Ghana: Feed cost, diseases continue to squeeze aquaculture industry

Chairman of the Fisheries Commission Board, Professor Francis Nunoo, has lamented that the cost of feed – which is more than 70 percent of total production costs – and the prevalence of diseases continue to weigh heavily on the domestic aquaculture industry. He expressed worry that if left unchecked this cocktail of factors could significantly erode gains which have been made in the industry over the last decade. “One of the major challenges facing the industry is rising cost of fish feed, which accounts for 80 percent of the production costs.” He made this known in his address at the 2023 Aquaculture Ghana Conference themed ‘Fostering stakeholder collaboration for sustainable aquaculture industry’. He highlighted challenges facing the aquaculture industry in Ghana and called for greater collaboration to address them. Recent estimates by the Chamber of Aquaculture – organiser of the event – suggest that this year alone the cost of fish feed has risen by approximately 200 percent. ...