Approximately 150 artisanal fishers from several regions will be able to ply their trade more safely as they are set to receive a quantity of safety equipment donated by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
A Ministry of Agriculture release stated that the FAO yesterday handed over a quantity of safety equipment to the Ministry of Agriculture’s Fisheries Department as part of its “Emergency Response and Early Recovery Support to Smallholder Farmers Affected by the 2021 Floods in Guyana and Suriname” programme.
The donation which comprised 150 pieces of safety gear and included items such as fuel containers, life jackets, first-aid kits, rain jackets, and whistles, cost some $9.6 million.
Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha in his remarks at the handing over ceremony, noted that the fisheries sub-sector was one of the most important and second-highest income earning sub-sectors within the agriculture sector.
“Approximately 9,000 people directly depend on this sector while thousands indirectly depend on it to earn a livelihood. The government will therefore continue to make the necessary interventions and give the necessary support to our fisherfolk. They are important stakeholders to help achieve a food-secure CARICOM as they continue to brave the elements so that we are able to consume protein at a cheap cost,” the minister was quoted as saying.
He also assured that the government had taken note of the challenges faced by fishermen due to low catches experienced over the past year which saw President Irfaan Ali announcing a $150,000 one-off grant for fishers.
Mustapha also disclosed that the report done by the FAO to determine the factors behind the low catches will be released soon. FAO’s Country Representative, Dr Gillian Smith declared that the ability of small fishers to stay safe at sea remains a great concern to policymakers and pledged the FAO’s continued support to the government in this regard.
“This is part of an emergency response project that we started in which we’ve done some work with livestock and crop farmers. Today, we are very grateful to be working with the ministry for fishers, in particular small fishers. We know that there is a great concern for small fishers and their ability to stay safe at sea while they are making their livelihood so we are very pleased to provide some support,” Dr. Smith said.
Fishers from regions Two, Three, Four, Five, and Six are expected to benefit from the project, the release added.
