fish farming business plan in uganda

[Beginners Guide] How To Start Fish Farming Business In Uganda

North Africa catfish and Nile tilapia are the popular fish that are raised in Uganda today. To learn how to start a fish farming business in Uganda here is a quick summary;

How To Start Fish Farming Business In Uganda [Beginners Guide]

Starting a fish farming business in Uganda here is a step-by-step guide to starting;

Step 1: Raise startup capital

Step 2: locate good farmland.

The next step is to locate the farmland you will situate your farm .

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Step 3: Erect your pond

You will need a net to cover the fish pond to keep predators away from the fish, which will cost you about 300,000 shillings.

After the manure has been applied, top off the pond with water that has not been treated with chemicals. After filling the pond with water, add UREA and DAP as inorganic fertilizers.

Step 4: Get A GP tank and Borehole

The next thing is to install a water source and GP tank on your farm.

Toxins and oxygen deprivation can lead to high fish mortality if water flow through plumbing is too low, therefore it’s important to keep this in mind.

Step 5: Read Up About Fish farming

Step 6: buy quality fingerlings breeds.

If you’re looking for fingerlings, you’ll want to get them from a farm in Uganda that specializes in this type of fish . Tilapia and catfish are the greatest fish species to buy because they are easy to breed and can help your farm in the long run.

Step 7: Formulate good Feeding Formulate for your fish

In order to produce high-quality fish, the quality of the meals given to the fish must be constant and must be of the best possible quality. Feeding the fish should be done in a predetermined amount.

Fish Farming Training In Uganda Video:

How much does it cost to start fish farming in uganda, is fish farming profitable in uganda, how do i start a successful fish farm.

To start a successful fish farming business in Uganda you need to raise a running capital, locate a farm location for your fish farm, erect ponds, buy your fingerlings and start feeding your fish.

Fish Farming Hatchery In Uganda

Cost of starting fish farming in uganda, which fish is most profitable to farm.

North Africa catfish and Nile tilapia are the popular fish that are raised in Uganda today.

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Flagship farm brings new business model to Uganda’s tilapia sector

Rural Aquaculture Development (RAD) has developed an innovative model both to grow and sell its own tilapia, and to support the local aquaculture sector, in a bid to improve smallholder livelihoods in western Uganda.

Founders Dr Tim Messeder and Pauson Mpabukire Joshua explain the ethos behind the company.

Can you tell me a bit about the development of RAD?

RAD officially began its operations in 2020. In May 2021, we started the construction of ponds on land provided by our partner, the North Kigezi Diocese. This initiative laid the foundation for our aquaculture activities and enabled us to start production.

On February 11, 2022, we achieved a significant milestone: our first fish sale. This success led to our rapid expansion, resulting in the employment of five full-time and five part-time staff members. The consistent rise in our production figures has solidified our position in the market.

We have actively pursued market expansion by focusing on supplying smaller, affordable fish to the local area, a strategy that allows us to meet market demands while ensuring our products remain accessible to a wide range of consumers. To meet the increasing demand, we have optimised our production processes, streamlined our aquaculture practices, implemented proper feeding and water quality management protocols, and incorporated advanced technologies where applicable.

Additionally, we have established strategic partnerships with local suppliers and distributors to enhance our distribution network. These partnerships have enabled us to reach a broader customer base and ensure the availability and accessibility of our products across the region.

One of the services RAD provides is free consultations to local farmers, where the team share their expertise and knowledge to help farmers overcome challenges and optimise their fish farming practices

What inspired the establishment of RAD and its mission to support the growth of the local aquaculture sector in Uganda?

The establishment of RAD was inspired by several factors. Initially, fish farmers in the western region faced challenges in obtaining quality fingerlings. In addition, the community had limited access to fresh fish, often relying on smoked fish as a substitute. This led to a realisation that there was a need to address these issues and improve the situation.

“The idea for RAD originated while I was studying fisheries, and I began implementing it soon after joining the local government. At that time, I embarked on constructing a training room for farmers, which also served as my residence. During this period, I witnessed the failures of the government of Uganda in providing adequate support to fish farmers. These failures included corruption, delays in fish supplies, and inadequate extension fisheries services. However, RAD's vision began to take shape when Dr Tim arrived in Uganda and joined me in this endeavour. Dr Tim brought a new and exciting concept to RAD by introducing the idea of feeding fish with black soldier fly larvae,” stresses Mpabukire

“This addition proved to be a wonderful blessing for RAD and the community. Our main objective is to supply high-quality fingerlings, market fish for groups of farmers and RAD, improve access to affordable fresh fish, generate income for vulnerable groups such as drop-out girls and women, and establish my personal retirement business. Working directly with farmers brings me great satisfaction,” he adds.

The team restock the production ponds, which can accommodate around 3,000 fingerlings, with fingerlings weighing around 10g and then aim to rear them up to a maximum weight of 140g

Could you provide some details about your production facilities?

The facilities consist of two main sections: the four-pond hatchery section and the three-pond production section.

In terms of quantities, we strive to produce a significant volume of fish through these facilities – with a target of around 30,000 fingerlings per month. However, specific figures may vary, depending on factors such as the breeding cycle, seasonal variations and market demand. Only in the last three months have we begun to supply fingerlings to farmers, as we have been focusing on quality management and ensuring we have the production facilities established so we can meet the market demand.

Can you explain your tilapia breeding programme?

The broodstock were obtained from the wild in Lake Kyoga. We carefully select fish that exhibit good health, with no body wounds, parasites, or fin and body deformations. We also consider typical scale distribution as an important factor.

In our breeding programme, we place the selected broodstock in a pond for two days, maintaining a ratio of 1 male to 3 females (7 males and 21 females). After 21 days, we harvest the fry, yielding approximately 3,000 to 4,000 fry per cycle.

The newly harvested fry are placed in a hapa (net enclosure) where they are nursed and fed powdered food initially, progressing to crumbles based on their growth rate until they reach the fingerling stage. We utilise fingerlings weighing around 10g to stock our production ponds, which can accommodate around 3,000 fingerlings, and we aim to rear them up to a maximum weight of 140g.

One of RAD's main objectives is to help generate income for vulnerable groups such as women and drop-out school girls

Do you use any alternative feeds on the farm?

Typically, one third of the feed is whole, unprocessed black soldier fly (BSF) larvae, while the remaining two thirds are commercial feeds. The use of the larvae brings various benefits: most importantly it helps to lower production costs by reducing the reliance on commercial feed alone, resulting in cost savings and increased profitability for our fish farming operations.

In addition, BSF production creates a valuable byproduct, known as frass, which can be used as a natural organic fertiliser for our ponds to stimulate the growth of beneficial algae and aquatic vegetation, ultimately enhancing the ecosystem within the farming environment. Secondly, we sell the frass locally to other farmers as an organic fertiliser. This not only generates an additional income stream but also promotes sustainable agriculture practices beyond our immediate fish production.

Could you tell us more about how and where you grow your black soldier fly larvae?

Our BSF production unit serves as the breeding ground for BSF larvae, which begin their journey as eggs obtained from our fly hatchery. Following an incubation period of approximately 5-8 days, the eggs hatch into larvae. These larvae are promptly placed into mulched organic waste sourced from local markets and supplemented with green manure acquired from a nearby slaughterhouse. Additionally, we employ dedicated individuals who collect organic waste from surrounding urban centres. Depending on the substrate they consume and the demand for larvae, the BSF reach optimal harvest readiness within 14 to 28 days.

We currently produce about 2 kg of larvae per day. Of these we harvest about 90 percent to feed the fish and leave the rest to pupate. As the pre-pupae emerge from the bays, they enter a dormant phase and later resurface in our fly hatchery approximately 14 days later. This perpetuates the cycle as the newly hatched eggs are laid, ensuring a continuous and sustainable production process.

RAD actively engages with and supports local people, including school children, who are interested in entering the industry or starting their own aquaculture practices

What are the key services offered by RAD?

Hatchery operations: we take pride in our hatchery operations, where we focus on rearing high-quality and healthy fry. Our goal is to ensure that farmers have access to affordable and reliable fry for their aquaculture projects.

Supplementary feeding: we offer hands-on training to farmers in BSF farming techniques and provide free extension services to support their fish feeding practices. Additionally, we supply 5-day-old larvae to farmers, enabling them to enhance the nutritional value of their fish feed.

Access to aquaculture expertise: our team provides free consultations and advisory services, sharing our expertise and knowledge to help farmers overcome challenges and optimise their fish farming practices.

Fish sales: we have established a network of sellers, allowing us to purchase fish directly from farmers and facilitate their sales. We can also sell this fish through the cold chain, selling fish on ice. By acting as intermediaries, we ensure that farmers receive fair prices for their fish. We view farmers as partners who not only purchase fry, feed, and receive training from us but also contribute to the overall success of RAD.

Can you explain the role of ThinkAqua in supporting RAD's business development and the growth of the local aquaculture sector?

RAD and ThinkAqua established an informal partnership during the development of the fish farm in 2021, which later evolved into a formal partnership in 2022. ThinkAqua generously contributed to the purchase of the ice machine during our crowdfunding campaign , and the development of our hatchery. Additionally, we conducted a collaborative trial funded by Innovate UK KTN , in which Think Aqua supported us in feeding live black soldier fly larvae to tilapia . Conducted from October 2022 to March 2023, the trial successfully demonstrated that tilapia grow comparably well when fed live BSF as opposed to commercial feed.

ThinkAqua serves as a valuable partner, enabling us to reach a wider audience and seek guidance as we expand our business and explore new directions. We are immensely grateful for their support and ongoing assistance throughout the years.

Could you elaborate on the unique facilities at RAD and how they contribute to the business and aquaculture success in the region?

One of the unique facilities at RAD is our ice machine, which plays a crucial role in preserving the quality of fish for an extended period. By having access to the ice machine, we can ensure that the fish remain fresh and maintain their high quality. This enables us to cater to the demands of our customers and build lasting relationships.

Moreover, farmers who collaborate with RAD can also benefit from the ice machine when harvesting their fish. The availability of ice allows them to keep their fish fresh during transportation and storage, which is particularly important in maintaining the quality and market value of their produce.

Additionally, our transportation options – including bicycles and motorbikes – enable us to deliver fish to market promptly and reliably. By ensuring swift transportation, we not only meet customer demands but also support the economic growth of the local aquaculture sector.

How does RAD ensure the availability of fish to a range of consumers?

Our mission is to provide affordable fish to the local population. Hence, we offer smaller fish (ranging from 80g to 150g) at affordable prices, allowing us to reach a broader customer base. Additionally, we offer larger fish at higher prices to accommodate consumers with specific preferences. Presently, we employ mobile traders who vend fish along designated routes, traders who sell fried fish at local market stalls, and regular customers who place orders directly with us.

RAD employs mobile traders who vend fish along designated routes, as well as traders who sell fried fish at local market stalls

What are your future plans?

One of our key goals is to reach out to more farmers in the region, especially those who may not yet be aware of RAD's services. We also aim to engage with farmers who are interested in starting their own aquaculture practices, providing them with the necessary support and guidance.

In addition to expanding our customer base, we have plans to increase our sales and make fish available in a wider range of markets within the region. By doing so, we can ensure that more people have access to fresh and affordable fish, contributing to improved food security and nutrition.

Looking ahead, RAD has a broader vision to develop and implement our model in other regions across Uganda and even in different African countries. By sharing our expertise and successful practices, we hope to empower and support aquaculture development beyond our current reach.

To stay updated on our progress and future endeavours, we encourage you to subscribe to our YouTube channel and follow our journey. We are excited about the opportunities ahead and the positive difference we can make in our region and beyond.

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How To Start A Fish Farm

By Ahumuza Muhumuza and Joshua Kato 

Fish farming is a lucrative agribusiness as demand outstrips supply in Uganda.

“The country consumes 870,000 metric tonnes of fish, yet only produces 570,000 tonnes annually,” Charles Mulamata, the chairperson of African Aquaponics Association, says.

“That means there is a deficit of 300,000 tonnes that is imported from other countries, mostly China. If you multiply this figure by the farm gate price of fish in Uganda, that is more than $420m (sh1.5trillion) that would go directly into the pockets of Ugandan farmers if we are able to close that deficit,” Mulamata says.  

There are an estimated 20,000 ponds throughout the country with an average surface area of 500 m² per pond.  Production ranges from 1,500 kg per hectare per year for subsistence farmers to 15,000 kg per hectare per year for emerging commercial fish farmers.

“Realising this huge potential, almost a decade ago, the Government set a target for fish production in Uganda to reach 1.7 million metric tonnes by 2025, from 120,000 metric tonnes per annum. Of these 1.7 million tonnes, 700,000 tonnes is to come from fishing, while one million tonnes is to come from farms,” Mulamata, says.

He adds that in order to achieve the Government’s target, hatcheries and nurseries in the country need to ramp up their production to 2.5 billion fry annually. Catfish and tilapia are the most farmed fish in Uganda because they have ready market and they are the easiest to rear. Catfish, however, is hardier, more resilient and easier to farm than tilapia. Mulamata says entering the catfish nursery business is a lucrative venture for prospective farmers. 

Just like any other business venture, however, starting and running a fish farm requires hard work, perseverance, and a passion for the business.

Mulamata says starting a fish nursery is an often-overlooked venture that can be adopted by the masses. He adds that the market for fish is huge, both local and export, if only farmers can master the numbers. Fish and fish products are usually among Uganda’s top five food exports – taking second or third place depending on the year.

