Realising the potential of African aquaculture

Despite 40 years of research, development and investment, aquaculture in Africa is struggling to realise its high potential. African governments need to remove the constraints to aquaculture, and encourage economically viable commercial investments in the sector, to encourage growth.

Aquaculture is the controlled cultivation and harvest of aquatic plants and animals, such as fish, shellfish and algae, for consumption or sale. Early research and development into African aquaculture in the 1970s attempted to boost rural food supplies and economic development. The many projects targeting the small-scale, artisanal farming sector had important successes, but in the absence of long-term subsidies, these were short-lived.

Research from the Worldfish Center, the French Centre for International Agriculture Research for Development, and the Food and Agriculture Organization, examines the current state of aquaculture across Africa. Africa’s potential for aquaculture output is estimated at 1.5 billion tons per year; however, Africa currently produces only 4 million tons. This is less than one percent of global production.

Most aquaculture in Africa is artisanal, with ponds within family farms. It is commonly associated with subsistence living, not economic growth. Economically viable small-scale commercial fish farms, on the other hand, not only grow food, but also create secondary business opportunities, for example supplying fish farms with fingerlings (young fish) and feed, and generate employment opportunities, infrastructure development and economic growth.

The key to profitability is the level of management and production intensity. Aquaculture farmers have to decide which technologies and investment strategies to use. The research shows:

• Freshwater aquaculture may come into conflict with other sectors; marine or brackish water cultivation (mariculture) does this less often, but suitable sites are limited.
• Ponds are low-intensity, cheap and simple to build and manage, but need suitable soils and locations.
• Raceways with water flow-through or recirculation produce more outputs, but are expensive to build and maintain.
• Small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) are more oriented to markets, but face difficulties with transportation and marketing infrastructure.
• A few successful large-scale commercial aquaculture investments have been built with foreign capital, but their technology and business plans are often inappropriate for smaller-scale investors.

African aquaculture is limited by poor infrastructure, volatile prices, a lack of essential inputs, political instability, poor market development and a lack of research and development. Government support for aquaculture is limited and often ineffective; more private sector leadership should be encouraged.

To realise the potential of aquaculture in Africa, governments, donors and development agencies must:

• clarify the roles of those involved and set the foundations for legislation
• target extension, research and credit at SME development that can maximise local opportunities
• include non-government and farmers’ organisations in the delivery of key services, such as marketing, feed and fingerling supply
• encourage the participation of large-scale farms when developing the sector, but in a way that helps smaller investors
• invest in marketing infrastructure, roads and retailing facilities
• establish environmental standards, especially for cages
• use selective breeding to improve the quality of fish that are cultured.

Source(s):
‘African Aquaculture: Realizing the Potential’, Food Policy 33, pages 371 to 385, by Randall E Brummett, Jérôme Lazard and John Moehl, 2008

Funded by: UK Department for International Development (DFID); Centre for International Agriculture Research for Development (CIRAD); Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO); WorldFish Center

id21 Research Highlight: 6 February 2009

Further Information:
Randall E Brummett
The WorldFish Center
Humid Forest Center
B.P. 2008 (Messa)
Yaoundé
Cameroon

Tel: +237 22 237434
Fax: +237 22 237437
Contact the contributor: r.brummett@cgiar.org

The WorldFish Center, Humid Forest Center, Cameroon

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‘Can poor people benefit from ornamental fish farming in West Africa’s rainforests?’

‘Does aquaculture really benefit poor people in the Philippines?’

'Farming fish in cities – an undervalued activity?’

'Developing technologies for sustainable fisheries in Asia’