Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud announced on Wednesday that an additional $20M has been set aside to facilitate training for aquaculture farmers countrywide.
The minister made this disclosure at the opening of the four-day workshop on aquaculture jointly hosted by Guyana and Brazil, a press release from the Government Information Agency (GINA) said. He said the programme is focusing on rearing arapaima commonly known as the sweet water pacu and tilapia.
“This particular agreement which is valued just over $20M requires different training and modules and this here is the first, and as such we hope to get as many of our people who are involved in agriculture onboard especially in the regions,” Persaud said.
The minister said the training sessions are essential to boosting the sector and steps are being taken to get more communities involved in the sustainable harvesting of the arapaima to supply the plant in the North Rupununi.
Additionally Chief Fisheries Officer Vivek Joshi said in order ensure the department achieves its short-term goals which will see the adoption of modern aquaculture regulations; it needs support from the private sector to establish new farms and hatcheries as well as to provide feed.
Over the years, the department through the Satyadeow Sawh Aquaculture Station which is tasked with supporting the development of the country’s aquaculture industry has been actively involved in producing fingerlings of various species and conducting trials on feeding, growth rates, and other areas regarding the species with aquaculture potential.
