Rwf 10 billion investment needed to boost Rwanda's fish stock

Government plans to invest Rwf9.5 billion to increase fish production in the country, a top official at Rwanda Agricultural and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB) has told The New Times. According to Solange Uwituze, the Deputy Director General in charge of Animal Resources Research and Technology Transfer at RAB, the country's fish production by 2021 was 39,269 tonnes of which 87 percent was from fish capture and only 13 percent came from fish farming. Illegal fishing practices, low investment, expensive fish feeds and lack of value addition among others have been cited among the major contribution to low production. Rwanda's demand for fish is estimated to reach 112,000 tons by 2024. There remains only two years to reach the target yet the country has not even produced half of the projected demand, a situation that has left officials scratching their heads for major interventions. Producing 112,000 tons by 2024 per year could help Rwanda attain the average sub-Sahara per ...