Uganda’s fish is mainly exported to Europe, but Australia, Asia, the US and Egypt are other important markets that Uganda supplies. According to the Food and Agricultural Organization, Uganda is the second largest aquaculture producer in Sub-Saharan Africa after Nigeria.

Mulamata says with the right aquaculture practices, fish, especially catfish can be a gold mine in your backyard. Here are the things a prospective farmer needs to consider before delving into the catfish nursery business:

Research and Planning

Before diving into the fish farming business, it is crucial to conduct thorough research. “Sit down and draw a business plan,” Mulamata says. “Find out how much feeds cost, find out how much fish costs on the market. But do not just go with the price you see at the market near you, find out the farm gate price. You may find fish costs sh15,000 on the market, but those who buy from your pond pay you sh5,000 – that is the farm gate price. Do the calculations and see whether you will make a profit,” Mulamata says.

Develop a business plan that includes financial projections, marketing strategies and operational guidelines, says Sophie Apio, who runs a catfish nursery in Kigo, Wakiso district.

Samuel Kange, a large scale fish farmer in Namayingo, Eastern Uganda further advises that prospective farmers must do research on feeds and sources of feeds. “I know many farmers who have started fish farming but failed later because they could not feed them,” he says. He adds, and yet just like any other living thing, the better you feed them, the faster the returns,”

Pond selection

There are three major technologies of fish farming. The first is the traditional pond farming which is widely practiced in Uganda. Then there is cage farming mostly done on large bodies of water. The third method of fish farming is tank fish farming, which is rapidly gaining traction in the country.

Tank fish farming has the highest potential, according to Angela Nambalirwa, a fish farming expert who works with Commercial Fish Farmers Cooperative in Bira, Wakiso, says. It has the highest stocking capacity, is the most secure against predators, theft, and extreme elements of weather. Because it can be practiced in close proximity, in the backyard, it offers the farmer better management. 

“If you have young fish that are supposed to feed every two hours, it is easier to do it in a tank in your backyard, than in cages miles away,” she says. It is also easier to monitor the fish’s health and wellbeing since the water in a tank is clearer than that in a pond or lake. 

As far as stocking, in commercial farming, the more the numbers, the higher the income, Nambalirwa says. 

“Let us take a reference of 1,000 litres: in the traditional pond system, you can stock a maximum of two kilogrammes of fish. In the cage system, you can stock a maximum of 30 kilogrammes of fish in 1,000 litres. While the tank can stock a maximum of 100 kilogrammes of fish in 1,000 litres,” she says.

Fish tanks can be designed and built in a vast array of ways. At Mulamata’s hatchery in Nakabugo, Wakiso district, there are 70,000 litre tanks made using plastic held in place by welded metals. Mulamata says setting up such a system costs about sh44m. He has come up with a cheaper option: the earth bag technology pond which holds the same amount of water, but costs between sh5m and sh10m to construct. It is built using sacks filled with earth to support tarpaulin that holds the water.

According to Kange, after ascertaining that the site has got all the requirements of a good fish pond, then the excavation starts. There are two ways of digging a pond. Farmers with the means hire tractors to excavate the ponds. 

“The average cost of using a tractor to construct a 20x40metre ponds sh10m.  But this is a bigger pond.  A farmer can construct smaller ponds of say 10x15metres depending on their desires at sh3m or even less using manual labour,” he says. Note that a tractor takes a shorter time to accomplish the job, compared to manual labor, however manual labor is cheaper and affordable for small holder farmers. 

Kange advises that the pond must be rectangular, because this makes it easy to maintain, especially when guarding it against silting. It is also easy to harvest fish from a rectangular pond than from a pond of any other shape because you can easily sweep through all the corners. If several ponds are constructed, they should be parallel to each other to ease management.

“Make sure that each pond has got an inlet and outlet.  It must have the right depth of about 4feet at the deep end and a gradient to easy harvesting,” Kange says.

Feeding and nutrition

Fish fingerlings can be got from several sources, including farmers or fisheries research institute at Jinja or Kajjansi. Average price is sh250 each.  Feed constitutes 60 to 70% of the costs of running a fish farm, Denis Abili, an agricultural scientist says. He adds that a well-balanced diet is essential for the growth and development of young catfish. Abili says a nutritionally balanced feed should meet the specific requirements of your fish.

To ensure fast growth of your fish fry, the protein content, fat levels, and vitamins should all be adequate. Establish a feeding schedule and monitor the fish growth to adjust feeding practices accordingly. The fish should start off on a high protein feed and the ratio is gradually reduced as the fish mature, Abili advises.

 Richard Ddungu, the aquaculture scientific fish breeder at the National Agricultural Research Organization (NAR0), advised farmers to use a cost-effective method called the Feed Conservation Ratio (FCR) which is a trick that can help them save themselves from making losses and costly prices for fish feeds. 

“With FCR, you must ask the seller to explain how much of their feed is needed for one kilogram of fish. If they do not have the right facts, run for your life because you do not want to make losses,” he advised. 

He noted that 70% of the farmer’s income goes to the fish feeds and that means noting that as a matter of fact, good quality feeds are quite expensive as the cost of making them is also high but farmers should do a cost-benefit analysis on feeds in the market before they can purchase them. 

“People want to use cheap fish feeds, but poor quality and inadequate feeds lead to fish-farming stagnation, which cannot earn a farmer much money, therefore, I advise farmers to carefully consider high-quality fish feeds,” he noted. 

  Water quality Management

Water is extremely crucial to fish as it is where they do everything: breathing, feeding, reproducing, urinating and defecating. The leftover feed that remains in the water is high protein and generates a lot of nitrogenous waste which can kill the fish, Mulamata says. He emphasises that maintaining optimal water quality is crucial for the health and growth of your catfish. Regularly test water parameters such as temperature, pH levels, ammonia, and dissolved oxygen levels, he says. There are kits available on the market for testing each parameter.

“You have to make sure you are abiding by the parameters of what constitutes good animal husbandry. For example, if you have a tank of 2,000 litres and you measure and find the amount of dissolved oxygen is low, you can increase the amount of air stones from two to four or six, and then test again,” Mulamata says. 

Airstones, also known as aquarium diffusers, are devices used in fish tanks to improve aeration and water circulation. When connected to an air pump, the airstones produce a stream of tiny air bubbles which rise to the water’s surface, creating agitation and increasing oxygen exchange.

“If the pH level is low, you can remedy the situation by adding calcium carbonate powder to raise it. Neutral pH is seven, below seven is acidic, above seven is alkalinity; fish prefer 7.2 to 8.5 pH,” Mulamata explains. 

Ammonia accumulation is usually caused by a lot of waste in the water. “In case of ammonia accumulation, stop feeding the fish immediately until the situation is resolved. Remove the waste as fast as possible and add fresh water,” Mulamata says.

Implement effective water filtration and aeration systems to ensure a healthy environment for your fish. Regular water exchanges or treatment measures may be necessary to prevent the accumulation of harmful substances. “Do not wait for the water to smell first before changing it because by then it is very dangerous for the fish,” Nambalirwa says. African catfish, just like tilapia, is a warm water fish so water temperatures should not drop below 50 degrees Fahrenheit, but the fry need much higher temperatures to thrive. 

Nambalirwa says there are several technologies for managing the water sustainably including aquaponics, recirculation systems, and the traditional changing of water. Creating a conducive environment for fish growth may also require essential equipment such as aeration systems, water filters, and feeding mechanisms.

Disease prevention and management

Catfish are susceptible to various diseases, which can severely impact a nursery farm’s productivity. A farmer should implement biosecurity measures to prevent the introduction and spread of pathogens. “Regularly monitor your fish for signs of illness, and consult with a veterinarian specialised in aquaculture if necessary,” advises Apio.

For ponds, according to Vincent Sebutemba, a fish farmer, thebiggest threat comes from predators especial reptiles like snakes and large lizards for example alligators, plus fishing birds. You can keep off the reptiles by planting repellant plants for example tobacco and lemon grass around the ponds.

“Dogs and cats can also reduce incidences of reptiles coming to your ponds to steal fish. You should also keep the pond area well cleared of over growing grasses. To keep off birds, set a wire gauze over the ponds so that birds cannot swoop low into the ponds,” he says.

Types of nurseries 

Mulamata says producing quality fish starts with a hatchery at the apex, where the fish are kept until they reach one gramme. These are then moved to nursery one, that grows them out to three grammes. At three grammes, they are moved to nursery two where they are grown to 10 grammes in 30 days, at which stage they are ready to go into the grow out ponds. 

At Mulamata’s hatchery in Nakabugo, Wakiso district, the fish are grown to one gramme in 15 days. The one gramme fish are then sold to nursery one which grows them to three grammes in 30 days.

Mulamata says starting a hatchery and nursery one is a complex endeavour requiring a high level of technical knowledge and capital to set up and run. He, however, says there is a huge potential for farmers to enter the industry in nursery two. In nursery two, farmers grow the fish from three grammes to 10 grammes which is the suitable size for selling to grow out ponds.

“If one has a 7,000-litre tank, you can stock 70,000 fingerlings. If you buy the 70,000 fry at sh100 each and sell them at sh400 a month later, you will earn a gross income of sh28,000,000,” Mulamata says, “That is why I call it the gold in your backyard.”

Wangah Wanyama

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Module 9: Fish Farm Business Planning and Management

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How fish farming has grown since independence

Oct 06, 2021

She says in 10 years to come, Uganda can produce 2,000,000 tonnes of fish on a sustainable basis if steps are taken to reduce illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing.

Fish farming in Uganda is experiencing a 300% growth rate per annum. Photos by Umar Nsubuga

Umar Nsubuga

Journalist @new vision.

Since independence in 1962, Uganda’s fishing industry has been growing steadily. 

Aquaculture is one of the world’s fastest-growing food production sectors, bringing with it great potential for food supply hence food security, poverty alleviation and enhanced trade and economic benefits.

  The increase in domestic fish consumption because of population growth and high export demand has pushed fisheries close to the unsustainable supply.

Fish farming in Uganda is experiencing a 300% growth rate per annum, says Joyce Ikwaput Nyeko, the acting director for Fisheries Resources in the Ugandan Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries.

  There is evidence of overfishing in some water bodies while the Nile perch, a carnivore, is causing devastating effects on the fish biodiversity of Lake Victoria and Kyoga.

  Nyeko says the country’s future competitiveness in fisheries will require increasing fish production to between 50% and 60%. 

  IUU and smuggling pose a big challenge to the industry since fish is harvested illegally. However, 10 boats are now in place to curb illegal fishing and smuggling.

  The fishing industry is characterised by two parts; capture and fish farming (aquaculture). The capture currently dominates the industry and accounts for most export earnings.

Fish farming was introduced in Uganda in the early 1940s. Currently, it comprises about 15,000 farmers who have about 20,000 ponds with one or more species.

  Nyeko says 70 semi-intensive commercial fish farmers have emerged, taking up 15,000 square metres of water for aquaculture.

Production from ponds currently averages about 2,500 tonnes a year, contributing about 5% to Uganda’s fish production. Pond aquaculture has already been proven feasible in 25 districts.

  Uganda Fish Processors and Exporters Association members such as Ngege Limited, Green Fields, Gomba Fishing Industry and Uganda Fish Packers have taken on fish farming.

Charles Byamukama who works with Natty Agencies says, in addition to breeding and fish farming, they also make fish feeds.

“According to our ongoing research, locally-made feeds have proved to be better than imported ones”.

  Sam Kasule a researcher and fish farmer in Semuto says fish fries and fingerings that are fed on locally made feeds grow faster than those fed on American (Ziegler) and South African feeds.

The feeds are being experimented on to find out the most suitable for fish because most fish farmers have lost trust in imported feeds which are also expensive.

  Given the combined potential of the pond and river-based aquaculture, commercial aquaculture is the best strategy for building a competitive fishing industry.

  Ponds are fertilised using organic and inorganic manure such as poultry and animal manures, kitchen wastes and green leaves, with occasional use of supplementary feeds consisting of maize and rice bran.

  Nyeko says production from small-scale fish farmers is still low due to several reasons. 

“Farmers are not organised to take advantage of bulk purchases and marketing facilities. There is a lack of an efficient supply to the market chain”, she says.

  To achieve its target of having 15% of the fish exports coming from aquaculture, the Government embarked on stocking fishponds with three million fish fries between September 2011 and March 2016.

  Uganda produces up to 15,000 tonnes of fish from aquaculture, including production from small-scale fish farmers, emerging commercial fish farmers and stocked community water reservoirs and minor lakes.

  There are an estimated 20,000 ponds throughout the country with an average surface area of 500 m² per pond. 

Production ranges from 1,500 kg per hectare per year for subsistence farmers to 15,000 kg per hectare per year for emerging commercial fish farmers.

Kasule thinks the fish sector is still in its infantry, but the biggest problem is that the few fish farmers available lack the required technical skills.

  “Someone digs a pond and ignores it for eight months and wants to go back during harvest, this kind of business, needs patience and constant supervision. Uganda’s land is over 70 per cent full of swamps. What if the government supported 10 youths per district to start with two ponds?

This would save our lakes and the existing fish scarcity,” Kasule says.

Jovar Byaruhanga, a fish farmer in Bbaale, says the government needs to harness and promote extensive farming.

