As of June 1, 2026, Guyana’s main opposition bloc A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) has placed a series of targeted parliamentary questions on the agenda for the upcoming National Assembly sitting, scheduled for June 5, putting the country’s poultry industry policy and progress toward food self-sufficiency under formal legislative scrutiny.
Leading the inquiry is APNU’s parliamentary chief Dr. Terrence Campbell, who has directed a suite of detailed questions to Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha, centered on the government’s timeline and strategy for securing long-term poultry meat self-sufficiency for the South American nation. Three years prior, in May 2023, Guyana implemented a national ban on most imported poultry products, introduced by the Guyana Livestock Development Agency as a dual food security and biosecurity measure. At the time of the ban’s launch, Minister Mustapha framed the restriction as a necessary tool to protect local producers from rampant cross-border chicken smuggling and to shield the domestic industry from the risk of avian influenza outbreaks.
Now, three years on, Campbell is pressing the government for concrete answers on how much progress has been made toward the policy’s core end goal: full self-reliance that meets domestic demand entirely through local output. His first line of inquiry asks the minister to disclose a formal target date or projected timeline by which Guyana will end its reliance on imported poultry to meet local consumer and market demand. He has also requested clarity on the specific key performance indicators and incremental milestones the Agriculture Ministry has mapped out to track progress toward self-sufficiency. Campbell’s proposed metrics for these targets span a range of critical industry areas: pre-defined production volume goals, measurable reductions in overall poultry imports, expansion of domestic broiler breeder and hatching egg facilities, growth in local production of poultry feed and grain, and improved access to the market for producers in Guyana’s regional hinterland areas.
Beyond timeline and performance tracking, Campbell is seeking full disclosure of the government’s support to the domestic poultry sector to speed up self-sufficiency progress. He has asked the minister to outline all current and planned support measures, including direct financial subsidies, expanded agricultural extension services for small and medium producers, public-sector investment in critical industry infrastructure, enhanced biosecurity systems to prevent disease outbreaks, and skills training programs for industry workers.
The final key question on Campbell’s list addresses the enforcement of the 2023 ban itself. He has asked Minister Mustapha to confirm to the 65-seat National Assembly whether any exemptions or special import licenses have been granted for poultry-related goods since the ban took effect, including hatching eggs, breeding stock, and emergency poultry product imports.
The formal questions will be taken up during the National Assembly’s next sitting this week, where the government will be required to respond on the record to the opposition’s inquiries.