A new aquaculture hatchery at Mon Repos expected to produce over 200,000 fingerlings and a tilapia hatchery were on Thursday rededicated and commissioned respectively in memory of late agriculture minister Satyadeow Sawh.
According to a Government Information Agency (GINA) press release the new “demonstration farm and training centre” was established to promote freshwater aquaculture and it will be managed by the Fisheries, Crops and Livestock department. Government with assistance from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)/ Guyana Trade and Investment Support and the British High Commission funded the establishment of the hatchery at a cost of $11M, GINA said.
Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, in his feature address at the rededication ceremony, noted the need for agricultural diversification. He said agriculture has been the foundation of the country’s industry industries and as such he was grateful to USAID and Britain for their assistance.
He also encouraged the private sector to continue its role in aquaculture development locally. “If we want to transform our country and increase our level of prosperity we need to be working and producing and growing and developing at rates of 10 to 20 percent per year…we need to change some of our attitudes in getting things done. There is need for us to adopt methods that would popularize aquaculture,” Hinds said.
Meanwhile, Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud lauded Sawh’s contributions. He said the facility was named in Sawh’s honour because he laid the foundation for the industry, believing that it could be developed into a vibrant sector. “I think the future is bright for aquaculture…the commissioning of the facility will certainly allow Guyana in the near future to become a significant player in the global aquaculture business,” he said.
According to GINA the new hatchery is expected to produce over 200,000 female fingerlings per year and will assist farmers to access larger quantities.
This will in turn diversify their income, increase earnings and create about 13,000 jobs. The industry is also expected to contribute close to three per cent of gross domestic product. It embraces both large and small scale activities and was identified for development under the National Competitiveness Strategy which resulted in the formation of the National Aquaculture Association of Guyana.
GINA said since 1997 government has embarked on an aquaculture expansion drive.
To date the acreage under aquaculture has been expanded and a number of species are being farmed. In 2001, President Bharrat Jagdeo and Sawh had commissioned the Mon Repos Freshwater Aquaculture Demonstration Farm. It as built in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization and the Canadian International Development Agency.
The release said USAID Director Peter Hubbard, Deputy High Commissioner, British High Commission Simon Bond, ministers within the education and health ministers Dr Desrey Fox and Dr Bheri Ramsaran, fisheries officials and Sawh’s relatives attended the ceremony.