Zimbabwe has unveiled a new 10-year plan to develop tilapia aquaculture, with an objective of increasing production of the species by 300 percent by 2032.
The plan is being spearheaded by FISH4ACP – a global fish value-chain development initiative of the Organization of African, Caribbean, and Pacific States – with the FAO as the implementer, while the E.U. and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development will provide financing.
Zimbabwe Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Anxious Masuka said the new tilapia initiative will help the country’s tilapia farming “take off, and can be instrumental to reduce poverty and improve food security.”
“Tilapia farming can be a driver of our countries’ inclusive growth,” Masuka said.
The plan’s objective to increase Nile tilapia production in the country would take Zimbabwe’s production from 5,600 metric tons (MT) per year to 14,000 MT per year by 2032. According to the program, that increase can be driven by “better access to inputs, services, and markets for small-scale fish farmers,” and would increase earnings from USD 5.6 million (EUR 5.3 million) now to USD 22 million (EUR 20 million).
Zimbabwe is one of the countries in Southern Africa eager to increase fish production to increase national per-capita fish consumption, currently hampered by the country’s limited fisheries output.
Women, youth, and marginalized groups, equipped with knowledge on how to farm tilapia sustainably, are expected to occupy nearly 40 percent of the small-scale fish farming jobs in Zimbabwe by 2032, according to the program's prospectus.
“FAO is happy to contribute to Zimbabwe’s efforts to expand aquaculture production,” FAO Sub-regional Coordinator for Southern Africa Patrice Talla said. “FISH4ACP demonstrates how we can fulfil our mandate to transform aquatic food systems into drivers of employment, economic growth, social development and environmental recovery.”
On the way to achieving the targeted threefold increase in tilapia production, the promoters of the plan would focus on ensuring “better inputs and fingerlings, adaptation of good practices and support for the cold chain and marketing," Talla said.
Photo courtesy of the FAO
