Accepting the challenge of Agro-Business: A case study of the Broiler Industry in Trinidad and Tobago
1986
Cross, N.
This paper provides a background to the broiler industry detailing technological changes in the industry since its inception 27 years ago are outlined. Although considered "the most efficiently run agro-industry" locally, there are several problems facing it. There is the need to reconsider the applicability and relevance of technology. The paper discusses the question whether local research could yield valuable information relevant to the industry, and more specifically if research could produce a feed (one of the major inputs) which is based on locally produced raw materials, although still maintaining quality. Several local commodities that are readily available as feed ingredients are cited, cassava, corn, molasses, rice and sorghum. The author comments on the virtues of single cell protein (SCP) as a protein source which has the potential to be produced locally from sugar or carbohydrate containing crops or other sources such as natural gas, methanol or paraffin. An important factor for consideration however, is the cost of producing these commodities locally, since feedstuff must be produced at competitive prices. The paper also deals with other problems of the poultry industry including the availability of capital and the price control on broiler meat, which also lends to marketing problems. If the industry is to survive in the current environment where research and new innovations are costly, then, in relation to the future of this agro-industry it is the paper's view that there is absolutely nothing attainable in the poultry industry that cannot be achieved if the consumer is prepared to pay for it.
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