  She thinks professionalising in fish farming is crucial. 

“We have the capacity, but people need the skills. Fish farmers can save lakes if we can produce a quarter of what the country exports”.

Experts say that government needs to fully implement all the existing regulations, provide physical inputs to fish farmers and encourage credit support from both budgetary allocations and commercial banks in order to boost fish farming.

Related Stories

Fish Farming In Uganda

Commercial farming has been embraced by many farmers in Uganda due to mostly the limitation of fishing on Lake Victoria which has many fishing landing sites and also to meet the market demand for the different species in the country. Some of the benefits that come with fishing in Uganda are it is a source of income to farmers, fish is good for food nutrition, it has reduced unemployment and it is a form of revenue to the government. As you think about starting fish farming in Uganda, below are some of the most important things that you should put into consideration in order to have a profitable fish farming business.

Ideal Land For a Fish Farm in Uganda

This is the first step taken in fish farming. Some of the things that you should consider when choosing the perfect land for constructing the ponds for fish farming include good transportation, enough fresh water supply, well trained labour and the type of soil found in the area. Try choosing land which is big enough for future expansions, avoid polluted areas, choose land which is far away from farm land with crops, avoid land which is not levelled and avoid a site which keeps on flooding. The best land should be a little lower than the water source to allow easy pumping of the water into the ponds and the soil should have at least a little clay in it to help with the water retention.

Selection of the fish species in Uganda

Selection of the fish species depends on the market demand, the location of the farm and the weather. Some of the fish species that can be produced in the country include Tilapia, the African catfish, gold fish, trout and the carp fish. The best species to produce in Uganda is the Tilapia because the market demand is high as compared to the rest of the species. The steps that you need to follow in order to get the best fish species include the following:

Put into consideration the type of foods that the fish will feed on and their availability on the market.

Select fish species that have a fast growth rate

Choose fish species that have a high market demand and can easily adapt to the ever changing weather.

Pond construction and pond design

When you are through with the site selection, the next step is to choose the best pond design and how they are going to be constructed. The type of pond that you choose should be able to be a home to the type of fish that you intend to produce. The different types of fish require different designs in order to grow well and after selecting the fish species, the design will come easily.

The pond design also depends on the number of fish you are to keep. If you are into mass production, then the best pond would be large enough to accommodate all the fish. If not, you can construct several ponds to accommodate the large fish production. After constructing the pond, make sure that you apply the necessary fertilizers before filling it with water.

Management of the fish farms in Uganda

The first thing you need to do is make sure that the fish is well fed throughout their different growth stages until they are taken to the market. Supplementary feeds are a must if you want to have healthy fish and these can be got from the different stores across the country. There are various supplementary feeds that are prepared for the different types of fish for example there are feeds that are specifically made for Tilapia, catfish and other fish species.

If you cannot get the feeds from the market, then you can buy the ingredients and mix them to make the perfect mixture of feeds for the fish. The food should have all the necessary nutrients like vitamins, proteins, energy giving foods and minerals. The fish needs to be fed at specific times and a given quantity which is recommended.

The second thing about management is taking care of the fish ponds. Make sure that the ponds are cleaned and the water changed regularly and check on the quality of the water and the soil regularly in order to make sure that the fish are not negatively affected.

Harvesting the fish

Harvesting of fish depends on the rate of growth and since each fish species grows at a different rate, the harvesting takes place at different stages. The fish need to match the market weight before they are harvested. Harvesting is done by using a net to collect them from the pond before being loaded on refrigerated vans and taken to the market. After harvesting fish from the pond:

Transport it immediately to the market so that the quality does not reduce since fish goes bad easily.

If possible, transport your fish to the nearest market so that you can get the real value out of them. Transporting them to faraway places might reduce their value.

When transporting the fish, separate them according to their size.

There is a wide market for all the different fish species in the country because people in the country eat fish almost on a daily basis. You can easily sell your fish on the local market and also export some to other countries after value addition. Fish farming is a really lucrative business if it is managed well and you need to have passion for it in order to care for the fish properly. You can also hire experts to help with the management of the farm. Once you have done all the above and gotten training for fish farming, you are good to go start your farm and earn big from it.

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Aquaculture Development and Uganda’s Agricultural Extension System: The Case of Fish Farmers in Central and Northern Regions

Gertrude Atukunda 1,2 * , Andrew Ellias State 2 , Joseph Molnar 3 , Peter Atekyereza 2

1 National Fisheries Resources Research Institute, National Agricultural Research Organization, Uganda

2 Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology, Makerere University, Uganda

3 Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology, Auburn University, USA

* Corresponding author: Gertrude Atukunda, National Fisheries Resources Research Institute, Uganda National Agricultural Research Organization, Uganda. Tel: +256414375668; Email: [email protected]

Received Date: 13 March, 2018; Accepted Date: 26 March, 2018; Published Date: 02 April, 2018

Citation:  Atukunda G, State AE, Molnar J, Atekyereza P (2018) Aquaculture Development and Uganda’s Agricultural Extension System: The Case of Fish Farmers in Central and Northern Regions.  J Fish Aqua Dev:  JFAD-137.  DOI:  10.29011/2577-1493. 100037

1.        Abstract

Agricultural extension services are critical to the development of crops, livestock and fish farming in order to bring about social change. Fish farming, though introduced over 50 years ago through research and extension, remains at a slow pace of growth. There is a consensus in academic and policy literature about the potential benefits of fish farming, particularly nutrition and income generation. So why has extension not been more successful in improving the status of fish farming? Most explanations focus on supply side issues highlighting lack of inputs, particularly fingerlings and feeds with little consideration given to how the extension services themselves are organized in view of fish farming under general agriculture. Equally absent in the discourse are the perspectives on the motivations and experiences of individual fish farmers. Drawing from the Actor Oriented Perspective, this paper examines the organization and current status of extension service provision in aquaculture based on perspectives of policy makers, extension workers and fish farmers. Interviews were conducted with 246 fish farmers, eight extension workers and 11 key informants from government institutions. Secondary sources of information included various government documents on agriculture. Results revealed slow growth of aquaculture due to institutional and social factors regarding alignment of extension service provision to the needs of fish farmers. Reforms instituted over the past decades in search of better ways to avail farmers with improved farming knowledge have had minimal success. Less than 50% of fish farmers received extension visits from district extension staff with moderate difference (p 0.05) between frequency of extension visits in central and northern regions. Bias of extension service provision towards production related technical and information aspects above building and strengthening social capital of fish farmers was noted. Extension interventions should be socially negotiated and adapted in view of aspirations and limitations of fish farmers.

2.        Keywords : Agricultural Extension; Aquaculture; Fish Farmers; Policy; Uganda

1.        Introduction

Fish production through aquaculture presents an opportunity to circumvent the global challenge of declining stocks from the natural water bodies due to overfishing. The demand for fish outweighs supply amidst growing populations. Raising fish production to levels that can match demand for fish requires the provision of effective extension services to fish farmers. Aquaculture, introduced in Uganda through research and extension interventions during the early 1950s, is a practice that involves rearing fish and other aquatic organisms in controlled facilities for food and economic benefits [1,2] . Fish farming plays a key role in food security and improving livelihoods [3] . The introduction of aquaculture in Uganda aimed at ensuring access to fish by rural households. Fish is an important source of protein that is not easily accessible by communities located far away from natural water bodies or urban centers where outlets for marketing food stuffs are fairly established. In addition to providing nutritional benefits, fish farming has potential to meet the demand for fish, alleviate pressure from the overfished wild stocks and contribute to livelihoods through employment and income generated from fish sales [4,5] . The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) observes that for over 50 years, the growth of fish farming in Sub-Saharan Africa has however remained low, contributing 0.7% to total fish production [6] . Reasons underlying this scenario are not clearly known but seem to point to impacts of the agricultural extension approaches and system used overtime in relation to the extension needs of fish farmers. The approaches include participatory approaches through farmer groups [7-13] that reveal mixed results in meeting needs of farmers.

In Uganda, provision of extension services to farmers has been based on policy frameworks informed by development paradigms and donor funding arrangements. Different extension approaches have been used to provide services to farmers. In addition to crop and livestock production, interventions to ensure development of aquaculture fall under the mandate of the Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) [14] . Among these interventions is the extension service provision, the topical issue of this paper. The purpose of agricultural extension is to provide knowledge, skills and other services needed by farmers to improve productivity and general socio-economic wellbeing of household members. This therefore implies that the central feature to any extension system and approach should be thorough understanding of the needs of farmers.

There is a general consensus in academic and policy literature about the potential benefits of fish farming, particularly nutrition and income generation. Attainment of these benefits was the rationale for the introduction of fish farming in Sub-Saharan Africa and Uganda in particular by colonial governments [15] . A study by the National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO) and MAAIF (2000), [16] conducted as a baseline for a Department for International Development (DfID) project, documents the status of fish farming and shows the majority of fish farmers operated at subsistence level in small fish ponds of average 200m 2 producing less than 1kg per hectare.

Low productivity is attributed to use of poor quality inputs, particularly fish feeds that largely include locally available materials such as vegetable leaves instead of using the factory manufactured complete diet fish feed. Consequently, the contribution of aquaculture to household nutrition and income remains minimal [17,4] . In addition, analysis of the profitability of small-scale fish farming shows low positive returns with predators and high cost of feeds as the major constraints [18] . Yet, [19] observe that efficient use of resources and higher yields can be achieved from accessing extension services. So why has extension for fish farming not been more successful? Most explanations of underdevelopment of fish farming focus on supply side issues highlighting lack of inputs such as seed (fingerlings) and feeds. Yet, little consideration is given to how the extension services themselves are organized in view of fish farming under general agriculture. Equally absent in the discourse are the perspectives on the motivations and experiences of individual fish farmers.

Drawing from the Actor-Oriented Perspective [20] , this paper explores the introduction of fish farming in Uganda and highlights actor interactions in extension interventions. Long’s perspective focuses on concepts central to development work intended to bring about social change. According to the perspective, intervention should be an on-going socially constructed process and not a mere execution of already-specified plan of action with expected outcomes. In this paper, the perspective is used to assess the implementation of agricultural extension models with regard to needs of fish farmers. Furthermore, a thorough understanding of the ‘lived worlds’ of actors in fish farming amidst institutional interventions in extension service delivery is examined. Specifically, the paper uses information from analysis of historical trends that have shaped the development and up-take of aquaculture through various government interventions. Linked to this analysis is an account of the socio-demographic characteristics of fish farming households in relation to institutional mechanisms and processes in the extension service provision.

2.        Materials and Methods

The study was carried out between January 2015 to March 2016 in selected districts in central and northern Uganda (Figure 1) . In the central region, five districts were selected (Bukomansimbi, Kalungu, Lwengo, Masaka and Mpigi) while in the north three districts were selected (Alebtong, Kole and Lira). The wetter, cooler, eroded, bush-covered lands bordering Lake Victoria are around 1,300 meters in elevation. The northern districts are tree savanna, warmer, drier, at lower elevation, and are less densely populated. The two regions vary in terms of climatic conditions, socio-economic status and cultural practices of the people that may influence engagement in fish farming. Selection of the two regions was thus purposive with intention to generate results that complement and compare with each other.

The study used a mixed methods study design [21] that involves combining quantitative and qualitative research techniques [22] . The design enables collection of data from a wide range of sources and carrying out necessary in-depth inquiry. Due to unavailability of reliable sampling frames, area sampling was used to select the districts. Every fish farmer known to the fisheries extension worker and other fish farmers in each district were included in the study until the sample size for the survey was attained.

The sample size for the estimated population was calculated using a formula in [23] generating a total of 246 fish farming households. The sample comprised 100 fish farmers from the five districts selected from the central and 146 fish farmers from the three districts selected from the north. Data collection involved a desk study (review of relevant documents), Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) and Focused Group Discussions (FGDs) with purposively selected documents and respondents. Using a semi-structured interview schedule, the survey covered 246 fish farming households. The review of documents focused on information about policy issues, strategic plans, reforms in the agricultural sector and development of fish farming in the country.

Data from the survey were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS version 21). Descriptive statistics were used to present demographic and socio-economic characteristics of fish farmers, level of engagement in fish farming and extension service provision. Data recorded during FGDs and KIIs were transcribed to create text-based electronic format and organized for analysis. Using ATLAS.ti, the data were processed by assigning data segments to particular codes, and analyzed and interpreted according to questions under investigation. Thematic analysis of data from documents was carried out manually tracking the historical trend of fish farming, including extension service provision to fish farmers.

3.        Results and Discussion

5.1.   Historical Overview of Aquaculture Development

Based on available records in the literature [15,24,25] and results from KIIs, (Table 1) highlights features of extension that have characterized fish farming in Uganda from the early 1950s.

For the case of aquaculture, extension service delivery to farmers was a domain of researchers and extension staff because fish farming was new, and the main source of knowledge were government officials working at the experimental fish farm established at Kajjansi since 1953 [15,25] . During the 1960s, fish breeding and fry production centers were established in each of the four regions of Uganda in order to ensure easy access of fry for stocking farmers’ ponds. In addition, demonstration ponds were established at selected sub-county headquarters and schools.

