"We are nowhere near ready to export poultry. The fact of the matter is that the local poultry industry simply could not withstand the rigours and the demands of an export market," the veterinarian said.

Government officials are on record as saying that Guyana's poultry industry could be on the verge of exporting poultry meat but the veterinarian who spoke with Stabroek Business on condition of anonymity said that the preconditions for the export of poultry meat "not least of which are the health and food safety practices that are preconditions for export" would preclude Guyana from exporting poultry meat at this time.

The veterinarian told Stabroek Business that up until now Guyana had been unable to satisfy the necessary requirements to export poultry meat to the Caribbean, a circumstance that was regrettable given the opportunity afforded by the advent of the Caricom Single Market. He said that importers of poultry meat customarily sought "iron clad assurances" about the condition of the industry and the circumstances under which the poultry were being reared.

The veterinarian cited irresponsible practices in the industry and the absence of "mechanisms and controls" for ensuring that poultry meat is produced under safe conditions as issues which government and the Guyana Poultry Producers Association must address if the industry is to go forward. He told Stabroek Business that in the absence of official regulations and procedures to control medical supplies for the poultry industry, some poultry producers were importing and administering medicines and vaccinations in a manner that could result in creating diseases in the industry. "We are not even sure that all of the poultry farmers are aware of the proper methods of storing these drugs and properly disposing of them after use," he said.

The October 25 issue of the state-run Guyana Chronicle published a report in which it said that the Ministry of Agriculture was conducting a probe into an unknown problem that was stunting the growth of chickens. The Chronicle article said that the problem had been identified in "West Berbice and other parts of the country" and that "clues" to the cause of the disease were likely to become available on October 25. However, the local veterinarian who says that he believes that the problem of stunted growth "could be associated with the feed" says that the problem could be more widespread than is suspected. "Some poultry growers are blaming the problem on the eggs but the same eggs that are being imported into Guyana are being imported elsewhere in the Caribbean with different results," he told Stabroek Business.

The veterinarian says that the industry should be concerned about both "the health signals" that the stunted chicks problem may be sending as well as with its economic implications. "Several poultry growers are faced with a situation in which after seven weeks of rearing birds weigh in at around two and a half to three pounds rather than the expected average of five pounds. In effect what this means is that poultry farmers who have been affected by the problem have been running their operations at a loss.

Ministry of Agriculture sources have told Stabroek Business that the Ministry is still unable to say "definitively" what the origins of the problem are since Guyana does not have the capacity to make "an independent evaluation" of the possible causes of the "stunted growth" puzzle. The Agriculture Ministry sources told Stabroek Business that two veterinarians, one from the University of the West Indies and another from the United States were being consulted and were expected to be in Guyana to assist with the probe.

But the veterinarian with whom Stabroek Business spoke said that the fact that Guyana is seeking to develop an export capacity for poultry meat in circumstances where it had no reliable laboratory facilities to determine the cause of the "stunted chicks" problem

was a reflection of the industry's lack of preparedness to meet the demands of the export market. "Our capacity to satisfy importers that laboratory facilities are in place to address the health-related issues of the industry are critical to satisfying export requirements," he said.

Stabroek Business spoke with Robert Badal, Chief Executive Officer of Guyana Stockfeeds Ltd (GSL), the largest poultry feed producer in Guyana. Badal said that in the wake of the problem he had recruited a consultant from the United States to conduct tests on feed produced by GSL. Badal told Stabroek Business that GSL feed had been given a clean bill of health but that the consultant had alluded to the likelihood that the "stunted chicks" problem may be

associated with a disease known as Gumborrow. Badal is also calling for the setting up of national laboratory facilities to conduct the scientific testing for both feed and diseases.

An official connected with Bounty Farms, one of the leading poultry rearing establishments in the country told Stabroek Business that its feed manufacturing operation seeks, in the main, to provide for birds produced by Bounty and that it sells very limited quantities of feed. The official said that its own chickens have not been affected by the stunted growth problem.

Meanwhile, the local veterinarian says that Guyana's failure to solve the stunted chicks "riddle" up to this time is "not helping the country's cause" as far as its export ambitions are concerned. He says that the problem would not have escaped the attention of other countries. The veterinarian added that while the problem persisted small farmers throughout the country would be hard-pressed to repay loans to lending institutions borrowed to invest in poultry rearing.

Asked whether he felt that there were sufficient veterinarians in Guyana to support the growing poultry industry he said that the problems had more to do with an absence of regulatory mechanisms and support facilities than with veterinarians. He noted that the CIDA -funded laboratory set up at Mon Repos was no longer functioning and that a mini-lab" set up at the Ministry of Agriculture earlier this year was "far from adequate" to meet what he described as the "scientific needs' of the local poultry industry.

And the local veterinarian has noted that despite the passage of legislation that included provisions for the establishment of a Board to regulate veterinary practice in Guyana such a Board was still to be set up. "Rules and procedures governing the practice of veterinarians are absolutely essential to the creation and maintenance of good practices in the poultry industry," he added.