Livestock farmers call for assistance with feed costs

President of the Barbados Agricultural Society (BAS) Peter Chase is calling on Government to again provide much-needed support to livestock farmers who are buckling under the pressure of rising feed prices.

He said that although registered farmers can now benefit from special water rates, an intervention regarding feed prices was desperately needed.

“What I am asking for is that the Prime Minister and her office step in to help the agriculture sector once again because they have done that before at the start of the pandemic where grain prices went spiralling out of control,” he said on Friday during the official launch of Agrofest 2022.

“The war with Russia and Ukraine has caused us some pain and we are asking for subsidies to be able to keep the prices down, in certainly the livestock sector. Pinnacle [Feeds Ltd] who buys from ADM [Barbados Mills Ltd] is under some pressure to take up the price and we are asking that if we can get a subsidy, hopefully we can keep the prices the same for the meats,” he added.

Chase noted that the industry continues to see much growth in several areas, including in interest among youth who see the value in farming as a career.

However, he cautioned, if the costs continued to rise there could be a reduction in employment opportunities in the industry.

“I must tell you that there are a lot of meaningful jobs in agriculture, and at a time where we are pushing youth – and certainly the Prime Minister is pushing the youth sector… she has created the FEED (Farmers’ Empowerment and Enfranchisement Drive) programme through the BADMC – we want to ensure that we can continue to keep the youth-focused and fixed on agriculture,” Chase said.

“In Barbados, we know what we grow and we have been doing it successfully, so we need help, and I am pleading with her in this regard.” (SB)