The number of farmers engaging in fish farming grew due to increased fry production and distribution to farmers by government. Besides carrying out research, Kajjansi station provided extension services to farmers that include selection of sites, planning layout, supplying fingerlings, feeding and sampling during the rearing period and harvesting. The fish farmers were therefore entirely depended on extension staff and activities were planned and executed to the convenience of the extension staff rather than the farmers in a top-down supply-driven activity. Although the number of fishponds increased tremendously by the late 1960s, productivity was generally low and varied greatly, ranging from 35 to 1000 kg/ha/yr. Factors for low productivity included poor pond site selection, unsatisfactory layout and construction, too small ponds, poor growth of tilapia species and inadequate knowledge of proper pond management practices.

Despite low productivity and inadequate farmer skills, extension service delivery continued to expand throughout the 1960s. The 1970s to early 1980s were characterized by political instability, including armed conflict that led to the deterioration of production of fish fry to stock ponds and to conduct outreach activities for fish farmers. Hence, there was a shortage of fry to stock farmers’ ponds amidst reduced regular re-training sessions for extension workers. In addition, research gradually decreased at Kajjansi and at the regional fry centers, including extension activities for farmers. The social and economic breakdown due to political crisis set in at a time when fish farmers were completely dependent on government for fish farming inputs and equipment like nets. Farmers lacked the technical capacity to do even basic activities on their own such as harvesting fish from ponds.

As part of a new political regime from 1986, the need to increase agricultural productivity was one of the government priorities as a strategy to rebuild the economy. Focus was on key functions in the agricultural sector, namely research and extension. The Agricultural Extension Project was implemented with support from the World Bank from 1992 to 1998. The broad objective of the project was to address urgent needs for disease control and yield improvements, and to build public sector capacity to deliver and support effective extension services. The project supported a consolidation of several parallel programs that publicly provided extension services. The programs existed and operated across several ministries, including Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Animal Industry and Fisheries, Ministry of Energy, Minerals, Water and Environment Protection, Ministry of Commerce, Industry, Cooperatives and Marketing. As a result, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Animal Industry and Fisheries were merged to form MAAIF, and the overall responsibility for agricultural extension, like that for agricultural research was consolidated into a single unified national system. Unifying agricultural extension was intended to be a multi-enterprise action oriented just like the farmers. Likewise, disjointed agricultural research was also brought under one umbrella, the NARO.

Despite the positive steps to streamline agricultural extension and research, implementation of the project did not satisfactorily meet intended objectives. Information obtained from KII revealed the most significant weakness of unified extension as the attempt to train (through short training courses) extension workers specialized in crops, livestock, fisheries or forestry to provide technical advice in different fields from their professional training. Due to lack of sufficient knowledge, extension workers tended to concentrate on their specialized areas where they were more confident and probably had more interest, at the cost of the other sectors.

Other factors that severely affected project implementation included inadequate counterpart institutional and financial support from government, and public sector restructuring and decentralization that reduced the number of extension staff [28] . As the project got closer to the end, new global thinking and paradigm shift from bureaucratic top-down and supply-driven approaches to extension service delivery to decentralized, participatory and demand-driven approaches was emerging and being fronted [34] . The NAADS program was formulated along such ideas following a report by a government task force on agricultural extension.

The NAADS was created by an Act of Parliament and launched in 2001 as a semi-autonomous institution under the Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries with responsibility for ensuring access to agricultural knowledge, information and technology by farmers. Implementation of NAADS was in line with on-going national policy frameworks aimed at deepening decentralization of service delivery and poverty alleviation, and transforming agriculture from subsistence to commercial level. Under NAADS, interventions by MAAIF to commercialize agriculture, and in this case aquaculture through supply of free seed and feed, did not improve production and productivity as supplies lacked accompanying technical advice. Institutional considerations, particularly budget allocation and staff capacity, at central and local government levels for effective extension service delivery were not wholly incorporated. Failure of NAADS to fully integrate with existing underfunded decentralized extension service within the districts created a semblance of two parallel extension delivery systems that were in conflict [35] , a situation that alienated fish farmers from accessing extension services.

Subsequent reform of NAADS created the Directorate of Agricultural Extension Services under MAAIF to coordinate delivery of agricultural extension services country-wide. In addition, a policy guide that spells out implementation arrangements including roles and responsibilities of different stakeholders was developed [31] . In line with the new agricultural policy, a “single spine” extension system brings all extension staff under a single regulatory body (MAAIF) and advocates for stronger linkages with research, educational and farmer institutions for effective agricultural services delivery to farmers.

The revised structure also caters for staff positions of all the subsectors including fisheries officers in charge of aquaculture at district and sub-county levels. With the reform undertaken so far, it is still not yet clear whether aquaculture will receive the appropriate extension support it has lacked over the years. However, there is optimism for improved service delivery following the decision and commitment by MAAIF to streamline and regulate service provision to fish farmers. These interventions are based on reported growth of aquaculture as indicated by an estimated increase in production from 285 to 100000 tons between 1999 and 2016 [33] .

5.2.   Status of Fish Farming in The Study Area

Fish farming in Uganda is largely undertaken as one of the diverse household agricultural enterprises. Mixed farming has been practiced from the 1950s when fish farming was introduced among Ugandan farmers as an appendage to the already existing farming activities at the household level. The study showed that in the majority of cases, fish farming was carried out as a secondary activity while at the same time taking advantage of using swamps, often not suitable for other agricultural activities. The overall driving factor for engagement in fish farming was the need to generate additional income for the household.

5.3.   Fish Species Reared

The Nile Tilapia ( Oreochromis niloticus ) (known as “engege” in central Uganda and “lut” in northern Uganda) and African catfish ( Clarias gariepinus ) (also known as “emale” in central Uganda and “twang” in northern Uganda) were the predominant fish species reared by farmers mainly in earthen ponds. Culture of the two species followed results from initial experiments carried out during the introduction of fish farming in Uganda where indigenous and non-indigenous species were tried [15] . Government interventions in fish farming have since promoted adoption of Tilapia and Catfish because of ease adaptability to culture conditions. Besides, the species can be grown together in a particular system such as a fish pond. Slightly more than 70 percent of the fish farmers reared Tilapia while 56.9% reared African catfish.

5.4.   Profile of Fish Farmers

This section provides analysis of selected demographic and socio-economic characteristics of fish farmers in the study area. In addition, the section provides information on the fish ponds operated by farmers and fish farming characteristics. The results are disaggregated according to the central and northern regions where data collection was carried out among pond fish farmers.

The most significant demographic and socio-economic characteristics of fish farmers in both study areas were sex, education level and income status. Households engaged in fish farming were headed by married males with most of them in the middle age groups between 39 and 68 years. Close to 60 percent of respondents had secondary level of education and above while 4% did not undergo formal schooling. In relation to extension service provision, educational levels of the respondents suggest that majority of fish farmers can competently access and comprehend print messages and instructions. Income from fish farming contributed 15% to total annual household income with majority of households earning over UGX 2 million (1UGX = 3640).

In terms of access to land, the majority (80.1%) of respondents owned land ranging from 1 to 15 acres. There was no statistically significant difference in size of land owned across the central and northern regions. Farming was the main occupation of the household head (84.6%), involving growing crops such as cassava, maize and coffee and rearing of cattle, chicken goats and pigs. Apart from farming, most respondents engaged in trading of various items as the main non-farm livelihood activity to supplement incomes.

5.5.   Ownership of The Fish Farm Enterprise

Fish farming remains a male dominated activity with over 90 percent ownership of the fish farm enterprise. The female household heads (6.1%) interviewed during the study were widows and owned the fish farm enterprises indicating rights held over property in matrimonial households. In terms of experience in fish farming, majority of respondents (39.8%) started fish farming within the past five years implying that fish farmers do not have long experience in fish farming. Furthermore, this scenario implies that fish farming continues to attract new entrants who need proper guidance on how to manage the enterprise effectively. The results further indicate that over the past five years, more farmers in the central region are joining fish farming compared to northern region, though the difference is not statistically significant. Overall, these results reflect growing interest in fish farming by farmers.

Field visits to fish farming households revealed varying status of fish farm enterprises as reflected in (Table 3) . While majority of the fish enterprises in the sample households were functional, 10 percent had been abandoned. According to this study, functional ponds had fish stock and feeding of fish was regularly taking place. On the other hand, abandoned ponds were those found in un-functional status with no fish farming related activity taking place since 1999. The status of fish ponds may not just reflect commitment of the fish farmer, but also the quality of services provided by the extension staff as lack of capital and technical advice were the main reasons cited. For example, close to 60 percent of households with un-functional ponds did not receive any visits by district extension staff. In general, lack of regular extension visits often lead to farmer disillusionment and in extreme cases abandonment of the enterprise. Some of the farmers were, however, optimistic to rehabilitate their fishponds and resume farming once they got funds or free inputs particularly fingerlings and feeds from government.

The size of fishponds owned by farmers varied across the study area with the majority having total fish pond area of less than 1000m 2 .

5.6.   Extension Service Needs of Fish Farmers

Extension service needs of fish farmers are reflected in the various constraints they encountered in fish farming especially the first six given in Figure   3

Four major constraints (predators, feeds, capital, and thefts) affected more than 20% of respondents in both regions. The constraints are common in fish farming across developing countries in Sub Saharan Africa. For example, studies carried out in Nigeria [36,37] report three similar key constraints (cost of feed, predators and thefts) faced by fish farmers. The scenario in Kenya is no different considering challenges hindering fish farming development [38] . These constraints reflect the pressing needs of fish farmers and constitute the demand side of aquaculture extension service provision.

Statistical tests for each of the six main constraints (Figure 3) revealed no significant difference (p>0.05) between the central and north implying that fish farmers in both regions encountered similar constraints. These results were expected since most variables explaining characteristics of farmers depict no differences across the two regions. Also, since fish farmers depend on extension workers and fellow farmers for almost all technical advice and information needed, they more or less run their fish farm enterprises in similar manner.

The presence of a fish pond in a particular place attracts predators that feed on fish. The common predators include otters, snakes, tortoises and birds and can lead to significant reduction of fish stock in ponds if control measures such as covering ponds with nets or fencing the fish pond area are not followed. Fish farmers cited lack of knowledge and high cost of fencing materials as reasons for inability to control predators. Measures to keep fish ponds free of predators is one of the typical intervention areas where extension staff can build on farmers’ lived experiences in identifying and providing solutions to challenges faced by fish farmers.

While feeding fish is among key activities in fish farming, price of manufactured feed and access costs were reportedly unaffordable to most farmers. Less than 30 percent of respondents reported using factory manufactured feeds, despite known quality as per the nutrition information provided on the bags. Ugachic is the main fish feed company having started in 2004. Other fish feed manufacturing companies that started later include Ferdisult, Sabra and Kajjansi. Before, factory manufactured fish feeds became available, fish farmers fertilized ponds using manure to induce production of natural food and supplemented feeding with locally available materials such as maize bran, household meal left-over, vegetable leaves and fruits.

As a measure to cut costs of feeding fish, the majority of farmers (51.2%) use locally available materials, while 36.6 percent buy various feed ingredients and mix them on farm to produce feeds. Such alternative strategies for making feeds, however, compromise quality and result in poor fish growth. As fish farmers increasingly target the market, knowledge on feed management aspects such as type of feeds suitable for different fish species, feed rations in relation to quantity of fish stock, potential negative effects on pond water quality and monitoring fish growth is important. Periodic fish sampling and good record keeping is therefore essential for generating data that can be used by the farmers and extension workers in deciding appropriate fish feeding rations.

Lack of capital to finance fish farming is another constraint often raised by fish farmers. Whereas almost all (95.5%) respondents reported using their own savings to start fish farming, most of the money was spent on constructing fish ponds. This challenge was compounded by inadequate guidance by extension personnel during the process of planning for inputs needed particularly fingerlings and feeds. Other fish farmers started in anticipation of free fingerlings and feeds from the government, which often never came their way due to reasons not made known to farmers.

Free fingerlings and start up feeds were sometimes supplied to selected fish farmers under NAADS. Often, the supplies were not based on thorough assessment of farmers’ needs and biased towards a few individuals labelled as contact farmers, leaving the rest anticipating delivery of free inputs. Such government interventions were often not clearly explained and lacked views of farmers as one District Fisheries Officer explained:

Using available limited budget, I conduct training for fish farmers in my district at least once a year. On other occasions I carry out farm visits though I often fail to reach everyone. Interacting with the farmers gives me opportunity to inform them about government programs but many times, NAADS programs have not been well synchronized with work-plans and budget releases to technical staff so you have no explanations to give to farmers on certain issues such as criteria for giving inputs (KII, Bukomansimbi district).

Fish farmers suggested support through provision of key inputs and training to farmer groups implying that extension services need to emphasize the provision of technical knowledge, information and social support as a whole package. The interventions should be, as suggested by Long (2001) [20] , a result of a socially constructed and negotiated process that involves all actors.

5.7.   Types of Extension Services Provided to Fish Farmers

A wide range of extension services, including techniques of proper pond construction, maintaining good fish pond environment and appropriate fish feeding are provided to fish farmers (Figure 4) . Whereas these services are critical in improving production and productivity of fish farming, their widespread dissemination and adoption can best be achieved through social networks of farmers. This implies that support to formation and strengthening of farmers’ groups is in itself a service that should be provided to fish farmers. Results clearly showed that services provided were largely in the form of technical knowledge and information aspects. Very few fish farmers received services to build social capital, yet activities such as information sharing or effective marketing of fish are best achieved through collective effort. This points to the need to treat farmers as active participants in extension service provision.

