The government has set its sights on transforming the village of Hubu on the East Bank of Essequibo into a national centre for crab farming, a bold move that could reshape the local economy and create a new frontier in aquaculture.
President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali, during a community engagement on Thursday, announced plans to introduce cage farming in the village’s swamp lands and pledged direct collaboration with residents eager to enter the industry.
As part of this vision, the President also revealed plans to establish a state-of-the-art processing facility in Hubu, which would allow for the packaging and commercialisation of crab meat. This reflects a key step in a broader strategy to boost agricultural production, enhance food self-sufficiency, and unlock new livelihood opportunities in Region Thee.
“We’re importing crab meat right now,” the president stated before saying that, “We have a massive demand because of all the hotels that are being built.”
Guyana is currently importing this meat, and the president explained that if Guyanese themselves can get involved in crab production, especially since the meat is in demand, then those revenues can remain right here.
The president referenced villages like Capoey and others, which are successful in aquaculture production and are earning between five to seven million dollars annually for villagers.
The village will also see its farm-to-market roads being upgraded to all-weather thoroughfares. The National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) has already been instructed to complete this task, which, according to President Ali, will be done in a phased approach.
This undertaking will also make room for more land to be opened up, and the transportation of goods and produce will become easier.
The president addressed the need to expand the Hubu’s brackish water shrimp project. He encouraged farmers who are already involved in shrimp production and those who are interested in getting involved to partner with the government to develop more ponds.
The president said his government will also invest in coconut production for area residents.
“We want to recreate the coconut industry in this area,” President Ali emphasised.
“We want, in the next five years, to have at least five to 10,000 coconut trees in this area producing coconuts. We’re going to bring in the high-yielding Brazilian dwarf. We’re not going to stop there; we’re going to invest in the cold storage facility…one major packaging hub.”
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