THE government has expanded the ministry of Agriculture to include a standalone department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, to deal with fish production in order to meet a growing national demand.
This was revealed by Agriculture deputy minister, Douglas Karoro yesterday at a FISH4ACP Zimbabwe validation workshop on farmed tilapia value chain in the capital.
Karoro said the sector was struggling to meet the country’s fish demand despite being endowed with various water bodies.
“The key issue is the fragmented approach in addressing these challenges. As a major step towards addressing this key challenge; we now have a stand-alone department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, housed in the ministry of Lands.
“The department is mandated to spearhead fisheries and aquaculture production in the country, and tasked to coordinate amongst other issues the development of a dedicated, stand-alone fisheries and aquaculture policy framework aligned to international best practices,” Karoro said.
He said Zimbabwe’s fish quality was the lowest in the region and emphasised the need to urgently put in place measures to address the situation.
“The government notes with concern the low levels of fish consumption in the country, due to low production and productivity within the sector, at around two kgs per capita compared to the Sadc region’s average of six kgs.
“This is despite the country having over 10,000 dams which can be utilised for fish production through both capture fisheries and aquaculture.
“However, sustainable development of the aquaculture sub-sector is of paramount importance as the country’s major dams are recording decline in catches due to overexploitation and climate change induced challenges,” Karoro further said.
Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) sub-regional coordinator for Southern Africa and representative to Zimbabwe, Patrice Talla said FAO has targeted 30-40 percent growth of the global aquaculture by 2030.
Talla however, said high cost of feed and supply remained a major concern for artisanal farmers.
“Feed accounts for 60-70 percent of the total cost of production. Any intervention in this area will significantly improve the sector’s viability. The programme explored possible alternative and affordable protein sources for small livestock.
“The FISH4ACP will follow up on the findings, building on that experience, and adapt some of the findings to the Tilapia value chain with a view of bringing down the cost of feed”.
by
Melisa Chatikobo
STAFF WRITER