Comparing the services provided and constraints mentioned by respondents shows a fairly close match to the critical extension needs expressed by fish farmers, except for capital which is beyond the mandate of the extension workers. Fish farmers can however be linked to small grants provided by government, although such grants tend to infuse a dependency syndrome especially if terms and conditions are not well explained to farmers. Since government policy on agriculture is to transform subsistence farming to sustainable commercial agriculture [30] , farmers need training on managing their fish farming enterprises along business principles in order to access and utilize loans effectively.

5.8.   Providers of Extension Services to Fish Farmers

The responsibility of providing extension services to fish farmers lies primarily with designated fisheries officers based at the district and sub-county headquarters. Among other duties, a District Fisheries Officer (DFO) provides overall supervision of the other fisheries officers deployed in the district to perform duties related to capture fisheries and aquaculture. Among other fisheries officers based at the districts, at least one is designated to handle aquaculture, although some districts had only one fisheries staff. A fisheries officer is responsible for various duties such as promoting adoption of improved fish farming and developing farmer institutions. These duties involve working closely with fish farmers to ensure effective execution of major fish farming activities. However, results of this study showed that only 48 percent of the fish farmers received extension visits from District Fisheries Officers in a period of twelve months, an indication of low extension-farmer coverage.

Farmers play a key role in providing extension services to one another through visits where they share information regarding fish farming. The study showed that 38.8 percent of fish farmers received visits from their fellow farmers. Some of the visits were initiated by the farmers themselves and not necessarily sanctioned by district fisheries officers. The fisheries officers confirmed that they often encourage fish farmers to visit and learn from one another. Although farmer-to-farmer extension visits are common, extension staff need to provide guidance in terms of authenticity and quality of advice given. Lessons from Kenya show success of farmer to farmer extension following integration into extension work by government workers. In addition, [39] found that although volunteer farmer trainers incurred some costs while training their fellow farmers, the social, human and financial benefits gained were comparatively greater. Examples of benefits gained included altruism, increased income, knowledge and skills. Volunteer farmer trainers were also found effective, though only simple technologies were disseminated due to lack of technical backstopping from extension workers [40] . Farmer-to-farmer extension can therefore be most effective if supported and guided by government extension workers since farmers may have limited technical knowledge in certain agronomic aspects.

Researchers and officers from MAAIF were among the least service providers mentioned by respondents. Providing extension services is not the official mandate of researchers, but inevitably takes place during research and dissemination activities carried out on selected fish farms. These research related activities form a complementary role to extension and are viewed as extension work since they provide responses and solutions to farmers’ concerns. Other visitors mentioned by respondents included private extension service providers and staff from non-governmental organizations. Though officially recognized as providers of extension services, involvement in aquaculture is very limited.

Results displayed in the (Table 4) show that fisheries officers are the main actors providing extension services to fish farmers, followed by farmers. Further analysis of extension service delivery in terms of frequency of visits by fisheries officers in the central and north revealed a moderate statistically significant difference (p

I work with farmers who I identify as hardworking and having good interpersonal relations with their fellow fish farmers during training meetings that I organize at least once a year. I make telephone calls to them at least once a quarter to receive some kind of report about the farmers they manage to visit. When I receive some funds from the district, I plan my visits according to the reports I have received. For example, I may organize a general training or I may choose to visit a few farmers that require on-farm technical advice such as pond construction or assessing readiness of the pond for stocking with fingerlings. I had to devise this approach because of limited funding and lack of field-based staff (KII, Kole district).

The above revelation reflects level of commitment by extension staff to the extent of devising mechanisms that enable them to provide services to fish framers using the lowest cost possible. Results indicated that fisheries officer visits to fish farmers made once or twice a year are insufficient to address needs of farmers. Respondents rated extension services provided as useful, but irregular. The farmers preferred well planned regular visits and training sessions by government extension workers as the most efficient way to meet their fish farming needs. In addition, they proposed formation and strengthening of fish farmer associations through which to channel their demands for extension services.

6.        Conclusion and Recommendations

Though introduced more than 50 years ago, aquaculture in Uganda remains a nascent venture poised to increase availability of fish only if farmers receive relevant extension services. Extension services for fish farmers have been inadequate despite the various reforms in the agricultural sector over the years. The NAADS program has been implemented since 2001 and by 2016 still had no tangible positive effect on improving aquaculture production at the household and national level. A thorough understanding of the demographic and socio-economic characteristics of fish farmers, including the nature and scale of operation should be considered in the planning and delivery of extension services. District based fisheries extension staff are primary agents of extension service provision and therefore need adequate budgets, transport and refresher training courses to carry out their duties effectively. Besides providing technical advice and information, they need to assist farmers to form associations through which relevant services can be provided more effectively. The associations would also be a means of fostering social relations among fish farmers and improve the current ad hoc and unplanned farmer-to-farmer extension.

Extension policy interventions need to be socially negotiated and adapted in view of the uniqueness of aquaculture as a new venture compared to crops and livestock farming. Improving aquaculture extension service provision requires a thorough understanding of different actors including their aspirations and limitations. Government commitment to improving the fisheries sector and aquaculture in particular should reflect increased staffing at district and sub-county levels. The “single spine” extension system has a clear chain of command and reporting, and is therefore likely to improve extension service provision as long as budgets allow effective implementation, monitoring, supervision and reporting.

7.        Disclosure of Conflict of Interest

The authors have not declared any conflict of interest

8.        Acknowledgement

Research support provided by the World Bank and Government of Uganda via the National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO) under the Agricultural Technology, Advisory and Agribusiness Services (ATAAS) program. Additional support by the USAID AquaFish Innovation Lab Collaborative Research Support Program and the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station, Auburn University. We thank the District Fisheries Staff, the field assistants and the various respondents for their time and cooperation during data collection. Special appreciation to Dr. Richard Vokes and Dr. John Balirwa for providing comments.

Figure 1: Map of Uganda showing districts covered during the study.

Figure 1: Number of years practicing fish farming by region, 246 Uganda fish farming households, 2016.

Figure 3: Constraints encountered by fish farmers, 246 Uganda fish farming households, 2016.

Figure 4: Extension services provided by major actors, 246 Uganda fish farming households, 2016.

Table 1: Aquaculture development and extension since the 1950s.

Table 2: Demographic, socio-economic and fish farming characteristics of sampled respondents, 246 Uganda fish farming households, 2016.

Table 3: Operational state of household fish pond, 246 Uganda fish farming households, 2016. Source: Survey data

Table 4: Chi-square analysis of frequency of extension visits to fish farmers by major actors, 246 Uganda fish farming households, 2016.

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• UN Women HQ

Women breaking barriers in the fish farming industry in Uganda.

Date: Monday, 28 August 2023

Women in Bugiri District in Eastern Uganda are breaking barriers by taking on roles in fields traditionally dominated by men. While fish farming was reserved for men in Uganda, the women have broken the taboo and mastered the art of fishing, enabling them to etch a decent livelihood.

Launched in 2019, the Women's Economic Empowerment Programme aims to improve women’s income security, decent work, and economic autonomy by 2025. With funding from the Government of Sweden and Standard Bank, UN Women partnered with the Bugiri District Local Government to support rural women to engage in fish farming on Lake Victoria where the women have established 28 cages of Tilapia fish. Involving women in the fish farming industry has created jobs and improved the standards of living of thousands in the district and their families.

Rose Nakimuli, a resident of Bugiri, is one of the fisherwomen on the project. “When I was selected to be trained in fish farming, I embraced the opportunity. I didn’t mind what society would think of me. I approached it as a job. The UN Women project ensured that we learned about aquaculture, how to swim, and how to fish, and I have now mastered the skills to feed and harvest fish which I am doing well”, Nakimuli said at a recent field visit. She is one of the 1400 women whose capacity was built in fish farming.

Amina Nakiranda, the project’s production manager, explained that the program taught them how to fish and gave them essential business management skills. “Before this WEE program, many of us ran tiny businesses selling fresh produce or silverfish in the marketplaces. Our businesses were really struggling, and we would approach banks, cooperatives, and village savings to lend us money. But that wouldn’t end well because the businesses would not make a profit and we’d end up in debt. Through the training provided in this project we learned how to run our business from start to finish,” she said.

The Cage Fish project strengthened the capacity of the women in governance, financial literacy, and the whole fish value chain. The women have now registered a private company “Women Economic Empowerment Bugiri (WEEB).

Ms. Immaculate Were, the CEO of WEEB observed that “Although 85% of the beneficiaries are illiterate, the women are now specialized in different areas including feeding, harvesting, preservation, marketing and trading”, adding “Once a woman gets wealthy, that’s wealth for the whole nation”.

Gender relations have improved in their homes as women now earn an income and contribute to the family budget. “The project has reduced gender-based violence because we no longer sit at home and beg everything from our husbands. We are no longer burdens, the project has empowered us” said Judith, a member of the executive board of WEEB.

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Fish Farming

Uganda produces up to 15 000 tons of fish from aquaculture, including production from small-scale fish farmers, emerging commercial fish farmers and stocked community water reservoirs and minor lakes. There are an estimated 20,000 ponds throughout the country with an average surface area of 500 m² per fish pond.

In Uganda, the aquaculture enterprise is still in its take off stages despite it being practiced even in pre-colonial times. This has been mainly due to the fish from natural water bodies like lakes, streams and rivers being sufficient for the fish eating populations.

However, due to the recent increase in population and high upshot of fish processing plants for export, the natural stocks have dwindled to alarming levels in that, meeting the domestic demand alone is going to be a problem without providing alternative sources of fish.

Aquaculture therefore presents the major alternative to natural water bodies in as far as fish production is concerned. Uganda is widely covered by free flowing water that can be utilized for aquaculture production and even the large water bodies like lakes and rivers can be utilized for fish cage establishments.

Fish technologies provided by NAADS

Under NAADS, a number of districts have come up with requests to be supported in terms of provision of inputs for support under the aquaculture enterprise. The support is in form of fish fingerings and start-up fish feeds.

However, being at takeoff and since a living organism is to be reared in a controlled environment, a number of factors have to be fulfilled by an intending fish farmer. These factors can be categorized as those needed for the successful growth of a fish and institutional requirements for the success of the program.

Selection Criteria and Technical Requirements

In order for the fish farming projects to succeed, it is important to undertake proper selection of farmers/ beneficiaries. There are 3 major requirements for the beneficiary pond suitability for fish farming as described below:

• Water availability:

Good sites should have good sources of water visible like streams, springs available at least throughout the year in because fish lives and does everything in water. It is the most critical factor to consider.

• Nature of soil:

Soils are important in that; they hold the water that fish live in. the soils to consider are those that are a mixture of clay-loam. Pure clay cracks during hot weather and is very minimal in nutrients hence it should not be considered. Sandy soil is not desirable because water easily percolates through and hence a lot of water is lost. Areas with sandy soils and extremely clay soils should be therefore avoided.

• Size and shape of the pond:

For commercialization of the enterprise, ponds need to be at least more than 300m 2. The ponds must be rectangular for easy management, with a gentle slope for easy drainage, dykes must be well compacted and with a slope at least of 2:1. The minimum water depth should be 1M at the outlet and 0.8M at the inlet. Inlet and outlet pipes must be fitted well. The inlet and outlet pipes should be well screened.

Identification of potential beneficiaries

The selection and verification exercise is conducted by technical teams from the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF), NAADS, OWC together with the beneficiary district local governments.

Fingerlings

These are one month old baby fish.  We normally give out three types- Nile Tilapia, African Cut fish or Mirror Carp

Pond Management

The size of your pond is the major factor that will determine what fish species to stock, the degree of management needed to maintain these fish, and how many fish you can remove each year.

Feeding Fish

We provide start up fish feeds which farmers can use to feed their fingerlings for about 1 month. We expect that when farmers are selected for fish farming, they have the capacity to make the fish grow.

Success Stories on Fishing

We bring you success stories from different areas. Here is how farmers have found fish farming very profitable.

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Fish Farming Business Plan For Beginners

Table of contents.

• Read Mud Crab Farming.
• Read Tilapia Fish Farming.

Fish Farming Business Plan:

Introduction to Fish Farming Business Plan: 

If you are planning for a commercial fish farming business, no doubt fish farming is a more profitable venture. In a commercial fish farming business plan, first need to study about the process of farming fish for a good profits.

Market analysis and business plan are the must to initiate a fish farming business. You should do an intensive market research before getting into it. Then analyze the local market trends and demand for type of fishes. If you are planning for commercial fish farming business for exporting, then talk to fish processing units prior. Choosing exact fish species for your business to get success in fish farming business. Choose fish species for farming depends on the climatic conditions, market demand, maintenance point of view, and as per the availability of resources etc.

To get complete knowledge about fish farming business, you can get training from Government running farms that conduct training. Or working at a successful fish farm give you a good knowledge of farm management, water quality management, disease control, feeding, marketing and processing skills.

For a profitable farming, you should get the complete information about hatching fish, eggs and then grooming them to the maturity.

There are two basic methods of farming fish based on the species of fish you have chosen. Starting a fish farm business, you need to ready to face many hurdles, fish farming indeed a profitable business venture. First, decide whether you are planning for a small scale or on a large scale commercial fish farming based on your financial status.

Fish Farming Business Plan – A Complete Guide

Industry Overview

The Aqua Industry is no doubt a leading industry in most countries of the world: commercial fish farming business plan includes farming of different species of fishes.

