By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMAS Agricultural Industrial Corporation executive chairman Leroy Major said the government acquired a $400,000 animal feed mill for the first phase of its Golden Yolk Project and the development of the Bahamian egg industry.

The feed mill, bought in India, can produce 40 tons of feed in an eight-hour shift.

“That mill is on site in New Providence,” he said during an Office of Prime Minister press briefing yesterday.

He said BAIC has also invested in a steel structure to house the feed mill, noting the mill on Soldier Road is more than 50 years old and can only produce ten tons in an eight-hour shift.

According to Smith, the government would like Bahamian farmers nationwide to increase their livestock.

“The problem we have is that there is not enough feed, and the feed mill we have now cannot produce enough to feed the animals, so the government, in its wisdom, decided that the first step is to ensure food for these animals,” he said.

“We purchased a building, and in short order, we will be laying the foundation for the construction of a brand new state-of-the-art animal feed mill.”

Mr Smith said the government is also launching the Golden Yolk Project, a new initiative to end the country’s importation of millions of eggs.

He said it would be the only industry that would be totally owned, operated, and run by Bahamians in The Bahamas.

“I think it is a great empowerment tool for Bahamian people,” Mr Smith said.

“It is about the Bahamas being self-sufficient in egg production. We import millions of dollars of eggs in the country.”

According to the BAIC chairman, The Bahamas has signed an agreement by 2025 to reduce its importation of food by 25 per cent.

“When we look at it, we realise egg production is one of the low-hanging fruits that can help achieve that goal,” he said.

Mr Smith said the quality of the eggs being imported into the country is about three to eight months old.

“Once GY is started, Bahamians will be providing fresh table eggs,” he said. “The price will be below $4. Once we start that, we will stop the importation of eggs in this country. Because, if the truth be told from statistics, we don’t import eggs; eggs are dumped in this country, and so, that is going to stop when you, the Bahamians, start your industry with the Golden Yolk.”