THE AQUACULTURE INDUSTRY IN

UGANDA: OPPORTUNITIES AND

CHALLENGES
BY
Mr. Komakech Richard

Student- Dept of Animal Production and
Management

INTRODUCTION
Aquaculture: refers to all forms of active
culturing of aquatic animals and plants,
occurring in marine or freshwaters.

Introduction
since 1950, there has been a 100
percent increase in demand of fish
world consumption of aquatic proteins
is predicted to rise to 155 million tons
however, traditional fisheries can only
provide up to 100 million tons
actions must be done to meet up with
the demand
Introduction
Aquaculture makes an attempt to
protect marine life in order to ensure
sufficient seafood for the present and
future generation
encourage fish farming
significant increase in the amount of
fish available

Benefits of fish farming
anticipated that the world would not have
to face shortage of fish supplies in the
next 3 decades
access to a large production of nutritious,
high-quality foods
Populations of fish can be very productive
(fish are cold-blooded; they divert little
energy to maintain their body temperature,
hence a large proportion of their food can
be converted into their growing biomass)
Introduction
Aquaculture is the fastest growing
sector of the world food economy
,increasing by more than 10% per
year and currently account for
more than 30% of fish consumed.

Introduction
Fish catch from natural water bodies is
on the decline world over while
aquaculture is on the upward trend.

Aquaculture in Uganda
History
Fish farming was introduced to Uganda
by the colonial government in 1953
An experimental fish farming station
was set up at Kajjansi for research
demonstration and training.
Farmers were encouraged to construct
pond which were later stocked with fish
seed by the government

Aquaculture in Uganda
Tilapia was first used as a species of
choice for culture and later the Cat fish
was used.
Farmers were trained on fish farming
practices
Lake Victoria, L. Kyoga, L. Kwania, L.
Bisinia were stocked with fish and
before they were stocked, trials were
made in ponds
Aquaculture in Uganda
Today
Uganda produces up to 15 000 tons of fish
from aquaculture
There are an estimated 20 000 ponds
throughout the country
with an average surface area of 500 m
per pond.
Production ranges between 1 500 kg per
hectare per year to 15 000 kg per hectare
per year for subsistence and commercial
fish farmers respectively
Aquaculture production in Uganda
Opportunities of Uganda for Aquaculture
Water suitability and availability
Uganda has a water surface of 20% of
its total surface area which is well
distributed.
The water sources include lakes, rivers,
streams, wells, and springs which are
good sources of water for Aquaculture
Valley dams and valley tanks which
supports fish farming.

CTD
Land availability
Topography of the land is gently sloping
It facilitates easy drainage of the pond by
gravity
A relatively flat land makes it easy to
construct earthen ponds due to amount
soil to be removed.
CTD
Suitable soils
Deep soils
Clay soils with good water holding
capacity


CTD
Market availability
Availability of national, regional and
global markets; most of the processed
fish is exported to EU markets
CTD
Availability of suitable fish species
Cultable fish species like Nile tilapia
(Oreochromis niloticus)and Catfish
(Clarias).
CTD
Liberalization and decentralization of
fish seed production
Research and training
National research stations (NARO)
Training done by NAADS
CTD
Government policy on modernization of
Agriculture
Technical assistance and support from
NGOs and CBOs
.
CTD
Integrated fish farming
CTD
Ease of integration

CTD
Fish processing factories
Fish hatcheries
CHALLENGES OF AQUACULTURE IN
UGANDA
Labor and capital requirement
Fish farming is labor and capital intensive
especially at the construction stage- hence
difficulty in expansion of enterprises


Challenges
Subsistence production
Challenges
Competition for suitable sites
with activities like paddy rise growing,
livestock grazing and watering

Challenges..
Research and extension
Most agricultural researches are
directed towards crops and other
livestock with little attention on fish

Poor linkages between research and
extension

Few extension staff and often the large
farmers are neglected
Few technicians with inadequate
support
Challenges..
Fish seed supply
Often insufficient and dependent on the
public sector

Transportation of the seeds to the fish
farms

Challenges..
Government policy
Lack of a clear policy on fish farming

Donor dependency
Results in to unpredictable supply of
capital

Challenges
Information management
Fish farms are dispersed, often isolated
and net working is practically non
existent.

Poor information exchange among
farmers
Challenges
Poor management of ponds
Challenges..
Fish diseases
Lack of adequate fish production
technologies
Lack of adequate fish
production technologies
Challenges.
Environmental costs
challenges
habitat destruction and water diversions
that disrupt aquatic ecosystem
waste water from the pond pollutes the sea
salt water from the fish farms may seep into
the ground, causing an increased salinity
which damages water supply and
surrounding agriculture land
Destruction of wetlands
Conclusion
THE END
THANK YOU FOR LISTENING