The Fish and Seafood, Aquaculture industry is a large, very large industry and have good market in all parts of the world, especially the countries, United States of America, India, Canada, United Kingdom, Portugal Germany, Australia, the Caribbean etc.

Most fish farmers do commercial fish farming business, some best niches of commercial fish farming are:

• Raising and harvesting finfish (e.g. Catfish, trout, tilapia and minnows)
• Raising and harvesting shellfish (e.g. Clams, oysters, crustaceans, mollusks and shrimp)
• Raising and harvesting ornamental fish (e.g. Goldfish and tropical fish)

Fish Farming Business Plan – Types of Fish Farming:

There are many varieties of fishes that can be raised for commercial fish farming business. In you fish farming business plan, type of fish farming plays a key role. Most common fishes farmed in commercial farms are salmon, carp, tilapia, catfish and cod.

• Catfish Commercial farming

Catfish most suitable and profitable species for commercial fish farming. Catfish has huge market demand for its amazing health benefits and market demand. In a commercial fish farming, catfish takes 18 months to get ready, catfish grown in fish pond is smaller than the wild catfish. There are several varieties of catfish species, most popular catfish varieties are blue catfish, channel catfish, and flathead catfish.

• Tilapia Commercial farming

Tilapia is another profitable fish species suitable for commercial fish farming after carp and salmon.  These fish have great demand for its high popularity and rich in proteins and vitamins. Tilapia fish grow to large size depending on the capabilities. Tilapia fishes are tropical varieties requires required warm water to grow. The ideal water in the fish should be temperature be between 28 to 30 degrees. These fish ponds need intensive management. Tilapia’s are more resistant to disease and parasites. Tilapia fish should be fed with cereal-based diet and these fish don’t eat other fishes, and these fish are considered as more invasive fish species.

• Salmon farming

Salmon is another popular variety for commercial fish farming.  Salmon fish comes in two other varieties are – Chinook and Coho. These fish species are not disease resistant, these should be vaccinated to prevent from diseases and they even need additional medication in extreme conditions.

• Tuna Commercial farming

Tuna fish are saltwater species that give more profits in commercial fish farming. There are different varieties of Tuna fishes, bluefin, yellowfin, and albacore. Commercial farming Tuna fish is a bit difficult as these fishes are massive and very active. Tuna fish are carnivores and these fishes eat other fishes. Farming of Tuna fishes is done in net pens offshore and in recirculation systems. Japan is the largest consumer of Tuna Fish.

• Eel Commercial farming

Eel fish farming is the profitable species for commercial fish farming. These fishes have huge demand in export markets.  Eels fishes are a carnivorous and catadromous fish, means these fishes grow in fresh water when they are young, and they migrate to sea water for breeding. Asia, China, Japan and Taiwan are leading producers of commercial eel fishes as the biggest producers. Eel farming can be grown in – high intensity recirculating tank (indoors) or intensive pond facilities.

• Shrimp Farming

Commercial shrimp farming has a great market in the Asian market. Commercial shrimp farming has a simplest culture approach. Shrimp has a great market demand is very high and you can initiate small and large-scale shrimp farming very easily with less effort.

• Ornamental Fish Farming

Ornamental fishes are colorful and attractive and generally known as aquarium fish. According to an NABARD report the ornamental fish trading industry with a turnover of US $ 6 Billion and an annual growth rate of 8 percent offers lots of scope for development.

Fish Farming Business Plan – Fish farming supplies for Commercial Fish Farming:

You require many fish farming supplies for in commercial fish farming business. A commercial farming equipment’s and systems required for commercial farming business are fish feeds and fish feeders, filtering systems, air pumps, heating and cooling systems, lighting equipment, hydroponics equipment, predator control fences, tanks and water treatment products.

Feed and feeders Feed quality plays a key role fish farming. Feeding depends on desirable color, growth and overall health and well-being of the fishes. There are a wide variety of different feeds are required for different types fish species.

Water Filtration Systems:   Water filtration systems are important, that shows the great impact on pond environment.  Filtration includes removal of waste products in the pond water.  There are several varieties of filtering systems that can be used, depends on the requirement.

Hatchery supplies : Commercial fish farming required hatchery equipment’s like fish graders, shipping supplies to spawning and handling containers.

Predator control: You should take necessary steps in controlling predators. Take the necessary steps like fences, and physical deterrents like visual and audio deterrents.

Construction of Fish Ponds for Fish Farming Business:

Fish farming business is an ancient farming method that has increased its market these days. Fishes are a great source of vitamins and proteins, through commercial fish farming that is done in fresh water can help you to grow different variety of fishes for consumption.

Building a fish farming pond is a tough task, but running a fish farming business is rewarding, fun, and can earn you good returns in the long run.

Read: Dairy Farming Courses, Fees in India .

Here we give you a complete information about a fish farming pond in a fish farming business plan:

Pond Building Preparation

First, Decide the type fish farm: Before you are planning for fish pond construction and design, first decide,

• Type of fish you are planning to farm.
• The size the fish you can grow when they are grown up.

How Many fishes you can grow in a fish pond?

The Pond size should be capable of handling the type of fish you are planning to grow. If growing too large size fish, pond size may be sufficient when they are small in size, but if they attain a large size, the space may be congested. So, make a deep study about the type of fishes and their required pond size.

Select A Suitable Location for constructing fish pond: 

The Position of the fish pond plays a key role in good and healthy growing fishes. If planning a fish farm in backyards or any other place, select an appropriate position. Consider the following steps before choosing a location for the fish pond:

• The level of the ground in the site should be a bit low and flat. If not first thing is level up the ground completed.
• The fish pond should have a good provision to collect natural rain water or runoff. This helps to keep the pond water fresh.
• Construct the barriers around the fish pond.
• If the area you are constructing a fish pond, where there are more chances to face extreme hot and extreme cold climates. In these areas the depth of the pond should between 8 ft to 12 feet, so that the fishes can get enough space to get shelter during peak summers and peak winters.

Consider these tips before to determine a good location that is suitable for your fish pond.

How to dig a site for Fish Pond:

Once the location is decided, now draw the sketches and map exact measurements and the dimensions of the pond.

Mapping can help to you to visualize the size and the design of the pond. You can also use ropes or garden hoses to draw the design of the fish pond.  Once the layout is ready, now ready to dig the fish pond.

Things to be considered before digging:

• The gas pipes, electric lines, water pipes or sewerage lines should be buried below the ground.
• The roots of the big plants may be left at the bottom the pond and there are chances to grow again and occupy the tree. If digging the ponds next to big trees, make sure that the root system of the trees should take care properly to stop them growing in the pond.

Fish Farming Business Plan – Building Your Fish Farming Pond:

Digging Your Fish Farming Pond

• Depending on the size of your fish farm, if planning to dig manually using large shovels and labor, it consumes a lot of energy and a lot of time. A bobcat or excavator that is used in digging up the pond will save a good amount of time.
• Don’t dig at the top of the hole on a slope.
• While digging, it is better to dig 16 inches at once on the outer edges and place the waste soil as a pile at the backside of the pond.
• When digging in the center, start to dig deeper this helps to create an even slope in your fish pond. This will help the excavator move easily in and out of the pond easily.
• Measure the depth constantly to get the exact depth of pond that you are planning.
• To form defined edges at last and dig around the outer edge with a shovel to level it better.

Considering these tips will help you be able to dig your fish pond more successfully without hurdles.

Fish Farming Business Plan- Lining the Fish Pond:

Once the fish pond is dug, line it up with a rubber liner or a tarp. This tarp or liner used in fish ponds should be suitable for fish ponds so that is doesn’t harm the fishes. Before laying the trap at the bottom first make a thin layer of sand across the surface area of the hole to reduce the tears.

And to protect this liner or trap you can also use some geotextile fabric that protects runner liner from getting damaged. The main reason for using a trap is it protect the water from seeping out into the surrounding lands.  If trap not used water should be supplied constantly into the pond to maintain the water level in the fish pond.  Otherwise, you need to fill the pond with to maintain the water level.

Ponds can be sealed without rubber liners or traps, these are also many other best and cheapest options other than liner or traps. But this process depends on your soil type and the clay content of the soil.  Even you can get a sell sodium bentonite clay that is used as a pond sealer.

Even there are many sustainable traditional pond liners that are worth safe for using. We also use polyethylene with ethanol-based plastics which is better than fossil-fuel based plastic liners.

If you are using a rubber liner or tarp at the bottom, it is a good idea to start to place it from the center of the pond. The size of the traps or liner depends on the size of the ponds, order a sufficient number of liner that can cover a complete pond area.

Next is filling the Pond With Water:

• Once the pond is fitted with the liner or trap, then place a big stone at the center of the pond, this protects liner or traps from lifting and floating when water level falls.
• Filling up the pond depends on the size of the pond. Water should be filled from the side, so that it will help trap to conform slowly to the weight of the water. And place stones at the outer edge liners, that helps liners or traps from falling as the amount of water increases.
• If you are not using pumping system, then fill the pond with fish. Fish need oxygenated water to live and stay healthy. Place the running hose in water to generate oxygen in water, water should be oxygenated 2 to 3 times in a week and time duration should be 15 to 30 minutes.

Fish Farming Business Plan – How to Introduce fish into the fish pond:

While introducing fish into pond, fish make water to settle completely, so that dirt gets settled completely.  Now mix fishes slowly in the fish pond water in a bucket water first for 10 to 15 minutes that will help the fish to acclimatize to the new water PH levels.

Now slowly tip the fish into the fish ponds. Minimizing the stress levels in the fish will increase the rate survival and make to adjust new environment quickly.

Don’t make mistake by adding all the fishes at once, add in small amounts and check wait for 2-3 weeks. If the maximum number of fishes is alive, then add remaining fishes.

If you see more dead fish, them check with cause, before adding remaining fishes. The pH levels in the soil can cause death of fishes, some fishes require a set PH level to survive in. If the pH level is under control, check with an expert to address the exact problem.

Fish Farming Business Plan – Fish Feed in Fish Farming Business:

Feeding is the main part in the fish farming business. Fish needs good and nutritious feed for proper growth and survival. Feed management plays a key success in fish farming business. The feed should be well balanced, nutritious feed which includes protein, carbohydrate, fat, vitamins, minerals and water. The moss or aquatic insects are considered as a natural feed that in available in that pond, which not sufficient for all the fishes. These natural feeds consumed by the fish during early stages. Some fertilizers are available that produces natural feed in the ponds, but these are not recommended.   Along with natural feeds, supplementary feed ensures the fast growth of fish. So, for a commercial fish farming business, we must use supplementary feeds to increase production of fish in short span of time.

Fish Farming Business Plan – Different Types of Fish Feed:

There are two different types of fish feed. One is Natural feed and other is supplementary feed.

Natural Fish Feed

The natural fish feed is which grows naturally in the pond, this feed increases the natural fertility of soil and water and this feed can be developed in pond by applying fertilizer is called a natural feed of fish. Natural feed is the main and the best feed for surviving of fish at early stages. Below are some natural feeds for fishes that should be available in the pond.

• Wolffia, eichhornia, pistia, lemna
• Tiny aquatic insects
• Rotted part of animal and plants
• Basal organic elements
• Varieties of grasses like napier, para etc.

Supplementary Fish Feed

Along with natural feed we should also provide some supplementary food for fishes for a healthy growth. As the natural feed available may not be sufficient when they grow bigger. These supplementary feeds which we provide for the fishes are called supplementary fish feeds. Supplementary fish feeds are available in the market or you can prepare yourself.

Supplementary Fish Feeds:

• Refined pulse and wheat roughage
• Mustard or sesame cake
• Fish-meal (fish powder)
• Silk kit meal
• Blood and excreta of bird or animal
• Green leaves of various vegetables
• Minerals and vitamins
• Kitchen leftovers
• Maize powder and refined chaff
• Dried molasses, etc.

How to store the Fish Feed:

• Low moisture fish feed and dry pellet feeds are stored only for two to three months, and these should be stored in a dark cool and dry place.
• High moisture feed and moist pellet feed can be stored for a one week, store them in a freezer, if that facility is not available, use them as soon you buy the feed.
• The Powdery fish feed will pollute water if left in the water for a long time. They should be cleaned regularly.

Fish Farming Business Plan – Marketing Plan in Fish Farming Business Plan:

A successful approach in developing a business plan for fish farming, there are important components to consider before you develop a marketing plan. Below is some feature to consider in fish marketing.

• Fish Market Trends

As the many marketing reports all over the world, the global fisheries and aquaculture production was more than 300 million tonnes by the end of this year. So, by checking the huge demand for fish has increased the fish farming business all over the world. The global aquaculture industry has created the waves for profits in these years. The commercial fish farming has been being increased day by day to meet the demand of the market.

As the people are influenced by the nutritional value of seafood, which increased the demand in all parts of the world. And USA is the largest consumer of fish and the China comes the next.  And 90% of fish consumed in the USA are imported from other countries. This shows the potential of fishes in the international market.

But the most interesting facts is that over 90% of the seafood consumed in the US is imported from other countries around the world. That is why the fish farming industry has a lot of potential in the US and can be immensely profitable if you plan it successfully.

• Marketing Segmentation

In a successful fish marketing plan, the customers or consumers or clients are differentiated into different types.

• Individual clients:

In this you can open a small retail outlet in your farming area in the early stages to grab attention of local people. This mainly targets individual buyers, people will be easily attracted by the fresh and natural fish.

