A better organised, more productive and higher quality producing poultry sector is the objective of a recent workshop organised by the Livestock Division of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, reports Spice Islander.

The workshop entitled 'A Marketing Partnership for Locally Produced Broiler Meat', was held on 29 July and the included presentations from the Veterinary and Livestock Division of the Ministry of Agriculture, the International Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture (IICA), Grenada Bureau of Standards and the Grenada Association of Poultry Producers (GAPP).

Chief Veterinary and Livestock Officer, Dr Bowen Louison, introduced the workshop saying the discussions should produce a Concept Paper that would positively change the poultry industry. He said one of the medium-term objectives is to see every poultry farmer producing 10,000 birds per batch.

Food Security Coordinator in the Ministry, Ingrid Rush, spoke on behalf of the Minister Hon. Michael Denis Lett. She said government is committed to seeing the sector grow and to this end the Livestock Division is intensifying its efforts to assist farmers in increasing their production and ultimately marketing same. The minister's speech said that in order for Grenada to meet is poultry production target the ministry must work closely with farmers to ensure that they utilise appropriate techniques that will result in a higher survival rate of birds and eventually a quality product for local consumption. Mrs Rush called on farmers to use appropriate techniques to improve the survival rate of their birds which will lead to greater profitability.

Permanent Secretary, Gemma Bain-Thomas, called for increased poultry production to meet future demands. She said chicken is the main protein provider in the daily menu but most of it is produced outside the country. She added there is potential to produce more and farmers must assist in reducing this dependency on imports by increasing production. Citing marketing as one of the challenges to increased production, Mrs Main-Thomas spoke of plans by the ministry to install a marketing officer who will deal exclusively with the marketing of locally produced agricultural products. SpiceIslander reports that she said government is committed to seeing the poultry sector grow since only 12 per cent of local poultry demands are met by local production.