reflects 19% increase compared to same period in 2022

THE increase in production of brackish-water shrimp to 448,250 kilograms has generated some $764 million in revenue as of July 2023.

According to a post on Facebook by President Dr. Irfaan Ali, the figure at reference reflects a 19 per cent increase in production when compared to what obtained the same period last year.

“This success is as a result of the government’s investment of over $400 million in the industry since 2021,” the president said in his post.

Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha was quoted in May this year as saying that the production of brackish-water shrimp had increased significantly when compared to the corresponding period in 2022.

“For this year, our farmers were able to produce 182.89 tonnes (182,890 kilograms) of black-water shrimp in the first quarter, earning over $274 million. When we look at the production figures for the first quarter of 2022, we are seeing an increase of almost 50 per cent,” Minister Mustapha said, adding:

“This is in keeping with our goals for the industry, and a testament to the government’s commitment to increasing local production, lowering the food import bill, and increasing both our production and export capacities. We are working towards producing 1.5 million kilograms annually by the year 2025.”

He’d also said back then that with the successes they’d seen so far, the ministry was working to have the programme replicated in other regions.

“So far,” he said, “we’ve assisted farmers with constructing ponds in Region Six, and we’ve started preliminary works in Region Five. We’re also looking at other places like Region Two and so on. In the first few months of the project, we were able to increase production by 203 per cent and those levels have continued to increase over the years.”

Minister Mustapha had also reported that some 37 farms in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) have been developed, bringing the total number of ponds to 133.

He added: “Before we started this project in July 2021, farmers were producing just about 10,000 kilograms monthly; just about 120,000 kilograms annually. We announced that this was the direction we wanted to take, and that farmers would be given the support to expand. To date, we’ve been able to construct 133 ponds, and this has contributed to us exceeding initial production figures.”

In an effort to boost productivity, the Government of Guyana has partnered with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) to conduct a study and gather information for the piloting and implementation of a strategy to enhance shrimp production in Guyana and several other Caribbean states.

The ministry also received three manuals that were developed, collaboratively, by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), the World Wildlife Fund – Guianas (WWF-Guianas), and the ministry’s Fisheries Department, one of which will be used to guide brackish-water shrimp production in Guyana.