The brackish water shrimp initiative being promoted by President Irfaan Ali is set to receive approximately $30 million from the 2022 budget following the Committee of Supply’s approval of $55 million for one aspect of the fisheries sector.
The monies were approved yesterday as part of the Ministry of Agriculture’s capital expenditure and form part of the larger $743.7 million for the fisheries sector.
Back in December last year, President Ali had said that Guyana is uniquely positioned to capitalize from “niche markets” and during his interactions with the diaspora, he discovered the demand for brackish water shrimp. The Head of State had made the disclosure at the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA) 26th award ceremony.
“I came back and I asked the Minister of Agriculture what is this thing about swamp shrimp, then I realised that it is the most sought-after shrimp in our diaspora and we were not even satisfying 50 per cent of the diaspora market for swamp shrimp,” Ali had said.
Since then the Ministry of Agriculture’s Fisheries Department has been tasked with furthering the project.
Yesterday, during the consideration of the 2022 estimates, Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha told the Committee of Supply that the project is being executed on the Corentyne coast in the East Berbice region. He added that the monies would be utilized to purchase tubes, boxes and sluices among other items.
During his 2022 budget speech, Minister of Finance Dr Ashni Singh had said that $743.7m will be spent to develop the fisheries sector. Singh stated that during the course of this year, the government will be moving to invest $230m for the second phase of the brackish-water shrimp production initiative.
“Both phases are expected to raise aquaculture production by over 300 per cent moving brackish-water shrimp production to 500,000 kg per annum,” he highlighted. The government is aiming to achieve the production target by 2025,” he had said.
The Fisheries Department, with assistance from the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA), has begun the construction of 74 ponds for the rearing of brackish water shrimp under the initiative. Thus far, 63 of those ponds have been completed with the remainder almost done.
The project provided the opportunity for the rehabilitation of 23 shrimp farms in Region 6, resulting in higher shrimp production in this category in 2021 when compared to 2020, Singh had told the House.
Mustapha also told the Committee of Supply that portions of the allocated monies would be used to increase capacity and install new fencing at the Satyadeow Sawh Aquaculture Station at Mon Repos, East Coast of Demerara.
