THE Ministry of Agriculture’s prawn production project at Onverwagt, Region Five (Demerara-Mahaica) is advancing at a rapid pace and has emerged as a key component of the government’s drive to expand and diversify the aquaculture sector.
Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha, last week, visited the project where he explained that the initiative aims to establish a sustainable prawn industry capable of meeting the country’s demands as well as the possibility to export, as he expressed satisfaction with the progress to date, noting that the venture has already attracted strong private-sector interest.
According to him, the model farm, designed as a blueprint for similar developments countrywide, comprises ten one-acre ponds, five of which are currently stocked. Each pond can accommodate roughly 600,000 prawns.
“We have some here, some that are 21 grams in size and some that are bigger. This here is the Ministry of Agriculture prawn project.
“What we are doing now, we are inviting the private sector and other private persons to get involved. Here, we have another private investor that will build a twenty-acre pond, which has a lot of potential,” Minister Mustapha said.
The Onverwagt initiative forms part of the government’s broader plan to build a modern aquaculture industry capable of supplying local markets and eventually expanding into export. To date, the government’s investment has also included funding for an on-site hatchery and feed mill to lower production costs and improve efficiency.
Noting that the area has tremendous potential to develop into a major industry, similar to Ecuador and other Latin American countries where prawn farming has grown significantly, the agriculture minister emphasised that the project aligns with Guyana’s wider goals of food security and economic diversification.
“We are expanding this initiative nationally to attract more people into aquaculture. Our goal is to secure large investors so Guyana can become a major producer and exporter of prawns,” he added.
For now, prawns harvested at Onverwagt are mainly supplied to the local market, where demand has been strong.
“The response has been excellent, and the prawns are very affordable,” Mustapha said, adding that at this stage, restaurants and households are being supplied with the upscaling, expecting to target export markets in the Caribbean and beyond.
Meanwhile, beyond production, the project is also generating employment and training opportunities for residents of Region Five in the form of pond management, feeding practices, and water-quality monitoring, critical skills for sustaining a growing aquaculture industry.
Minister Mustapha highlighted that the prawn initiative represents not only an aquaculture milestone but also a glimpse into the future of sustainable agriculture in Guyana.
“We are not just focusing on rice and sugar, we’re developing aquaculture and other high-value crops as part of our plan to make Guyana a regional leader in food production,” he noted, adding that complementary initiatives such as onion cultivation and high-yielding crops are also advancing across the country.