Address anaemic feed supply

The shortages being experienced by dairy farmers and those who need feed to raise livestock like cows, goats and poultry reveal the gap between government policy and the reality on the ground.

Despite assurances from officials that feed supply issues were resolved late last year, and efforts by farmers to band together to share limited stock, supply remains anaemic.

This situation is ironic, given the State’s push to grow the sector as a whole. Among the highlights of the budget was the flashy one-off stimulus package of $500 million in funding (and an overall $1.2 billion allocation – 70 per cent more than the previous year), with grants, concessions and tax breaks now de rigueur.

All of this is of little use if farmers cannot feed their animals.

“We have to find a way to feed the animals, because the animals don’t know it have a feed shortage,” said farmer Andy Wears wryly last week.

The situation seems to be due to several factors, local and international.

The National Flour Mills (NFM) – one of a handful of feed suppliers – say the market has been distorted by high demand from China and price hikes for ingredients like corn, soybean meal and wheat.

Agriculture Minister Clarence Rambharat, on the other hand, last month said there was an issue involving the US "that has been resolved.” Minister of Trade and Industry Paula Gopee-Scoon did not seem to have been briefed on the issue when contacted about it a month ago.

The varied explanations and official runaround aggravate a distressing situation in which dairy farmers are already a dying breed.

In the period 1995-2000, farmers were producing as much as 13 million litres of milk, according to industry records. Production has since declined to about a million litres a year. Just about 100 dairy farmers remain. Many are able to sell to companies like Nestle at about $2.35 per litre and enjoy a subsidy of $1.50 per litre from the State. Still, they are no match for bigger milk importers.

“You cannot buy a Prado from this line of work,” said Mahadeo Bholai, who got into dairy farming two decades ago and rears ducks, rabbits, chicken, tilapia, sheep and cows at his 19-and-a-half-acre farm. He said out of every dollar earned, 90 cents and sometimes more have to go back into the animals.

For farmers like Mr Bholai, shortages in dairy rations are serious. He said it was important to feed the animals the correct mineral mixture to get the maximum production.

In truth, the situation is serious for all of us. At a time when there is heightened awareness of the need for local food security, it is disheartening that these issues have persisted without any sign of special assistance from the State.

It all points to a gap in the Government’s policy with regard to feed production. Simply put, if local farming is to grow, there must be something to feed it.