Aquaculture defined
as the farming of aquatic
organisms including fish, molluscs, crustaceans and aquatic plants. Farming
implies some form of intervention in the rearing process to enhance production,
such as regular stocking, feeding, protection from predators, etc. Farming also
implies individual or corporate ownership of the stock being cultivated.
Global
aquaculture data signify a disturbing scenario where Africa is lagging behind
other jurisdictions in a significant way. To put this statement in perspective
let’s review the following statistics from Food and Agriculture Organization of the
United Nations (FAO): In
2008 China dominated the global aquaculture industry by producing close to 32.7
million tones of aquaculture products contributing a whopping 62% of the global
total aquaculture production which stood at 52.5 million tones and was ranked
first out of 187 countries. Africa’s total production was at 100 464 tones and
Zimbabwe accounted for 0.13% of the African total aquaculture output at only
132 tones. The highest ranked African country, Egypt (ranked 27th)
produced about 64 thousand tones accounting for 64% of African production.
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| A Chinese Fish Farmer Holding a Giant Grouper (Credit Burt Lum- Courtesy of Cheng Ann-Chang) |
Thus
Africa and Zimbabwe need a serious relook on this particular sector in order to
close the gap and ensure fish protein self-sufficiency. The benefits of this
sector cannot be overemphasized. Many African communities struggle to acquire
sufficient protein dietary requirements to sustain life. Many rely on fresh and
dry vegetables as relish to accompany main staples (maize, yam, cassava and rice) and
other staples (sorghum, millet, rapoko, wheat and other small grains) in the Savanna particularly
in the interior of the vast continent. Protein deficiency is particularly severe
during lean dry seasons. Animal protein
sources for many communities remain chicken (meat and eggs), bovine, sheep and
goats (meat and milk and milk products) and pork. Plant or vegetable protein
comes mainly from beans and peanuts. During the onset of the rainy season, communities
also augment their protein intake from birds, insects, mice, crickets and so
forth. These, however, are short-lived and cannot be considered
sustainable. In the equatorial regions and sparsely
populated savannas, particularly the savannas which border deserts and even in
the deserts communities help themselves with bush meat. This particular protein
source is unsustainable because often governments outlaw the killing of wild
animals. Even where government capacity to ensure compliance is hampered by
inadequate resources to monitor vast areas or where it is explicitly acceptable
to hunt wild animals, the practice often results in extinction of species- due
to the tragedy of commons. For those
privileged African communities residing along the coasts of seas and oceans or shores
of inland natural and man-made lakes, they surely harvest fish to nourish
themselves and their families and in many occasions trade the surplus and eke a
living, humble as it might be, from fishing.
To
underscore the vital importance of fish as a source of animal protein, FAO’s
authoritative paper entitled, “World Review of Fisheries and Aquaculture” stated
that fish, including molluscs, crustaceans, provides more than 60% (4.5 billion souls)
of the world’s population with almost 17% of animal protein in 2007/2008.
Certainly there is great scope of increasing this figure, simply by broadening accessibility
of fish resources to many- what aquaculture is promising and able to do.
Protein
is therefore critical for a balanced diet of adults and is fundamental for the
sustenance of life of toddlers and the youth. Thus people cannot talk of
attainment of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) when they cannot provide
sufficient protein requirements to their citizens.
The
tragedy is that the Sub-Saharan African fishing industry is fragmented and
generally inefficient. It is also severely undercapitalized. So, even if the
African waters have enough fish resources to provide enough fish protein to
African citizens, the current scale and scope of commercial exploitation of
fish is such that many, especially in the interior, remain grossly underserved.
In fact, fish is one of the most expensive sources of protein in many landlocked
countries and even in coastal countries the prices at which fresh fish is sold
in the interior parts is beyond the reach of many. Fish, fresh fish in
particular, thus remain a delicacy for the privileged few who have deep pockets
to afford such a “luxury”. But how can food, important food like fish be the
preserve of the select few with the rest confined to malnutrition and
consequently malnutrition-related life-threatening diseases?
As
if this was not enough, Africa finds itself confronted by another demon-
illegal fishing in its waters. Africa is
estimated to be losing over $60 billion yearly due to illegal fishing by
foreigners off its vast coastline. These “pirate” ships engage in unsustainable
fishing methods, wherein the industrial fishing vessels catch massive
quantities of fish for export. They end up only keeping around a quarter of
their catch – throwing the rest back dead. That callous behavior is threatening
the marine life and every world citizen is a loser. But of course an African is
the biggest loser, because fishing industry sustains multitudes. It is a source
of livelihood for communities living along the coast.
The
scale and hypocrisy around the issue of illegal fishing was summed by Sierra
Leone Head of State and Government, His Excellency, President Koroma, when he said that Sierra Leone was not allowed to
export fish to the EU, but fish caught illegally in the nation’s waters are
repackaged elsewhere and end up for sale across Europe.
