It was five o’clock in the morning when the call came.
President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali had summoned young people to Windsor Forest in September 2024, and Florence remembers sitting in that meeting, knowing something in her life was about to shift.
“I realised that it was time for change,” she said, explaining that, “When the initiative was put to us, I said I’m going to get on board right away.”
Two years on, that early-morning decision has grown into row upon row of feeding troughs, cooling systems and extractor fans, all housing more than 24,000 birds on a facility that 17 young Guyanese built themselves.
It is located in Cornelia in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara).
They are named “Demerara Chicken Incorporated”, a company with 17 owners, no outside investors, and a shared bet that agriculture could be their way into building something real.
Operations Manager Samantha (only name given) walks the pens daily, watching over 24,535 birds with a mortality rate of 2.5 per cent, a figure she is extremely proud of.
“We’re doing extremely well,” she said, declaring that, “As you can see behind me, the birds are growing bountifully.”
For chairman Darren Jordan, the numbers are only part of the story. He sees the facility as proof of concept for a much bigger idea.
“His vision for Guyana in terms of food security and food sustainability is one of the greatest,” Jordan said of President Ali, crediting the administration’s push for young Guyanese to invest directly in agriculture.
Jordan believes the company is positioning itself to compete with the international market. He thanked the president and cabinet for “the opportunity for us to work on such a magnitude, such a large project.”
Co-owner Brandon frames it differently, less about scale, more about who gets a seat at the table.
“I would like to thank the Government of Guyana for recognising the importance of agriculture in Guyana, and allowing young people and ordinary Guyanese like myself to be part of such an investment,” he said, “so that we can also play a critical part in food security in our country.”
DPI