• Departmental Stores or super Market or Meat Stores:

Contact with the nearby departmental stores or supermarkets or meat stores and make a contract with them for supplying the fresh farmed fish. These departmental stores are the best source to market the fishes that can earn good amount of profits.

• Restaurants and Hotels:

Make a contract with the surrounding restaurant and hotels who need fishes on a regular basis throughout the year. The restaurants and hotel are the potential clients after the departmental stores.

Make a detailed study of the market where you can find the potential clients.

• Set a Business Target:

Aim the top is the best formula in a fish farming business. Set the business targets with a time limit that should be achieved in a certain amount of time.

• Balance the investment cost with earned profits by the end of the first year.
• And try to achieve the 10% net profit margin per month by the end of the first year, and 15% of net profits per month by the end of the second year, and 25% net profits per month by the end of the third year. This plan will keep you safe in your fish farming business.

How to Give Price for your fish:

Before setting the price considering the market demands, give the price like the price of all your competitors. The main reason in pricing policy is to attract customers, the minimum attractive rate will keep your business at safer zone at the early stages of business. Don’t give too low prices that give you loss.

Fish Farming Business Plan- Quick Tips to be noticed in a Fish Farming Business Plan:

• Make sure that the fish farm site should have a constant water supply.
• Make sure that the water temperature is optimal for the fish species reared or not.
• Make an easy access to the pond for feeding and harvesting.
• Test the water before you start fish farming both chemical and bacteriological.
• Learn about the modern technical method of risk assessment and as well as risk management.
• Find the qualified suppliers for fish eggs, fingerlings and fish feed which is very crucial in the fish farming business.
• Legal compliance and permission should be fingered out before starting a fish farming business in your locality.
• The site should have a good transport facility, that shows good impact on marketing your products and purchasing necessary commodities from the market.
• Take necessary suggestion from experts or the people who are in the same profession in building up your business.

Read Mud Crab Farming .

Read tilapia fish farming ., 28 comments.

I need a supplier of material for pond lining in Uttar Pradesh or nearby

I have passed M. Sc Zoology with fish & Fisheries and now I want to know fish farm project details.

Check this: RAS Fish Farming Project Report .

I want to start a fish farming business without equipment

I need a consultant for fish farming to start a fresh farm project. I need a person who can help prepare a business plan and end to end advice before , during and after the project

Can you please send me your quote for the same

I want to start fish farming business in navi mumbai, who can guide me on this ?

I want to start fish farming, Hence theres still a lot for me to learn and how can I embark in this journey. I’ll be happy if thers someone who can help from their goodness of their heart.

> How many baby fish of Catla/Rohu/Mrigel of 50 grams each ( in combination of 30:40:30) can be reared for 3 years in a 6 Bigha pond with6 to 6 to 7 ft water depth in eastern fringe of Kolkata? > Planning to sale 50% of first year’s stock in the 2nd year and the balance 50% of first year’s stock in the 3rd year .Full stock of first year would again be stocked in the 2nd,3rd,4th year and so on so that the process continues? > Average good feed cost per month for the suggested quantity just to ensure that the baby fish grows to at least 1 kg/2 kgs and 3 kgs in first,2nd and 3rd year respectively. > What would be best hatcheries in and around Kolkata wherefrom the best baby fish of 50 grams each could be obtained ? > What could be price per unit of 50 grams per 1000 pcs?

Shall be thankful,if the said information is provided to me at the earliest.

I wish to start a catfish farming in the northern Namibia, I m looking for an investor or anyone to partner up with me,

I want to start a fish farming business in sivagangai( tamil nadu), who can guide me on this?

Are u started ur fish farming..if u started means …plzz guide me ….tell some information .I am from Madurai (tamilnadu).I wish to start a fish farming business.so plz guide me with ur knowledge

I want to start a fish farming in Bayelsa State, Nigeria, please I need someone to guide me by helping me build the ponds and guiding me through the preliminary stages, thanks

I want a complete manual for this type of fishing. Mpika, Zambia.

want start pond fish farming in malawi, looking for guidance manual

Hello, I want to start pond fish farming in Afghanistan, i want complete manual and a sample of business plan in soft please. Thanks

I too is a student in uganda studying agriculture and I am very happy to learn and share experiences with every body many time I will ask questions and I may think you will help me iam very glad for joining this flat form

I wish to start a fish pond farming in Cameroon,I need guidance on how to go about it;will be grateful if I can have a manual on the plan and processing.

I would like to start a fish farm in ernakulam,kaloor area.please let me know who can help me in this area. I like to see one fish farm in this area.

I want info about fish farming I am from Nagpur Maharashtra

I’m writing to everyone willing to support me in this, I can do it without any problems, I have good land, natural water, easy transport and even the market.

Thank you. loved your article. It was really helpful for my business. Wish to see more in coming days.

I want to start fish farming or mud crab farming…Where I will get the training for this business.

I want to start fish farming in Lonavla for personal use, can someone guide and help with end to end process.

I’m looking for investors in Ghana

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I just acquired a piece of land to start fish farming. I need guidance

How to do mud crab farming in my terrace?

I would like to start a Fish Farming Project in my rural area , the fresh water supply is not a problem and the land is available just asking a guidance as to how get started .

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Fish Farming Business Plan [Sample Template]

By: Author Tony Martins Ajaero

Home » Business ideas » Agriculture Industry » Livestock Farming » Fish Farming

Are you about starting a fish farming business ? If YES, here is a complete sample fish farming business plan template & feasibility report you can use for FREE .

Fish farming is a very lucrative business. It has been in existence for a very long time and more and more people have found it a very good means of livelihood. One of the unique things about the fish farming trade is that you have the opportunity to rear fishes and watch them grow from tiny to big enough to be traded with.

This business isn’t so capital intensive, however it requires that one garners a good skill in the trade so that one can apply expertise in the business and not lose money at a slightest mistake.  Much more than the skills to be garnered there is the business plan that needs to be written.

Business plans help you to decipher how a business is really being run. Here below is a sample fish farming business plan;

A Sample Fish Farming Business Plan Template

1. industry overview.

The agricultural industry of which Fish and Seafood Aquaculture business is a subset of is no doubt among the leading industry in most countries of the world; it is the industry that produces fish and seafood for the populace.

Because of the significant role the agriculture sector plays, the government of most countries ensures that they go all the way to subsidize seedlings, fertilizers, and farming implements and machinery for farmers and also encourage entrepreneurs to go into commercial farming (fish farming inclusive).

The Fish and Seafood Aquaculture industry comprises of businesses that farm aquatic animals or plants in controlled aquatic environments. Businesses in this industry make use of some form of intervention in the rearing process to enhance production, such as holding in captivity and protecting from predators, pests and disease.

It is important to state that this industry does not including the fishing and harvesting of wild fish and shellfish especially on the high sea. A study conducted by IBISWORLD shows that the Fish and Seafood Aquaculture industry has indeed experienced slow growth over the last five years.

Given that the vast majority of the revenue generated in the industry is derived from sales of fish, mollusks and crustaceans that will be processed into food products, this industry’s success is tied to levels of seafood consumption. Per capita seafood consumption in the united states has declined over the last five years, putting strain on businesses in this industry.

Nonetheless, increases in the price of seafood, combined with a healthy export market, have boosted the revenue growth in this industry. The revenue generation from The Fish and Seafood Aquaculture industry is projected to grow at an annualized rate of 0.3 percent to $1.5 billion over the five-year period.

The Fish and Seafood Aquaculture industry is indeed a very large industry and pretty much thriving in all parts of the world especially in developed countries such as United States of America, Canada, United Kingdom, Portugal Germany, Australia and the Caribbean et al.

Statistics has it that in the United States of America alone, there are about 2,087 licensed and registered Fish and Seafood Aquaculture company directly responsible for employing about 10,440 employees and indirectly responsible for employing roughly 1,339,900.

The industry rakes in a whooping sum of $1billion annually with an annual growth rate projected at 0.3 percent. It is important to state that there are no establishments with a lion share of the available market in this industry. If you are looking towards leveraging on the agriculture industry to generate huge income, then one of your best bet is to start a fish and seafood aquaculture business.

One thing is certain about starting fish and seafood aquaculture business, if you are able to conduct your market research and feasibility studies , you are more likely not going to struggle to sell your fish and seafood because there are always food processing companies and consumers out there who are ready to buy from you.

2. Executive Summary

St. Vincent Fish and Seafood Aquaculture, LLC is a world – class and licensed Fish and Seafood Aquaculture Company that will be based in a riverine area in Columbia, South Carolina – United States. We have done our detailed market research and feasibility studies and we were able to secure a hundred hectares of land to start our fish and seafood aquaculture business.

Our fish and seafood farm is going to be standard fish and seafood farm hence will be involved in raising and harvesting finfish (e.g. catfish, trout, tilapia and minnows), raising and harvesting shellfish (e.g. clams, oysters, crustaceans, mollusks and shrimp), raising and harvesting ornamental fish (e.g. goldfish and tropical fish), raising and harvesting aquaculture species to augment or replenish wild habitats, and raising and harvesting other aquaculture (e.g. seaweed, alligators, frogs and turtles) et al.

We are in the Fish and Seafood Aquaculture industry because we want to leverage on the vast opportunities available in the agriculture industry, to contribute our quota in growing the U.S. economy, in national food production, and also to fish and seafood from the United States to other countries and over and above to make profit.

St. Vincent Fish and Seafood Aquaculture, LLC is well positioned to become one of the leading fish and seafood farming business in the United States of America, which is why we have been able to source for the best hands and machines to run the company with.

We have put process and strategies in place that will help us employ best practices when it comes to fish and seafood farming processes as required by the regulating bodies in the United States of America. At St. Vincent Fish and Seafood Aquaculture, LLC, our customer’s best interest will always come first, and everything we do will be guided by our values and professional ethics.

We will ensure that we hold ourselves accountable to the highest standards by meeting our client’s needs precisely and completely. We will cultivate a working environment that provides a human, sustainable approach to earning a living, and living in our world, for our partners, employees and for our clients.

St. Vincent Fish and Seafood Aquaculture, LLC is a private registered fish and seafood farming company that is owned by Vincent Denis and his immediate family members.

The fish and seafood farm will be fully and single handedly financed by the owner – Vincent Denis and his immediate family members at least for a period of time. Vincent Denis studied Fishery and he has well over 10 years of hands on experience in the fish and seafood aquaculture industry.

3. Our Products and Services

St. Vincent Fish and Seafood Aquaculture, LLC is a standard fish and seafood farming company that is committed to raising fish and seafood for both the United States’ market and the global market. We are in the fish and seafood to make profits and we are going to do all we can to achieve our business goals, aim and objectives.

These are the areas we will concentrate on in our fish and seafood farming business;

• Raising and harvesting finfish (e.g. catfish, trout, tilapia and minnows)
• Raising and harvesting shellfish (e.g. clams, oysters, crustaceans, mollusks and shrimp)
• Raising and harvesting ornamental fish (e.g. goldfish and tropical fish)
• Raising and harvesting aquaculture species to augment or replenish wild habitats
• Raising and harvesting other aquaculture (e.g. seaweed, alligators, frogs and turtles)

4. Our Mission and Vision Statement

• Our Vision is to become one of the leading fish and seafood farm brands not just in the United States of America but also on the global stage.
• St. Vincent Fish and Seafood Aquaculture, LLC is a world class and registered fish and seafood farming company that is committed to raising fish and seafood for both the United States’ market and the global market. We want our fish and seafood to flood the nooks and crannies of the United States and other countries of the world.

Our Business Structure

St. Vincent Fish and Seafood Aquaculture, LLC is a privately owned and managed fish and seafood business that intend starting small in fishing community in Columbia – South Carolina, but hope to grow big in order to compete favorably with leading fish and seafood farming companies in the industry both in the United States and on a global stage.

We are aware of the importance of building a solid business structure that can support the picture of the kind of world class business we want to own. This is why we are committed to only hire the best hands within our area of operations.

At St. Vincent Fish and Seafood Aquaculture, LLC, we will ensure that we hire people that are qualified, hardworking, and creative, result driven, customer centric and are ready to work to help us build a prosperous business that will benefit all the stakeholders (the owners, workforce, and customers).

As a matter of fact, profit-sharing arrangement will be made available to all our senior management staff and it will be based on their performance for a period of five years or more as agreed by the board of trustees of the company. In view of the above, we have decided to hire qualified and competent hands to occupy the following positions;

• Chief Operating Officer

General Fish and Seafood Farm Manager

Human Resources and Admin Manager

• Accountant / Cashier
• Sales and Marketing Executive
• Field Employees
• Front Desk Officer

5. Job Roles and Responsibilities

Chief Executive Officer – CEO:

• Increases management’s effectiveness by recruiting, selecting, orienting, training, coaching, counseling, and disciplining managers; communicating values, strategies, and objectives; assigning accountabilities; planning, monitoring, and appraising job results; developing incentives; developing a climate for offering information and opinions; providing educational opportunities.
• Responsible for providing direction for the business
• Creates, communicates, and implements the organization’s vision, mission, and overall direction – i.e. leading the development and implementation of the overall organization’s strategy.
• Responsible for signing checks and documents on behalf of the company
• Evaluates the success of the organization
• Responsible for the planning, management and coordinating all farm activities across the various sections on behalf of the organization
• Supervises other section manager
• Ensures compliance during project executions
• Provides advice on the management of farming activities across all section
• Responsible for carrying out risk assessment
• Using IT systems and software to keep track of people and progress of the growth of fish and seafood in our ponds
• Responsible for overseeing the accounting, costing and sale of fish and seafood farm produce
• Represents the organization’s interest at various stakeholders meetings
• Ensures that farming goals desired result are achieved, the most efficient resources (manpower, equipment, tools and chemicals et al) are utilized and different interests involved are satisfied.
• Responsible for preparing financial reports, budgets, and financial statements for the organization
• Responsible for overseeing the smooth running of HR and administrative tasks for the organization
• Updates job knowledge by participating in educational opportunities; reading professional publications; maintaining personal networks; participating in professional organizations.
• Enhances department and organization reputation by accepting ownership for accomplishing new and different requests; exploring opportunities to add value to job accomplishments.
• Defines job positions for recruitment and managing interviewing process
• Carries out staff induction for new team members
• Responsible for training, evaluation and assessment of employees
• Oversees the smooth running of the daily office.

