Fish farming: Profitable but beset by many challenges

Tilapia refers to a group of almost hundred fish species that mostly live in freshwater bodies. They are a highly nutritious food source. Tilapia is low in saturated fat and is a good protein source. It also contains the micronutrients; phosphorus, niacin, selenium, vitamin B12 and potassium. The fish therefore generally vary in appearance and size.

Ms Theresa Namisango, who rears fish at St. Jude Fish Farm in Senya, Kingo sub-county in Lwengo district, says that the colour of the fish differs depending on the type of breed. Though fish farming is profitable as a source of income, there are a number of challenges that hinder realising its full commercial potential.

She gave the ever-increasing price of feeds as one of the major challenges that fish farmers face. “Yet under all circumstances the fish have to be fed and often this leads to losses because the traders who buy the fish from the farmers are not ready to pay commensurate prices,” she says.

The weather also has a strong effect on the fish. When it is hot, the water tends to warm up which she said retards the fish’s growth. When there is insufficient rain for a long time, the flow of water reduces yet it is this water that aids in taking oxygen into the farming ponds.

Against the odds
There is also the challenge of neighbouring farms using herbicides on weeds, which are then washed into the ponds when it rains. These herbicides sometimes poison the fish.

In addition to theives who steal the fish from the ponds with scoop nets, fish is also eaten by birds, snakes and other predators. This reduces the fish numbers and minimises the farmer’s income. Tilapia fish is ready for sale at about a weight of 400 grams. The fish is normally weighed every two months to ensure and monitor proper growth and progress.

Namisango says her customers are from as far as Rwanda, D. R. Congo, apart from the fish vendors from Masaka district. Despite all the odds, Namisango continues to practice fish farming because it brings extra income.

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