Last Updated on May 29, 2020, 10:19 PM AST by Anthony Morris
The Bahamas Development Bank is launching a Community Poultry Pilot Project on the New Providence with a consultation round with the growers this week.
The project comes after the successful introduction of the Small Ruminant Revitalization Program on Long Island.
The Bank is offering capital loans for the broiler grow houses and also short term lending for the inputs for farmers who are interested in broiler production.
A Central Poultry Unit would support broiler producers in the capital as a Private Public Partnership venture which will house both a feed mill and a poultry processing line.
The statement said that the CPU would be purchasing and reselling bulk feed, cutting input costs significantly for farmers who are currently paying $4 for a single broiler chick in some cases and day-old chicks and equipment.
“The production will focus on all-natural, no antibiotics ever, and hormone-free birds that will be provided fresh directly to Bahamian consumers. It is anticipated that the proposed price reductions, along with technical, processing and marketing support in combination with access to financing will reduce entry barriers to such an extent that broiler poultry production will become financially viable for smaller farmers.”
The statement continued: “Once established, the CPU, in coordination with BDB’s lending, will provide low-cost inputs and technical support to Family Island farmers for fresh poultry production stimulating the emergence of a small scale broiler production industry where there is a local market. The program was developed in coordination with a team of consultants which includes Justin Taylor, and Dr Jason Sands, leading Bahamian experts in poultry production and animal nutrition respectively.”
The BDB noted its distributed model would be more resilient to adverse weather events such as hurricanes and disease that have previously decimated large scale producers.
Sumayyah Cargill, head of BDB’s Strategic Development Unit, touted the financial benefits of the poultry industry that will be shared across the archipelago as farmers will be provided with the opportunity to meet the fresh poultry demands of their local communities.
BDB’s plans to facilitate or invest up to $2,000,000 directly to enhance small farmers’ revenue streams, reduce imports and to deliver fresh secure poultry to the Bahamian consumer.
Anthony Morris covers stories related to politics and regional developments. His in-depth reporting about governance and reforms makes him stand out in regional journalism, with a deep analysis of political trends and their impact on Caribbean communities.
