Ghana: Feed cost, diseases continue to squeeze aquaculture industry

Published 2023년 5월 2일

Tridge summary

The 2023 Aquaculture Ghana Conference highlighted the challenges facing the domestic aquaculture industry, with a particular focus on the significant cost of feed and disease prevalence. The rising cost of feed, driven by increasing prices of essential ingredients like maize and soya beans, has led to a surge in imported feed, increasing the nation's import bills and straining the local currency. These challenges are threatening the sustainability of the industry and have been emphasized by the Chairman of the Fisheries Commission Board, Professor Francis Nunoo, and the Chief Executive of the Association of Ghana Industries, Seth Akwaboah. In response, efforts are being made to build local capacity in fish disease management and to invest in technology to explore shrimp mariculture, reflecting the industry's efforts to adapt and grow amidst these challenges.

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Original content

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. ...

Source: Thebftonline