Sash Sawh aquaculture station to be developed into model farm

-Agri Ministry to provide resources-

Minister of Agriculture, Hon. Zulfikar Mustapha has said resources will be provided to develop the Satyadeow Sawh Aquaculture Station into a model farm that will meet the needs of the industry.

On Thursday, the Minister was given a guided tour of the Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara facility, which was developed to provide fingerlings and extension services to farmers.   The station also conducts training and research.

Minister Mustapha said resources will be made available to develop the station into a modern farm that can serve the aquaculture industry “because many aquaculture farmers need guidance and extension services and also need these small fingerlings and give them guidance to grow them.”

The Minister said he wants the industry to contribute to Guyana’s agriculture output and he is hoping that the support and the farming of particular species of fish, will encourage aquaculture.

“Aquaculture farming has the potential to bring in a lot of revenue and many Caribbean countries and even North America and other places needs these kinds of fishes,” Minister Mustapha said.

He says he plans to develop a database of all the aquaculture farmers in Guyana and meet with them to discuss the policies that the Ministry plans to implement for the industry.

Meanwhile, Fisheries Officer, Ms.  Nakita Dookie, who conducted the tour, said the station also conducts visits to farms or potential farms to provide guidance on site selection, pond management and construction and species selection.

Further, it is currently researching inland species which can potentially be farmed as aquaculture species. Feed formulation and development is also being researched.

Ms. Dookie believes that if the cost of feed is reduced, farmers can increase their profitability.

“Presently we have on the farm, arapaima, we have patwa that we are looking at as one of those potential species, the red and Nile tilapia and the tambaqui,” she said.

While the arapaima is currently endangered in Guyana, Ms. Dookie believes that farming the species can have a positive impact.

“Moving it from an endangered and protected species to one that can be a farmed species will actually relieve the pressure in the wild. So, persons will not have the inclination to go out there and harvest the wild arapaima when it is being farmed and readily available for purchase. I’m hoping that’s the result of that. It’s an opportunity for us to repopulate the wild with the fingerlings,” she added.

Persons who are interested in aquaculture can visit or call the station at Mon Repos on telephone number: 220 1508.