Some 40 teachers across the country’s 11 education districts have been given practical sessions in aquaculture, to allow them to better deliver lessons to their students.
This is a part of the Education Ministry’s Technical, Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Unit’s aim to introduce aquaculture in select schools across Guyana, to ensure students graduate secondary school with the requisite skills to increase their chances of securing employment.
TVET Officer Yonnette Crandon, who has responsibility for Agriculture, explained that at the Caribbean Vocational Qualification (CVQ) level, there are six occupational standards of Agriculture, three of which are aquaculture-related. She said that, over the last three weeks, teachers have received theoretical training in the subject area, after which they embarked on completing this practical aspect.
Within this two-day practical training session, participating teachers were exposed to fish handling and processing, inland aquaculture operations, and tilapia production. Training was facilitated at the Satyadeow Sawh Aquaculture Station at Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara under the Agriculture Ministry’s Fisheries Department.
Teachers engaged in the Education Ministry’s TVET Unit’s practical aquaculture training session
In advancing the country’s agriculture sector and strengthening its food security, the Government has been working to revitalise its aquaculture industry, expending over $500 million last year to do so. Further, another $750 million in cash grants were distributed to aid fishermen as they tackle the rising cost of living, low catch resulting from global warming, and increases in operational cost.
These efforts have been amplified with the commitment to increase cage culture to about 50-75 cages this year, improve the facilities of some 75 landing sites and increasing the production of brackish water shrimp.
Earlier this year, the Ministry also collaborated with the Food and Agriculture (FAO) Organization and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to develop and receive several manuals to address critical aspects of the fishing industry: the FAO-led Seabob Management Plan (2022-2027), the WWF-produced Guyana Marine Industry Management Plan (2022-2027), and the Agriculture Ministry’s new Brackish Water Shrimp Production Manual.
