Aquaculture needs government support - NUAA
The National Chairman of the National Union of Aquaculture Associations (NUAA), Francis Garbrah has expressed frustration that despite Ghana’s huge potential to become self-sufficient in fish production, it was still spending huge sums of foreign exchange importing fish from other countries.
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He said this at Ghana’s total annual fish requirement was estimated at around 880,000 tonnes while the nation’s annual fish production average was 420,000 tonnes, leaving an annual deficit of 460,000 tonnes which was made up through fish imports valued at US$262 million in 2007 alone.
MrGarbah was speaking at stakeholders forum held under the auspices of the BUSAC fund on scaling up of the aquaculture zonation programme, held in Accra.
“Ghana is thus presently deemed as not self-sufficient in fish production and with the country’s prospects for higher landings from capture fisheries being limited, coupled with the issue of increasing population growth, the demand for fish is expected to continue to increase and become higher than what can be supplied,” he said.
MrGarbah said the fish deficit would worsen in the future and local aquaculture production was expected to play a key role in ensuring food security in the country but increasing production to bridge the expected deficit.
He questioned why aquaculture was still in the developing stage in the country even though it was introduced almost 50 years ago. “Ghanaisendowedwithgoodnaturalresourcessuchaslandandwatersources such as lakes, rivers, among othersthatcansupportaquacultureproduction.What remains intriguing to NUACA, iswhyaquaculture is stillnot developing at a fasterratelikein other developing countries such as China, Japan and Malaysia,” he said.
He mentioned the high start-up cost, absence of information about the economic profitability of aquaculture, inadequate supply of fries and fingerlings, low quality of fish seed, low investment from the private sector and high interest rates as some of the conditions, which have hindered the growth of the aquaculture industry in the country.
MrGarbah, however commended the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture together with the Fisheries Commission for several laudable initiatives they have undertaken to improve the operational environment for aquaculture investors in the country.
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He pointed out good governance and sustainable management of the fisheries sector, reduction of illegal fishing and increasing the contribution of the fish resources to the national economy as factors which have helped the industry.