The Sunday News
Judith Phiri, Business Reporter
LANDS, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Deputy Minister Davis Marapira has launched the Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP) for fisheries and aquaculture in Bulawayo at the tune of US$500 000, to enhance fish breeding and production.
Running under the theme “Technical support to enhance fish breeding and production in Zimbabwe”, the programme is expected to see the Fisheries and Aquaculture Resources Production Department (FARD) receiving fingerlings and technical support from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations.
Speaking at the launch in Bulawayo on Thursday, Deputy Minister Marapira said the fish industry in Zimbabwe has great potential to increase production of fish from current levels of around 20 000 metric tonnes per year against a demand around 60 000 metric tonnes per year.
“We are here today to launch the programme with a tune of US$500 000 which will go a long way in developing the Fisheries and Aquaculture sector in the country. This is a step closer to our Vision 2030 and a self-sustaining economy. We are here today, launching the Technical Support to enhance fish breeding and production in Zimbabwe project under the FAO Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP).
“This shows the level of commitment we have all shown in improving the sector through a value-chain approach. The country is endowed by over 10 000 dams and a conducive climate for fish production but the challenges of obtaining quality fingerlings remain,” he said.
He said the current fingerlings used in the sector cannot guarantee quality products as there was a lack of scientifically structured breeding programmes leading to high probability of reduced productivity.
The Deputy Minister said quality fingerling supply was also a challenge compounded by the limited coordination and harmonisation of systematic policies and legislation to guide fingerling production in the aquaculture sector.
“The Government of Zimbabwe realises the importance of fish in food and nutrition security, income generation, employment creation and empowerment of communities. A lot of effort is now being put towards development of this sector which has in the past received low priority. There is also great opportunity to export excess fish produce to the SADC region and beyond,” he added.
“The FAO TCP programme will assist to strategically position hatcheries across the country to improve access and reduce the cost of fingerlings. The three breeding sites will be at Henderson (Mashonaland Central), Makoholi (Masvingo province) and Matopos (Matabeleland South Province) where Henderson is currently operating at 30 percent capacity with Makoholi and Matopos still at percent.”
Deputy Minister Marapira said they were happy that the TCP also seeks to promote gender inclusivity by ensuring that women and youth are included in all layers of the value chain commencing with the breeding and supply chain.
FAO Subregional Coordinator for Southern Africa and Representative for Zimbabwe, Dr Patrice Talla said FAO’s work in fisheries and aquaculture was geared towards bringing about a blue transformation, a vision committed to building sustainability and resilience.
He said: “The expected TCP project outputs include increasing the capacity of three Government hatcheries for production of high-quality fingerlings, enhancing the capacity of Government staff in hatchery management and development of hatchery management policy guidelines to contribute to the attainment of national targets as outlined in national frameworks.”
Proposed sites were toured at Matopos Research Institute, with the setting up of 10 fish ponds to commence.
