Tanzania Exhorted the Private Sector to invest in Local Manufacturers to enable the Production of Fish Feed and Fingerlings to bridge the Market Fissures

By Abdul Rahman Bangura-

Tanzania, City of Dar Es Salaam
Photo Credit: Unsplash

NEW AFRICA BUSINESS NEWS (NABN) Freetown, Sierra Leone- Ms. Upendo Hamidu – the Principal Fisheries Officer from the Livestock and Fisheries Development made the call during the 14th Virtue Annual Learning Event (ALE).

She says that currently, 27,000 tonnes of fish food are imported, while 3,000 tonnes are produced locally. Presently, there are nine factories with a capacity of producing only eight tonnes per month, and some 39 hatcheries produce fish fingerlings.

“Areas of investment and production such as fish feeds, production of fingerling feeds, cold chain facilities, and aqua tourism are required to bridge the gap,” she let out. 2923, ALE presents a platform to contemplate on the African Food System (AGRF) 2023 emerging opportunities, magnifying the voices of youths and women, dialogue, advocacy, and influence, identifying gaps to be addressed, and knowledge sharing and capacity building for all actors. A Kigoma fish farmer, Saidi Maneno, said fish feeds are
sold at very high prices, which increases production costs.

“If fish feeds are produced in the country and bought at a reasonable price, buyers can also enjoy buying fish at a low price,” he let out.

Co-founder of the Aqua-Farms Organization in the Coast Region – Director Jerry Mang’ena, said, “Shortage of fingerlings is one of the major challenges we are currently facing in the country.”

He told that Tanzanian incubators have inadequate access to quality tilapia and catfish brood stock, as well as a lack of expertise to develop their own brood stock improvement programmes.

“In order to solve this issue, it requires a long-term improvement programme of the tilapia and catfish bloodstock in which the quality is controlled,” he noted.

Highlighting the challenges, Mang’ena spoke of the existing knowledge intermission within the sector, a lack of practical skills, and poor access to affordable quality fish feed and seed.

Lack of sector coordination and market linkages, the challenging business environment due to imported fish, tax regimes, high costs of inputs, and aquaculture policies are among other challenges.

He said, “The aquaculture farms are both in need of investment capital as well as working capital, the latter being sometimes half of the total required capital but often overlooked by farmers.

For New Africa Business News (NABN) Abdul Rahman Bangura Reports,  Africa Correspondent