The lambing season for the first phase of evaluation of offspring from Barbados Black Belly ewes, sired by imported Dorper rams, has officially commenced.
On March 19, 2026, the first offspring—nicknamed “Ruth”—was born at GLDA’s Headquarters, Mon Repos. After birth, both the lamb and mother are healthy, signaling a promising start.
Ruth’s birth marks a major milestone in Guyana’s drive to enhance sheep genetics and strengthen the national breeding programme.
She is the first from an initial batch of 30 Black Belly ewes bred under the initiative, which is aimed at meeting the growing demand in the country’s expanding small ruminant industry.
As the programme advances, these offspring will undergo structured evaluation for production efficiency, providing critical data to guide future breeding decisions and improve overall productivity.
This initiative is part of a long-term strategic plan to aggressively improve Guyana’s small ruminant industry to meet the market demand of CARICOM under the “25 by 2025 +5 Initiative,” which seeks to reduce the regional import bill by 25% by 2023. (Department of Public Information)
