By Carlena Knight
Preparations are underway for the establishment of the country’s first ever poultry abattoir.
Cabinet revealed in May its intention to build and operate a poultry abattoir here in Antigua for local chicken processing.
It was welcomed news for many as, according to the government, around EC$16 million worth of poultry is imported into the country each year.
Ministry of Agriculture officials met with a number of experts – including a consultant from London – about the possibility of building a facility on island.
Now, according to Samantha Marshall, the minister responsible for agriculture, plans are moving forward for the facility to be constructed in the vicinity of Betty’s Hope.
“We recently had a decision to actually look at the land areas that we intend to use. We are planning now to do some work, in terms of assessment of the land, I think you call that topography … looking at the quality of the soil so that we can start looking at the designs,” Marshall explained.
“There is a design being done actually for the abattoir. We have already identified who the supplier should be for the equipment, and I am just waiting on Cabinet to authorise the payments in relation to that as we go along.”
Training for personnel to work at the facility is also being planned, according to Marshall.
“We are looking at who we need to begin training so that persons can really upscale the service being provided at the abattoir. Those are the preparatory steps,” she added.
Although no definite dates were given for when the abattoir would be up and running, government has expressed optimism that the facility, which should be capable of processing a minimum of 14,000 chickens per day, could take approximately 10 months to actualise.