Opposition Senator Knocks Poultry Farm Proposal

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Economy

Tuesday, 15 January 2013 02:30

By caribarena news

Antigua St. John's - Opposition Senator Paul ‘Chet’ Greene has come out against government’s proposal to establish a major poultry operation in the country, which according to him seeks only to disenfranchise the masses and export much needed financial resources.

Addressing the matter in the Senate on Monday, Greene said that the operation, which will require more than 1000 acres of land, including 25 acres of beachfront land, assigned for the Ciboney Poultry Farm would undoubtedly lead to a monopoly over chicken production in the country if the project is allowed to proceed as is.

The Antigua & Barbuda Investment Authority had pointed out last year that the US$75 million program was to provide some 600 construction jobs at the outset and 800 permanent jobs at full capacity. And the produce would have been marketed in Antigua & Barbuda and the CARICOM region.

Late last year, government announced that the program, which at that time was considered dead on arrival, would have actually come to fruition and made its way into the 2013 Budget Presentation of Finance and Economy Minister Harold Lovell.

Greene said the importation of live birds or eggs for hatching, outside of those provided by Ciboney, would according to the current agreement be discontinued as of the construction phase of the project.

“Once they start the construction, not operation, all the Antiguans and Barbudans who make a living and contribution to this nation’s economy would have to discontinue their importation of live birds and bird eggs for hatching,” Green said.

The Senator went on to note that “for the purposes of bio-security” the investor has asked that, other than for personal production, all poultry production on the island cease after their current cycle ends.

“If you have any question about their intention to wipe out local businesses, they have strengthened it… And this is the golden project to save the economy,” he said.

Chairman of the ABIA McChesney Emanuel said the opposition Senator is spreading misinformation, and the actual fact is that when the actual construction phase of the project begins, local producers would have the opportunity to incorporate their small-scale operations into that larger scale one and benefit from farm and other upgrades to meet the standards set forth by the investors.

“Once the construction phase begins the idea is to incorporate as many operators as possible who would wish to become part of the large project… No one would be put out of business,” Emanuel said.

“I don’t know where he is getting this information from but that is misinformation. We made it clear that no one would be put out of business having met with all stakeholders involved,” he added.

Responding further to the matter of egg and live bird import restrictions being a request by the investor, the ABIA Chairman said such would actually be a policy decision for the Ministry of Agriculture to impose and not one that could be tabled by the investor.

In the meantime, negotiations are said to be in their final stages for the multi-million dollar project designed to “create jobs and generate foreign exchange,” by ensuring that the market for poultry operations in Antigua & Barbuda is not depleted and reducing the current EC$30 million annual bill on chicken imports, according to Finance Minister Harold Lovell.

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“That’s money that will be saved; instead of sending money overseas and creating jobs for people overseas that will create jobs here,” the minister said in his 2013 Budget Presentation last December.

Gregg Zacky, a principal in the Ciboney poultry farm project, was initially poised to lead the program but bowed out last June citing health reasons.

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