Business / Economy
Aquaculture sector needs proper investment
23 Jun 2014 at 09:36hrs | Views
There is need for proper investment for the fast rising aquaculture sector which contribute about 10 percent of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), an official has said.
Aquaculture is the farming of aquatic organisms such as fish, shellfish and even plants.
Garikaimose Tongowona, programme officer for Aquaculture Zimbabwe told this publication that the sector has a huge potential for developing the economy and food security once properly funded.
"The government should relook at the approach of the sector and avail funds for the development of the industry," he said.
He said Zimbabwe has about 40,000 cubic metres of fresh water that could help develop the sector into a lucrative business.
"If you look into rural areas there are lots of water bodies that are used to drink domestic animals but there can use those water points to farm fish and generate income within their communities."
Tongowona said Aquaculture has a huge potential to reduce over-fishing if fisheries master concepts of environmental conservancy which their organisation is rolling out throughout the country.
"We are introducing programmes that specifically target both licensed and unlicensed fisher folk to find ways of educating them to sustainably manage natural resources within their environs," he said.
According to Food Agriculture Organisation report fish now accounts for almost 17 percent of the global population's intake of protein in some coastal and island countries it can top 70 percent.
FAO estimates that fisheries and aquaculture support the livelihoods of 10-12 percent of the world's population.
Since 1990 employment in the sector has grown at a faster rate than the world's population and in 2012 provided jobs for some 60 million people engaged in capture fisheries and aquaculture. Of these, 84 percent were employed in Asia, followed by Africa with about 10 percent.
The local fish industry has been affected by industrial activities causing water pollution in the country's major fishing dams and the country has been losing thousands of water species every year.
Aquaculture is the farming of aquatic organisms such as fish, shellfish and even plants.
Garikaimose Tongowona, programme officer for Aquaculture Zimbabwe told this publication that the sector has a huge potential for developing the economy and food security once properly funded.
"The government should relook at the approach of the sector and avail funds for the development of the industry," he said.
He said Zimbabwe has about 40,000 cubic metres of fresh water that could help develop the sector into a lucrative business.
"If you look into rural areas there are lots of water bodies that are used to drink domestic animals but there can use those water points to farm fish and generate income within their communities."
"We are introducing programmes that specifically target both licensed and unlicensed fisher folk to find ways of educating them to sustainably manage natural resources within their environs," he said.
According to Food Agriculture Organisation report fish now accounts for almost 17 percent of the global population's intake of protein in some coastal and island countries it can top 70 percent.
FAO estimates that fisheries and aquaculture support the livelihoods of 10-12 percent of the world's population.
Since 1990 employment in the sector has grown at a faster rate than the world's population and in 2012 provided jobs for some 60 million people engaged in capture fisheries and aquaculture. Of these, 84 percent were employed in Asia, followed by Africa with about 10 percent.
The local fish industry has been affected by industrial activities causing water pollution in the country's major fishing dams and the country has been losing thousands of water species every year.
Source - Portia Sigauke
