New aquaculture committee to help expand production

Mar 16, 2021 News

– technical expertise from India being sought – Agri. Minister

Minister Mustapha and the team who attended the meeting.

The fisherfolk/farmers who were in attendance.

Kaieteur News – As part of the road to development in the aquaculture sector, Minister of Agriculture, Hon. Zulfikar Mustapha, along with a team of technical personnel on Saturday met with fisherfolk/farmers at the Albion Sports Complex. This move was activated as part of President Irfaan Ali’s vision of bringing to life an aquaculture master plan.
The meeting with the fisherfolk/farmers saw some issues raised as it relates to the difficulties experienced in the aquaculture sector with the hope that the Ministry will work towards improving it.
Minister Mustapha, while engaging the media briefly, noted that, “the President had said he wants to launch an aquacultural master plan and so we are crafting these plans to ensure that we have an aquaculture industry because we don’t have one and we have to develop this industry.”
The Minister divulged that he has since written to the Indian Government to assist with technical expertise and in that regard, they have agreed to provide three persons with vast knowledge to assist in the crafting of ideas that will eventually materialise into a plan on how the industry should and will develop.
He added that in the meantime, “we recognise [that] we have good shrimp production in Region Six and other parts of the country and so we want to enhance shrimp production.” The Minister noted that currently shrimp is being produced at 150,000 – 250,000 kg annually but he is looking to increase that within the next five years. By then production should mount to 500,000 kg of shrimp per year, according to the Minister.
“So that is why we have organised these fisherfolk here to help them in terms of technical advice; help them to produce fingerlings, help them to get feed for it…as it stands now, they are doing it in a primitive way in terms of just getting the water from the ocean, keep it about 6-8 weeks and grow the shrimp a little…they are not feeding the shrimp, they are not doing any technical aspect, so we will be working to improve that,” the Minister stated.
Minister Mustapha disclosed that he will be heading the committee that the President will set up and will also include Anthony Vieira, Pritipaul Singh and others. The committee will set the groundwork to launch the aquaculture master plan by the President, the Minister said.
It is expected that within the next three weeks, a plan will be in place to be submitted to President Ali. The Head of State had said during a recent visit to the Pritipaul Singh Investment Inc. (Providence Facility) that it is his government’s intention to improve aquaculture countrywide. He had stated then that the plan is to increase production, increase volume and at the same time reduce cost.
Present at Saturday’s meeting was the Director General of the Ministry of Agriculture, Madanlall Ramraj; Regional Agriculture Coordinator, Dennis Deoroop; Vice Chairman, Zamal Hussain, Vieira and others.

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