It is the very issue of illegal
vessels harvesting fish in the East Coast, off the coast of Somalia which
arguably caused the emergence of an ancient criminal activity of piracy. But
when piracy is properly defined surely the Somali rebel is as guilty as the
crew of the illegal fishing vessels, for they all practice piracy.
African leadership in conjunction
with world leaders should do something urgently to stamp this scourge. Hope is
not lost and we acknowledge individuals who have continued to highlight this
issue in the international fora. One such distinguished world citizen is Gareth
Thomas, the UK’s International Development Minister. It is refreshing to hear
him saying, “I call on world leaders and regulators to take a much more
effective approach to monitoring fish stocks, policing fishing and fishing
rights, and ensuring that fish stocks survive for generations to come.”
So, if
the African fishing industry was well-organized, then perhaps the natural fish
resources could be enough to sustain all Africans at prices they can afford.
But the truth is that it’s not and will take some time for it to develop (assuming
that the marine fish stocks would have survived the current illegal fishing),
thus something should be done now to assist families to access fish protein.
The answer is aquaculture.
Besides
provision of protein, aquaculture provides employment opportunities to
communities. Successful aquaculture ventures can absorb the unemployed creating
a multiplier effect to communities through increased demand for goods and
services, increased revenues into the fiscus, improving capacity utilization
and so forth.
The
beauty of Aquaculture is that it does not compete with arable farming and can
utilize waste land. The farmer who wishes to venture into aquaculture will thus
increase productivity of his farm without sacrificing other profitable farm
activities.
Through
group marketing aquaculture can raise foreign exchange through production of
fish and other products for the export market. The foreign exchange resources
so generated can be used for importation of critical medicines, capital goods
and payment of dues to the external sector.
Aquaculture
can sustain economic growth, especially if fish projects are huge enabling the
attainment of economies of scale and therefore contributing to the countries’
GDP. The projects can also undertake value addition of fish resources produced
to increase value. It is pertinent to note that the bulk of aquaculture production
from China come from small-scale fish farms.
What
are the challenges of the small African fish farmer?
The
main challenges afflicting the small African farmer in his quest to venture
into aquaculture are as follows:
Capital inadequacy: African farmers are generally poor and struggle to survive from their barren communal land. Due to a combination of factors, they are vulnerable members of the society who are at the mercy of political upheavals, climatic change and economic stagnation mainly caused by huge debt overhang. They live from hand to mouth and cannot raise capital as they are too poor to save. Many are unbankable. External intervention from governments, the private sector and donor community is needed. Capital is needed for capital expenditure and working capital to ensure that the farmer rear, protect, harvest and transport the perishable product to the market in good quality.
Capacity (Technical knowhow)-
Again aquaculture is fairly a new phenomenon for many African farmers. They
require extensive assistance in capacity building for them to run aquaculture
projects profitably and sustainably. They also require access to productive
fish breeds, research on effective breeding and feeding methods, amongst others
technical requirements.
Production volumes insufficient to break
even- without proper planning the fish projects of small
farmers may end up being for subsistence because volumes will be insignificant rendering
their projects unviable. Without proper marketing channels, they may lack access
to lucrative markets which boost their revenues.
Lack of feeds in their respective
countries – Fish feeds have been known to deteriorate in quality
over time meaning that importation of feeds might not be a viable solution to the
shortage of feeds. It is a potent challenge facing farmers and countries
willing to grow the aquaculture industry.
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| Healthy Fish in a Successful Aquaculture Project |
Way forward
A few years ago the New
Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) issued a declaration stating that
fish farming in Africa will have to expand by 250% in the next 10 years just to
maintain the present (low) per capita consumption of fish in the continent.
Aquaculture can still be
practiced on a small-scale basis until consolidation occurs in future. Ideally
profitable aquaculture projects should be large-scale producing several tones
of fish per annum and be highly mechanized with ability to add value to the
produce to generate more revenue. These large projects operated by the private
sector, but monitored by governments for environmental protection, will embark
on out grower schemes subcontracting small famers to produce targeted amount of
fish. This model will address the capital and capacity constraints and
guarantees a ready market for the smaller farmer, who ordinarily would find it
difficult to secure lucrative markets.
It would appear
aquaculture’s success is tied with industrialization of Africa. Many African
countries require industrial capacity to manufacture fish feeds which can reach
farmers in good quality for profitable fish operations.
The importance of aquaculture
currently and in future is immense. In 2006 aquaculture accounted for 43% of
total global fish food supply and by 2008 the contribution had risen to 46%. It
is therefore fair and reasonable to predict that by 2050, aquaculture will
dominate the world fish food supply contributing upwards of 60%. But Africa and
Zimbabwe needs to do something now not only to close the gap but more
importantly to guarantee animal protein self-sufficiency at household level.
