Despite setbacks, she learnt from her mistakes in fish farming

Patience pays, so goes the saying. For Edith Sempebwa Sewali, after a lot of trying-and-failing, the dividends of fish farming came because persistence kept her going.
Ms Sempebwa, a member of Women Fish Network Uganda, has a fish farm in Gombe, Wakiso District. In addition to the domestic market, she exports to Rwanda and Burundi. This is something she says has given her the motivation to increase the number of ponds and stock.
“I started with one pond and about 1,000 tilapia fingerlings. Early this year, the Women Fish Network linked me to a Rwandan client,” she says.
“There is potential to grow in leaps and bounds. Demand is high that one just needs to increase production and supply to meet the demand; I aim at more than 20 pounds by end of this year.”
However, behind the success story are many hurdles, failures and learning from mistakes.
“I had interest in fish farming. In 2011, I decided to take a step forward to realise this. I started by contacting the ministry in charge of fisheries for some basics. Later, I joined Walimi Fish Cooperative Society.”
She visited different members to study their methods to help her embark on the fish farming project.
The research also included attending various events to interact with fish farmers and other stakeholders, to listen to their stories and share experiences and different fish farming techniques.

Starting out
Using hired manual labour, she started digging ponds in 2013. However, she got assistance from a ‘fish scientist’ who had been referred to her. The scientist supervised the preparatory work as well as the stocking of the ponds.
A pond can be of any size, determined by how much one can afford and the space.
But if, for example, you wish to start with more than 5,000 fingerlings, the cost of preparing the pond is going to be on the higher side.
It is important to ask as many questions as possible but as she points out “in my case, I was not informed that catfish would easily jump out of the pond if it had not been dug deep enough.”

Challenges in first year
“Because I got the fingerlings from an established source, who was recommended as having the right type of fish (Tilapia),” she recalls.
“I was sure that they sold me Tilapia even though the fingerlings were much younger.”
It was after three months later during sampling of the fish to access their growth, that Sempebwa discovered to her disappointment, that the fish were still small.
“At feeding time, there was always plenty of activity in the water which excited me. I was feeding them at a rate supposed to ensure at harvest, there was a yield with maximum weight as sought after by the market.”
But the fish had not changed much in size yett their number had increased.
To counter the beginner’s anxiety in this business, Sempebwa consulted other seasoned farmers. Only to come to a realisation that something was not right.
After six months, there was no sign of increase in the fish weight. At 10 months, there was still no fish in harvestable quantities or sizes.

After sorting tilapia from the zilli, she was assured that after 12 months, there would be right-sized quantities for harvest.
Even a client who had paid upfront for fish failed to get any of at least 200 grams. She had to refund the money.
“I had spent money, time and energy growing zilli or wild fish,” she pauses and then adds “There was hardly any Tilapia, my heart sunk. The ratio of zilli to Tilapia was about 10:1. In other words, I had bought and was tending wild fish!”
It was a painful realisation but she had to put herself together. So, she separated the few tilapia there was from the many wild fish.

The tilapia had been competing for food with the fast-reproducing zilli. The tilapia had been unsuccessful and, as a result, had stunted growth.
As they say quitters do not win and winners do not quit, the social worker-turned-fish farmer gave it another try.
She contacted a friend who advised her to introduce catfish into the pond as a measure to eliminate the zilli.
Catfish is a predator that can feed on small fish like zilli.
“I bought the catfish hoping to eliminate the zilli and at the same time, keep the catfish for harvesting.”

Yet more challenges
However, the next sampling indicated that there was hardly any catfish in the pond. At three months after, the catfish, with abundant “zilli” food supply, were hardly visible and the zilli were still multiplying rapidly.
To make matters worse, the rainy season delayed and the dry spell led to a drop in water levels.

In spite of the ponds being in a swampy area with natural water flow, there was a great reduction in water. Then, Sempebwa had not dug a reservoir from where to draw water.
In addition, the temperature of the water in the ponds had warmed up as its volume decreased.
At the same time, she did not stopped feeding the fish. So, the poor water flow led to accumulation of food remnants on the surface and thus poor oxygen flow within the water.
With little success and dwindling resources, another fish farmer advised her to bring in water by whatever means to avoid another heart-breaking disaster.

“I hired a pump which I used to draw water into the main ponds and that is how I managed to survive the drought,” she recalls.
Meanwhile, another problem manifested itself.
She says the water became dirty with a grayish clay-like colour. A condition resulting from improperly dredged ponds during construction. The dredging process had to be redone for all the ponds.
To cap a disastrous year of first effort, most of the “catfish” that had been sold to her were just “nsonzi” after all. They had virtually no eliminatory effect on the zilli. The yield for that year was a total loss.

Lessons learned
“Experience is the best teacher. I have learnt a number of lessons,” she says.
“Take my case. I got my initial stock from a certified body yet got the wrong type. When I wanted catfish, I was given mostly nsonzi fish,” she points out.
It taught her to ensure regular sampling to rectify any problems early enough.
“Most importantly,” Sempebwa stresses.
“Get your hands dirty in the daily management of your ponds. Do not leave it in the hands of your workers because they are unlikely to be as invested as you the owner.”
Also, from her experience, she calls upon the relevant authorities to step up to the mark in their supervisory obligations and ensure that farmers are not cheated.

Points to note

Edith Sempebwa Sewali, a fish farmer, advises anyone venturing into fish farming to do the following before they start.
Carry out research to know the right place where to get the right quality of fingerlings, where to get affordable feeds and the alternatives as well.
Always use the right persons when constructing the ponds. First-time fish farmers should always seek a second opinion from seasoned, successful farmers besides the experts.
When buying fingerlings, one should ensure that they get those, which are at least two months old from the right reputable sources and “seek a guarantee period for replacements in case it is the wrong type or the one other than that requested.

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