The prawns project being developed at Onverwagt, Region Five is poised to produce 12 tonnes of Vannamei prawns per crop, with each tonne valued at approximately $4 million.
Therefore, the total yield per season is estimated at $48 million, with three reaping cycles anticipated annually, the Department of Public Information (DPI) said yesterday.
President Irfaan Ali yesterday visited the production site to examine the project’s status.
He was accompanied by Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha and the ministry’s Director General Madanlall Ramraj.
DPI said that the government has committed $100 million to the prawn project, recognising its potential to strategically position Guyana in the global aquaculture market.
“This is the model we want to expand across the country so that we can become a major player. All the production is geared towards exportation…We are bringing in the expertise to help support investment as part of the 25 by 2025 initiative,” the president said.
The government has enlisted two Indonesian expertise to train local staff in prawn-rearing techniques, according to President Ali.
He also mentioned a future shift towards private-public partnerships to advance project development.
The 100-acre site comprises ten ponds, each spanning one acre and capable of containing 600,000 prawns in treated chlorine water.
Currently, five ponds are operational, with the remaining expected to be filled by the end of the second quarter.
The first harvest is estimated in three months, with regular cleaning and water treatment every two weeks to ensure optimal conditions, DPI said.
Addressing the progress on related facilities, Ramraj informed President Ali that the larvae facility is slated for completion by August, while the feed mill is projected to be operational by year-end.
