…as government boosts aquaculture sector
OWNERS of three aquaculture farms in Region 5 (Mahaica/Berbice) have invested heavily in time and money towards making farm-raised tilapia,  pacu,  hassar and shrimp  the  next big agricultural exports from Guyana.
They indicated as much when Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud toured their farms on Fisherfolk Day 2011 on Wednesday last.
The aquaculture farms visited are located at Drill Turn Mahaicony, and Trafalgar and Onverwagt, both on the West Coast Berbice.
At Drill Turn, farmer and investor Amar Gajraj disclosed that he and his partners have excavated 18 ponds and intend to rear ten to eleven thousand tilapia and hassar in each one.
They have spent some $75M on infrastructure to date on the 250 acre farm, which will also have a section for rearing sheep and goats and for agricultural crops.
They commenced work on the farm in January, have completed most of the infrastructure and are now awaiting fingerlings to get production going, primarily for the export market.
At the Trafalgar farm, run by the members of the Trafalgar Union Community Development Council( CDC), members disclosed that the they have nine ponds with a total population of 12,000 red tilapia.
The members of this group have benefited and are continuing to benefit from financial and technical support from the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), working  in collaboration with the Guyana Trade and Investment Support Agency (GTIS).
Head of the CDC, Mrs. Lloyda Angus, disclosed that with USAID and DFID support, they have tied up arrangements for the export of the entire crop of tilapia to an  agency in the Netherlands, upon harvesting in August.
She added that the prices offered by this external market  for the tilapia  are very encouraging.
At Onverwagt,  Director  of the Onverwagt Aquacultural Enterprises Inc., Andre Poonai, said that the farm, started in 2009, has been producing tilapia and other fish products on a regular basis, but is  still in the developmental stages.
This farm, on completion, will consist of a hatchery, a  25 acre irrigation reservoir, 24 one-acre tilapia farms, six four-acre shrimp ponds, and a seven-acre tailings reservoir.
Commencement of this project was in 2009, and to date the reservoir, shrimp ponds and a number of the tilapia ponds have been completed.
Trials have been done to ascertain a proper growth model and detailed water quality data, inclusive of chemical analysis and evaporation rates, have been collected since the project started.
Poonai disclosed that the farm is designed for and will be able to produce 60 metric tonnes of shrimp and 500 metric tonnes of tilapia per year, when it reaches full production in 2013.
The total cost of development of this project, the largest of the three by far, is US$1.2M, and it is expected to employ about 50 persons.
During his visit to the farms and at a formal gathering, Minister Persaud disclosed that that government will commence  a financial support programme  for the aquaculture sector, involving  $100M that will be made available to investors in the form of a  soft credit.
The facility will be made available through the Guyana Bank of Trade and Industry (GBTI) and will see aquaculture investors receiving financial support. Persaud disclosed too that government had also put aside  $20M to be made available as a grant for additional support to these investors, making a total commitment of $120M to aquaculture.
This assistance will be additional to other forms of support given to the sector by government, including free excavation of fish ponds, following a promise made by President Bharat Jagdeo during a meeting with fishermen on Fisherfolk Observances day 2010.
This excavation of ponds free of cost will also be extended to aquaculture farmers in Regions 1, 3, 4, 9 and 10, to encourage aquaculture farming in these coastal and hinterland regions.
The government also intends to work with stakeholders to establish five hatcheries for fingerlings in five administrative regions, so that there can be adequate amounts of fingerlings for production.