The Ministry of Agriculture is embarking on a project to supply cattle feed utilizing the remains of rice straw mixed with molasses and urea to create a higher quality of feed.

Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud told the Government Information Agency (GINA) that the exercise is in keeping with Govern-ment’s efforts to implement innovative methods by which cattle farmers will be provided with an adequate supply of feed for their livestock. He visited Nothingville Backlands, Hope, East Coast Demerara, to assess the works in progress to sustain cattle farmers in light of the El Nino situation now being experienced, GINA reported yesterday.

Persaud noted that rice straw is being used to accumulate feed supply for the animals during this dry period and also to introduce another type of technology to the livestock sector. “This exercise is privately owned. Govern-ment now has to gather a very rudimentary type of technology and we are now looking to import another five of the machines used to bale the rice straw and this will be very useful, when we are dealing with  either the El Nino dry weather conditions or during the flood conditions,” he was quoted as stating. The remains of rice straw will be used with molasses and urea to create a higher quality of feed for cattle.

The Minister noted that since there is a difficulty accessing feed materials for cattle, there should be more intense husbandry and proper flock management by creating feed pens instead of having animals roaming.  Livestock farmers will be required to work through the Ministry’s National Dairy Development Programme (NDDP) to obtain access to the bales of feed.  Regions Five and Six are scheduled to benefit next and Persaud  said that the technology is taking the livestock sector to another level, facilitating a more diversified and modernized agriculture sector, GINA reported.

Director of the NDDP Dwight Waldron noted that since the commencement of the exercise in excess of 15,000 pounds of rice straw have been acquired and will be distributed to farmers throughout the coast. He disclosed that the Ministry will also be embarking on a training programme for farmers countrywide with respect to the exercise. This will ensure that farmers are knowledgeable in the storing and processing methods of the rice straw as a feed substitute and also better equip them with basic knowledge in food security and proper husbandry, GINA said.   Twenty thousand gallons of molasses will be acquired during the coming week to be distributed throughout the coast to deal with the treatment of the straw.