The Bahamas Agricultural and Industrial Corporation (BAIC) has begun harvesting eggs from the Golden Yolk program’s layer chicks, the corporation’s Executive Chairman Darron Pickstock revealed yesterday, insisting that Golden Yolk eggs will be in stores by the end of the month.
The Golden Yolk program has been continually criticized for being slow to start, after the government spent millions to get the program off the ground three years ago.
Now, the layer houses are complete and the matured chickens have begun to lay eggs, according to Pickstock, who made the comments on radio talk show Morning Blend on Guardian Radio.
“There has been much controversy around that Golden Yolk program, and the majority of it was misinformation,” said Pickstock.
“Currently, you know, we have our layer chicks in those houses to lay eggs. And, so, if you you drive by that Golden Yolk program you would see layer chicks in those houses, and they’re beginning to lay eggs.
“So, that program is is ongoing. It’s robust. It’s begun. I want to have eggs on our shelves by the end of this month.”
When the government launched the program, it hoped the initiative would slash the country’s annual import bill by $12.5 million.
The project seeks to increase Bahamian egg production from 750,000 to more than 27 million eggs per year.
When it was launched in 2023, Prime Minister Philip Davis said the Golden Yolk project was an urgent and crucial undertaking that would move the country toward greater food security. The program seeks to establish 38 new eggs houses on 12 islands throughout The Bahamas, with an aim for 13 million eggs to be produced in the Family Islands.
Pickstock said The Bahamas consumes a lot of eggs, and contended that the program will keep millions of dollars in the country as it ramps up.
“Just imagine that money staying… those millions and millions of dollars that we import in eggs every year, staying in country and not going out,” he said.
“That is the goal. This is not a one-off project, this is a national project meant to feed the entire Bahamas.”
He added: “This is a national program which we are very proud of. And listen, these eggs are being laid in The Bahamas. And, so, you’re going to have Bahamian-laid eggs in your refrigerator.”
