Fish Farmers presented with an earth moving equipment

The Fisheries Sub-sector Capacity Building Project (FSCBP) of the Fisheries Directorate on Tuesday presented a crawler-dozer worth one billion cedis to the Ashanti Region Fish Farmers Association.

The crawler-dozer, an earth-moving machine, was given to the association on a hire purchase to be used to construct fishponds.

The association has paid 14 million cedis as deposit with the rest to be paid in seven years.

Major Courage Quashigah (rtd), Minister of Food and Agriculture, who handed the equipment over the machine to the Association in Accra, said fish production from both marine and inland water bodies had been on the decline in recent times.

This decline, he noted, was mainly due to indiscipline in both the marine and inland waters.

"Some fishermen use wrong gears, some sell their fish at sea while others still use methods that kill both the fish and their fingerling."

Major Quashigah said fish provided more than 60 per cent of the animal protein needs of a sizeable number of Ghanaians.

Major Quashigah said the government's fisheries policy was to increase fish production for local consumption and for export in the long term. "We are, therefore, focusing attention on promoting aquaculture to increase fish production."

He said the first major credit facility offered to fish farmers had to go to Ashanti Region because since 1989, "the fish farmers of that region have dominated the aquaculture awards at the National Farmers' Day celebrations."

This, he said, was an indication that the aquaculture project would be well managed by Ashanti fish farmers.

He challenged the farmers to increase their annual yields of 600 metric ton by 50 per cent to meet the growing demand.

Major Quashiga said eight aquaculture pilot projects were being managed in New Juaben, Ashaiman, Kejebi, Kumasi, Sunyani and Sefwi Wiawso. The rest are in Upper Denkyira and Akwapim North districts.

He urged the association to contact the Agricultural Engineering Department for routine maintenance and servicing of the machine.

Nana Bosomtwe Frimpong, Chairman of the association, who received the equipment, thanked the government and the World Bank for their support, saying the association had succeeded in fish farming because of the technological know-how they had been receiving from technocrats.

"Tilapia farming has over the years benefited from technological advances and innovations such as the production of same sex, faster growing fish stocks and genetically male species," he said

Nana Frimpong expressed the hope that with time members of the association would be able to produce enough for local consumption and export.

Mr Charles Annor-Frempong, a senior Agriculture Specialist with the World Bank, cautioned the government not to believe aquaculture could, in the near future, be able to substitute fish production from the marine and inland water bodies.

He said: "What we as a nation have to do is to improve upon the management of our water bodies in order to derive optimum benefits whilst cautiously promoting aquaculture to complement rather than substitute other sources of fish."

Mr Annor-Frempong said the only way that the government could check depleting fish resources and ensure benefits from existing resources was to pass the revised Fisheries Bill during the next parliamentary session.

"We also need to enforce existing laws on fishing to ensure compliance if we are to make any head way in optimising the use of our water bodies."