheep from farmers who were going out of business. The sheep were exported after they were tested,” Paris said. “The farmers were either going out of business or there was no market to sell their animals at the time and this was the only market available.
“They offer pretty good pay, but sometimes to have money you have to think about paying the utilities and making sure the house is in good order and functioning properly. So farmers jump at the opportunity. But it’s not something farmers get involved in. It’s more of a situation they get involved in.”
A spokesman for sheep farmers advocated for a homegrown initiative to improve the industry and suggested an incentive scheme similar to that in the pig and dairy sectors for registered blackbelly sheep farmers. “Once a Toothless Blackbelly ewe is registered and a farmer wants to breed that ewe or they breed that ewe, as long as that ewe has land, then we would look at giving some sort of incentive,” Mr Parris proposed.
Concerns have also been raised about the cost-effectiveness of Guyana’s plan, with Paris pointing to the costs associated with transportation, quarantine and slaughter. He warned that these costs could result in higher prices for consumers when the mutton is shipped back to Barbados.
Despite the reputation of Barbados blackbelly lamb being tastier than fine-wool lamb, the country still imports 1.3 million kilograms of lamb, mainly from New Zealand, at a cost of $14 million. Parris believes the money allocated to the Guyana project could have been better invested in local farmers and a comprehensive breeding program.
Mr Paris said inbreeding remained a significant challenge for the Barbados Blackbelly sheep population and he stressed the importance of improved record keeping and the use of artificial insemination and embryo transfer techniques to address the issue.
Meanwhile, the Barbados Agricultural Society will launch a census in August to determine the island’s current sheep population to inform future breeding strategies.
Paris highlighted inbreeding as a major obstacle to livestock development.
“Inbreeding has been a problem for many years and it will be a problem no matter what,” he told Barbados Today“The Barbados Blackbelly sheep has a unique trait and although people will try to breed it a certain way, you can’t beat that. Because the gene pool is so small, we’ve never really taken full advantage of artificial insemination or embryo transfer techniques. Inbreeding also occurs because of a lack of record keeping. That’s why registration and census are so important.”
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