BARBADOS

Geography
Barbados is a Caribbean island to the north of Trinidad and Tobago and east of St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada. It is situated just to the east of the Caribbean Sea, and is an independent island nation in the western Atlantic Ocean. At geographic coordinates 13 10' N, 59° 32 W, the country lies in the Southern Caribbean region where it is part of the Lesser Antilles island-chain. Barbados is around 434 kilometers (270 miles) northeast of Venezuela. The closest island neighbors to Barbados are Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to the west, Grenada to the south-west and Trinidad and Tobago to the south. The population was 282,000 in 2006.

Barbados’ total land-area is about 431 square kilometers and is primarily low-lying, with some higher regions in the island’s interior. The organic composition of Barbados is thought to be of non-volcanic origin and is predominantly composed of limestone-coral.

The island’s atmosphere is tropical with constant winds off the Atlantic Ocean serving to keep temperatures mild. The rainy season (hurricane season) is between June and October. Bridgetown is the capital city and an important Caribbean port.

The Poultry Industry

The total number of broiler birds produced in 2006 was approximately 6.1 million. In the same year there were approximately 112,000 birds in lay. The industry employs more than 1800 persons which is 30% of the agricultural work force.

The poultry farms are scattered all over the island with 191 of these being registered commercial farmers; there are a large number of small backyard farmers as well but their numbers are not known.

There are 8 registered slaughter houses with processing capacity ranging from 500-25,000 birds per day.   Most back yard farmers slaughter the birds in the back yard for personal consumption.

Hatching eggs are imported from the USA; in 2006 the approximate number of hatching eggs imported was over 6 million while in the same year 16,000 baby chicks were also imported from the USA. Processed poultry meat imports were in excess of 2000 metric tones. These imports came from the USA, Canada and the UK.

Barbados exports both hatching eggs and day old chicks to neighboring Caribbean islands.  A relatively small amount of frozen poultry meat is also exported.

Day old chicks are vaccinated in the hatcheries before being sent to the farms and before being exported. In the field birds receive vaccination against Marek’s Disease, Gumboro’s Disease and Newcastle Disease. Layers are also vaccinated against Fowl Pox and turkeys receive vaccination against reovirus. In the past five years there were no reported outbreaks of poultry diseases in the industry.  The Veterinary Services consider salmonella, coli septicemia and rickets as the three most important diseases affecting the industry.

The Animal Diseases and Importation Act and Regulations are the relevant pieces of legislations that regulate the importation, quarantine and movement of animals, including poultry. In the Official Veterinary Services there are 3 veterinarians, 10 animal health assistants and 7 laboratory staff.   The Diagnostic Laboratory is well equipped to conduct ELISA, AGID, HI and has PCR equipment as well.  

The industry has a strong poultry association called the Barbados Eggs and Poultry Association which was founded in 1964. This association responds to the needs of the industry and lobbies government on behalf of the farmers and also holds regular meetings to keep the farmers updated on relevant matters such as on-farm bio-security, AI preparedness, and nutrition and management issues.