Stanleytown poultry farmer Leon Amsterdam credits his success in the poultry sector to his determination to provide for his family, despite his blindness, and posits that government needs to inquire from persons in the industry, its needs before deciding on interventions.
Leon Amsterdam, 55, switched full time to poultry farming in the 1990s after he became afflicted with glaucoma, which threatened to put an end to his dreams of obtaining a degree in economics from the University of Guyana. He had already completed his freshman year of studies and was poised to continue when he was forced to face the possibility that the disease would eventually lead to blindness. Urged on by his many sympathizers, he submitted to treatment from an eye specialist but over time, blindness stepped in. By 1977, Leon had little hope that he would have been able to pursue higher education and foremost in his mind was his ability to provide for his family. In his junior year economics class, his challenges with his sight became more acute and he sought refuge in a number of
