GEORGETOWN, Guyana — President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali has announced plans to introduce a coordinated national purchasing system for eggs, chicken, beef and mutton, aimed at reducing food prices for consumers while ensuring farmers receive fair and predictable returns.
The initiative, which will initially operate as a pilot programme, will consolidate demand from government institutions, wholesalers and retailers to facilitate bulk purchasing, reduce production and distribution costs, and improve the availability of essential protein products across Guyana.
President Ali said the initiative is designed to address the rising cost of feeding families without undermining the livelihoods of local farmers.
“Cheaper food must not come from squeezing the farmer. It must come from taking unnecessary costs out of the system and producing more,” the president said.
Under the proposed arrangement, demand from public institutions, including schools and hospitals, will be pooled, while interested private wholesalers and retailers will be allowed to participate voluntarily.
The consolidated demand will be published in advance, allowing farmers, cooperatives, processors and other suppliers to plan production around established quantities, delivery schedules and quality standards.
Ali explained that the current fragmented purchasing system creates uncertainty, increases transportation and storage costs, and contributes to wastage, ultimately driving up prices for consumers.
Through coordinated purchasing, the government intends to negotiate lower prices for agricultural inputs, including animal feed, veterinary supplies, chicks, breeding stock, packaging, refrigeration and transportation.
The president emphasised that participation will be voluntary and that the government has no intention of taking control of farms or retail businesses.
“Government is not taking over farms. Government is not taking over shops. Producers will remain free to sell outside the programme and retailers will remain free to purchase through their normal channels,” he said.
However, participating retailers will be required to pass negotiated wholesale savings directly to consumers.
They will also be expected to adhere to agreed maximum mark-ups, clearly display programme prices and report quantities sold.
A publicly accessible price dashboard will be introduced to track farmgate, wholesale and retail prices, allowing consumers to monitor savings and identify participating outlets in their respective regions.
The president said the government will publish the names of participating retailers and their agreed maximum retail prices to promote transparency and accountability.
In addition to lowering food prices, the initiative will seek to improve access to affordable financing for farmers and participating businesses.
Ali disclosed that discussions are underway with commercial banks to establish a 30-day line of credit at an interest rate of 4%, compared with existing rates ranging from 6% to 9%.
He said the financing arrangement would help reduce borrowing costs and address delays in payments to agricultural producers.
“A farmer should not deliver eggs, meat or poultry and then wait months to be paid,” Ali said, noting that delayed payments often force producers to seek expensive financing.
The proposed system will therefore establish firm payment deadlines and mechanisms to monitor compliance.
The president also outlined plans to expand domestic production through commodity-specific agreements covering poultry, cattle and sheep farming.
While egg and chicken production can be increased relatively quickly with adequate access to feed, veterinary services and financing, Ali said beef and mutton production will require longer-term investments in breeding, pasture development, drainage, animal health, feedlots, slaughtering facilities and cold storage.
The government will work with producers to establish realistic production targets and identify the financing, infrastructure and technical support required to achieve them.
Additional investments will target local feed production to reduce dependence on imported agricultural inputs, while financing support will be directed toward poultry houses, livestock pens, refrigeration, processing facilities and transportation.
Ali also announced plans to establish a three-month supply buffer to strengthen food security and protect consumers against temporary shortages.
He stressed that imports would not be used indiscriminately to undermine local farmers.
Instead, any decision to import products to address temporary supply gaps would be guided by published assessments of domestic production, inventories and projected demand.
“Imports where necessary will be a short bridge while local production expands, not a permanent substitute for Guyanese production,” he said.
The president further warned against allowing the coordinated purchasing system to become dominated by a small group of suppliers or processors, insisting that competition and equal access must be protected.
He said multiple producers and processors would be eligible to participate, with transparent procurement arrangements designed to prevent preferential treatment.
Ali also called on intermediaries in the food distribution chain to ensure their activities contribute to fair pricing rather than excessive profits.
“We need the middlemen to understand that they are not there to extract maximum wealth, but they are facilitators of a fair market price,” he said.
The president said the programme’s success will be measured by increases in domestic production, reductions in wastage, improvements in payment timelines and, most importantly, lower prices for consumers.
He stressed that the initiative requires cooperation among farmers, retailers, wholesalers, financial institutions and the government, with each playing a defined role in improving the efficiency of the country’s food supply chain.
“This is not a plan to choose between farmers and consumers. Our farmers need fair and predictable returns. Our families need affordable food,” Ali said.
“With better purchasing power, low input costs, stronger production and honest competition, we can deliver both.”
The president said the ultimate objective is to establish a more efficient, competitive and transparent food distribution system that allows farmers to expand production with confidence, retailers to plan more effectively and Guyanese families to purchase essential food items at affordable prices.