During a meeting on Saturday with shrimp farmers from Region Six at the Albion Sports Complex, Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha disclosed that phase one of the brackish water shrimp pond programme was approximately 75 percent completed.
He said while the initial project is almost complete, additional farmers have expressed an interest in getting involved in the programme.
“So far, we were able to complete about 75 percent of the ponds. Initially, we had a list of about 80 farmers from Region Six. This was for phase one of the project. We added some additional farmers to the list who will be a part of phase two of the project. When we’ve completed phase one, we’ll start work on the additional ponds,” he explained.
Timely interventions in the sector by the Irfaan Ali-led Administration have resulted in massive increases in brackish water shrimp production.
Before the government’s intervention, shrimp farmers were producing approximately 9,000 kilograms monthly. Farmers are now producing approximately 98,000 kilograms monthly.
Minister Mustapha said that additional machines were procured to assist with executing the project. He also disclosed that an additional machine will be procured for the project next year.
While noting that the government was investing in the sector and production has increased, Minister Mustapha said that the price for brackish water shrimp has also increased. This, he noted, should not be the case.
“We are investing a lot of money; taxpayers’ money; to develop these ponds but the consumers are not receiving any benefits. Before the project, one bucket of shrimp was being sold for just about $25,000. Now, I’m being told it is being sold for as much as $45,000. This should not be the case and we cannot continue like that. So, this is something we’ll be looking at because we are assisting you but we also need the consumers to benefit from this initiative,” he noted.
In 2023, Guyana earned approximately $1.8 billion from the production of brackish water shrimp due to the government’s heavy focus on increased food production and economic growth. This represents a 49 percent increase when compared to the 548,900 kilograms produced over the same period in 2022.
From January to November 2023, approximately 815,496 kilograms of shrimp were produced. Minister Mustapha stated that the production of brackish water shrimp, which is being conducted along the Corentyne Coast, has continued to produce massive outcomes since its commencement.
He also said that the project will soon commence in Regions Five and Two. He also said that the Vannamei Prawns project has also commenced in Region Five and that the government will soon produce feed and larvae for the industry. This, he explained, will improve the quality and quantity of shrimp being produced (Ministry of Agriculture press release)
