Poultry farmers trained to produce more

poultryThe East Caribbean Group of Companies (ECGC) is providing technical assistance to poultry farmers with a view to help them manage their farms more effectively.

On Tuesday June 23rd, poultry farmers in Dominica attended a one-day seminar organized by the ECGC in collaboration with local suppliers of animal feed and the Ministry of Agriculture And Forestry.

“Over the years, ECGC has participated in the Dominica market serving bakers, farmers and the general public. The company has a legacy of providing top quality products and engaging positively in the livelihood of our customers,” stated Rachel Haslam, Marketing Manager, of ECGC. “Today East Caribbean Feeds is once again pleased to host another feeds seminar in Dominica. The company is cognizant of the importance of not only quality products but also technical services that reach the core of every level of production,”

In 2013, a similar seminar was held for both pork and poultry farmers, however, this time in 2015, the seminars are being held separately so that each group can benefit from in-depth discussion about their sector.

Extension Officer in the Ministry of Agriculture, Anthony Cyril encouraged farmers to work as a unit in order to move the sector forward.

He says it is commendable that over the past 30 years, Dominica has been self-sufficient in table egg production. However, he says more work needs to be done to improve the production of poultry.

“The abattoir is one of the major [projects] one which we’re working to get the poultry subsector to the next level. These endeavors, however, cannot be achieved without input from the farmers. The abattoir is just a building and it cannot operate without birds or pigs so such trainings will ensure that you produce and at a profit-making level,” he said.

Main facilitator of the seminar was Dr. Robert Thomas of Jamaica.

He encouraged farmers to reduce wastage and look to producing more for self sufficiency and to reduce the food import bill.

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10 Comments

  1. amanda
    June 29, 2015

    Please ensure these feeds do not have GMOs especially corn. If it can be made in st.vincent why cant’ it be made in Dominica? If it is not all natural……………, then something else is about to come around. Think twice .NO GMO.

  2. Titiwi
    June 26, 2015

    You see, this is a typical case of protectionism whereby we must buy our bulk flour and animal feed from ECGC in st. Vincent. This is only for the benefit of St. Vincent because it stops us from buying more competitively, and I dare say qualitatively direct from say the U.S.A., Canada or even our great benefactor the E.U. What do we ship to St. Vincent? What benefit is this one-sided arrangement for us?.This is like a state monopoly and should be stopped at once. Open up the market so we can produce meat cheaper and better. Why should we protect that company in St. Vincent at our expense? This really pisses me off.

  3. jr
    June 26, 2015

    That Training was top secrete cause I sure did not hear about it .

    • charles
      June 26, 2015

      try listening to your radio

      • Pellam
        June 26, 2015

        well maybe it should have been on all radio stations and on DNO too so ever.yone one would know

      • Titiwi
        June 27, 2015

        Which station Charles?

  4. Islander
    June 26, 2015

    This is great! Dominica and the region should be able to produce its own poultry products and by-products

  5. UserName
    June 26, 2015

    Did the seminar address ways on how the Dominican farmer can produce top quality feed using local resources instead of having to be totally dependent on imported GMO modified corn base feed. A few moons ago there was talk about developing alternative feeds utilizing resources found in and around the farm.. why has this idea gone out the window. It seems reasonable that in order to be competitive in livestock production, a concerted effort is needed to address the issue of animal feed and significantly reducing the HIGH cost associated with such, hence the reason we should be concentrating on developing some local formula to supplement the imported stuff. It seems that the idea for the feed mixing plant has gone out of the window of opportunity also, and gradually Dominicans might become vegetarians by default… having so much love for their “meat”. It seems that the ECGC is more interested in increasing their revenue through increase sales of animal feed to Dominica rather…

    • Baker
      June 27, 2015

      I could not agree more. This argument also applies to our flour supplies. St. Vincent does not grow wheat but must import it to be processed locally, adding extra costs and not freight and handling alone. That cosy arrangement is good for the St. Vincent mill and the local distributor here but not at all for the baker, farmer and consumer in Dominica. We are giving them a license to print money . Our government must look after our interest first and not that of St. Vincent. Let us import flour and feedstock free. Let there be competition. The government does not lose anything because we are not paying duty on St. Vincent supplies either but I’m sure we would be able to produce bread, pork and poultry cheaper.

    • Affa
      June 27, 2015

      I see just what you mean. Increase production but impliment a national effort and thrust toward local production of feed, that will be free of GMO (genetically modified by companies in the US) that lack flavor, contributes to our increase in DIABETES and the high import bill. Thanks for that contribution.

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