Accountant / Cashier:

• Provides managements with financial analyses, development budgets, and accounting reports; analyzes financial feasibility for the most complex proposed projects; conducts market research to forecast trends and business conditions.
• Responsible for financial forecasting and risks analysis.
• Performs cash management, general ledger accounting, and financial reporting for one or more properties.
• Responsible for developing and managing financial systems and policies
• Responsible for administering payrolls
• Ensures compliance with taxation legislation
• Handles all financial transactions for St. Vincent Fish and Seafood Aquaculture, LLC
• Serves as internal auditor for St. Vincent Fish and Seafood Aquaculture, LLC.

Sales and Marketing Manager

• Manage external research and coordinate all the internal sources of information to retain the organizations’ best customers and attract new ones
• Model demographic information and analyze the volumes of transactional data generated by customer
• Identifies development opportunities; follows up on development leads and contacts; participates in the structuring and financing of projects; assures the completion of development projects.
• Writing winning proposal documents, negotiate fees and rates in line with organizations’ policy
• Responsible for handling business research, market surveys and feasibility studies for clients
• Responsible for supervising implementation, advocate for the customer’s needs, and communicate with clients
• Develops, executes and evaluates new plans for expanding increase sales
• Creates new markets cum businesses for the organization
• Empowers and motivates the sales team to meet and surpass agreed targets

Field Workers / Contract Staff

• Responsible for feeding fish and seafood as instructed by the supervisor
• Responsible for cleaning the ponds and the entire fish farm environment
• Changes the water in the pond as instructed by the supervisor on a regular basis
• Handles fish and seafood farm implements and machines (hatchery) as instructed by the section manager / supervisor
• Responsible for raising and harvesting finfish (e.g. catfish, trout, tilapia and minnows)
• Responsible for raising and harvesting shellfish (e.g. clams, oysters, crustaceans, mollusks and shrimp)
• Responsible for raising and harvesting ornamental fish (e.g. goldfish and tropical fish)
• Responsible for raising and harvesting aquaculture species to augment or replenish wild habitats
• Responsible for raising and harvesting other aquaculture (e.g. seaweed, alligators, frogs and turtles)
• Carries out task in line with the stated job description
• Assists in transport working tools and equipment from the fish and seafood farm and back to the designated store room
• Handles any other duties as assigned my the line manager

Front Desk / Customer’s Service Officer

• Welcomes clients and potential clients by greeting them in person, online or on the telephone; answering or directing inquiries.
• Ensures that all contacts with clients (e-mail, walk-In center, SMS or phone) provides the client with a personalized customer service experience of the highest level
• Through interaction with clients on the phone, uses every opportunity to build client’s interest in the company’s products and services
• Manages administrative duties assigned by the creative director in an effective and timely manner
• Consistently stays abreast of any new information on the organizations’ products, promotional campaigns etc. to ensure accurate and helpful information is supplied to clients when they make enquiries

6. SWOT Analysis

St. Vincent Fish and Seafood Aquaculture, LLC do not intend to launch out with trial and error hence the need to conduct a proper SWOT analysis.

We know that if we get it right from the onset, we would have succeeded in creating the foundation that will help us build a standard fish and seafood farming company that will favorably compete with leading players in the Fish and Seafood Aquaculture industry in the United States of America and in the rest part of the world.

We engaged the services of a core professional in the area of business consulting and structuring to assist our organization in building a well – structured fish and seafood farming company that can favorably compete in the highly competitive fish and seafood aquaculture industry in the United States and the world at large.

Part of what the team of business consultant did was to work with the management of our organization in conducting a SWOT analysis for St. Vincent Fish and Seafood Aquaculture, LLC. Here is a summary from the result of the SWOT analysis that was conducted on behalf of St. Vincent Fish and Seafood Aquaculture, LLC;

Our strength as a fish and seafood farming company is the fact that we have healthy relationships with loads of major players (agriculture merchants) in the industry; both suppliers of fish and seafood feeds and medications and buyers of fish and seafood within and outside of the United States of America.

We have some of the latest fish farming hatchery, tools and equipment that will help us raise and produce fish and seafood in commercial quantities with less stress. Aside from our relationship (network) and equipment, we can confidently boast that we have some the most experienced hands in Columbia – South Carolina in our payroll.

Our weakness could be that we are a new fish and seafood farming company in the United States, and perhaps it might take us sometime to attract big time customers in the industry. We are aware of this and from our projection will overcome this weakness with time and turn it to a major advantage for the business.

• Opportunities:

The opportunities that are available to us as a standard and world – class fish and seafood farming company cannot be quantified, we know that there are loads of households, and businesses such as hotels and fast food restaurants that can’t do without daily supply of fresh water fish and seafood. We are well positioned to take advantage of this opportunity

Some of the threats and challenges that we are likely going to face when we start our own fish and seafood farming company are global economic downturn that can impact negatively on household spending, bad weather cum natural disasters (draughts, epidemics), unfavorable government policies and the arrival of a competitor within same location.

There is hardly anything you can do as regards this threats and challenges other than to be optimistic that things will continue to work for your good.

7. MARKET ANALYSIS

• Market Trends

The Fish and Seafood Aquaculture industry has greatly benefited from campaigns advertising the health benefits of fish and seafood as a good source of protein. The vast majority of the revenue generated in the industry is derived from sales of fish, mollusks and crustaceans that will be processed into food products; this industry’s success is tied to levels of seafood consumption.

Per capita seafood consumption in the united states has declined over the last five years, putting strain on businesses in this industry.

As a matter of fact, one of the new trends is that with the recent advancement in technology, fish and seafood farmers can now comfortably predict and produce the quantities of fish and seafood they want to produce per time from their hatchery.

8. Our Target Market

Naturally, the target market of those who are the end consumer of fish and seafood and also those who benefits from the business value chain of the fish and seafood aquaculture industry is all encompassing; it is far – reaching.

Every household consumes produce from fish and seafood farms be it finfish (e.g. catfish, trout, tilapia and minnows), shellfish (e.g. clams, oysters, crustaceans, mollusks and shrimp), ornamental fish (e.g. goldfish and tropical fish), and other aquaculture (e.g. seaweed, alligators, frogs and turtles). So also almost all hotels and fast restaurants sell fish and seafood.

In essence a fish and seafood farmer should be able to sell his or her farm produce to as many people as possible. In view of that, we have positioned our business to attract consumers of fish and seafood not just in the United States of America alone but also other parts of the world.

We have conducted our market research and survey and we will ensure that we meet and surpass the expectations we set for the business. Below is a list of the people and business that we will market our fish and seafood to;

• Individuals
• Restaurants
• Fast food eateries
• Agriculture merchants

Our Competitive Advantage

It is easier to find entrepreneur flocking towards an industry that is known to generate consistent income which is why there are increase number of fish and seafood farmers in the United States of America and of course in most parts of the world.

For example, Statistics has it that there are 2.2 million farms in the United States of America, covering an area of 922 million acres. These goes to show that there are appreciable numbers of farmers in the United States of America but that does not mean that there is stiffer competition in the industry.

As a matter of fact, entrepreneurs are encouraged by the government to embrace commercial farming cum fish and seafood farming business. This is so because part of the success of any nation is her ability to cultivate her own food and also export food to other nations of the world.

St. Vincent Fish and Seafood Aquaculture, LLC is fully aware that there are competitions when it comes to selling fish and seafood all over the globe, which is why we decided to carry out thorough market research so as to know how to take advantage of the available market in the United States and in other parts of the world.

We have done our homework and we have been able to highlight some factors that will give us competitive advantage in the marketplace; some of the factors are effective and reliable fish and seafood farming processes that can help us sell our produce at competitive prices, good network and excellent relationship management.

Another competitive advantage that we are bringing to the industry is the fact that we have healthy relationships with loads of major players (agriculture merchants) in the industry; both suppliers of fish and seafood feeds and medications and buyers of fish and seafood within and outside of the United States of America.

We have some of the latest fish and seafood farming hatchery, tools and equipment that will help us raise fish and seafood in commercial quantities with less stress. Aside from our relationship (network) and equipment, we can confidently boast that we have some the most experienced hands in Columbia – South Carolina in our payroll.

Lastly, all our employees will be well taken care of, and their welfare package will be among the best within our category (startups fish and seafood farming companies in the United States) in the industry. It will enable them to be more than willing to build the business with us and help deliver our set goals and achieve all our business aims and objectives.

9. SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGY

• Sources of Income

St. Vincent Fish and Seafood Aquaculture, LLC is in the fish and seafood aquaculture industry for the purpose of maximizing profits hence we have decided to explore all the available opportunities within the industry to achieve our corporate goals and objectives. Below are the sources we intend exploring to generate income for St. Vincent Fish and Seafood Aquaculture, LLC;

10. Sales Forecast

From the studies and the survey conducted, we were are able to discover that the sales generated by a fish and seafood farming business depends on the size of the fish and seafood farm, the types of fishes and seafood available in the fish and seafood farm and of course the size of their marketing network.

We have been able to critically examine the fish and seafood aquaculture industry and we have analyzed our chances in the industry and we have been able to come up with the following sales forecast. The sales projection is based on information gathered on the field and some workable assumptions as well with respect to the nature of fish and seafood farming business that we run.

Below are the projections that we were able to come up with for the first three years of running St. Vincent Fish and Seafood Aquaculture, LLC;

• First Fiscal Year-: $250,000
• Second Fiscal Year-: $600,000
• Third Fiscal Year-: $900,000

N.B : This projection is done based on what is obtainable in the industry and with the assumption that there won’t be any major economic meltdown that can impact negatively on household spending, bad weather cum natural disasters (draughts, epidemics), and unfavorable government policies

• Marketing Strategy and Sales Strategy

We are quite aware that the reason why some fish and seafood farming companies hardly make good profits is their inability to sell off their fish and seafood as at when due.

Our sales and marketing team will be recruited based on their vast experience in the fish and seafood aquaculture industry and they will be trained on a regular basis so as to be well equipped to meet their targets and the overall business goal of St. Vincent Fish and Seafood Aquaculture, LLC.

Over and above, we have perfected our sale and marketing strategies first by networking with agriculture merchants and businesses that rely on daily supply of fish and seafood that are likely to become our customers. In summary, St. Vincent Fish and Seafood Aquaculture, LLC will adopt the following strategies in marketing our fish and seafood;

• Introduce our business by sending introductory letters alongside our brochure to stake holders in the agriculture industry, households, hotels and restaurants and agriculture produce merchant et al.
• Advertise our business in agriculture and food related magazines and websites
• List our business on yellow pages ads
• Attend related agriculture and food expos, seminars, and business fairs et al
• Leverage on the internet to promote our business
• Engage in direct marketing
• Encourage the use of Word of mouth marketing (referrals)

11. Publicity and Advertising Strategy

Any business that wants to grow beyond the corner of the street or the city they are operating from must be ready and willing to utilize every available means (both conventional and non – conventional means) to advertise and promote the business. We intend growing our business which is why we have perfected plans to build our brand via every available means.

We know that it is important to create strategies that will help us boost our brand awareness and to create a corporate identity for our fish and seafood farming business. Below are the platforms we will leverage on to boost our fish and seafood farming brand and to promote and advertise our business;

• Place adverts on community based newspapers, radio stations and TV stations.
• Encourage the use of word of mouth publicity from our loyal customers
• Leverage on the internet and social media platforms like; YouTube, Instagram, Facebook ,Twitter, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Badoo, Google+  and other platforms to promote our business.
• Ensure that our we position our banners and billboards in strategic positions all around Columbia – South Carolina
• Distribute our fliers and handbills in target areas in and around our neighborhood
• Contact corporate organizations, households, landlord associations and schools by calling them up and informing them of St. Vincent Fish and Seafood Aquaculture, LLC and the fish and seafood we sell
• Advertise our business in our official website and employ strategies that will help us pull traffic to the site
• Brand all our official cars and trucks and ensure that all our staff members and management staff wears our branded shirt or cap at regular intervals.

12. Our Pricing Strategy

Some of the factors that will help you sell your farm produce at the right price that will guarantee that you make profits is dependent on your strategy while some of the factors are beyond your control. For example, if the climatic condition is unfavorable and if there is natural disaster in the location where you have your fish and seafood farm, then it will directly affect the prices of your fish and seafood.

Over and above, if you want to get the right pricing for your fish and seafood, then you should ensure that you choose a good location for the fish and seafood farm, choose a good breed that will guarantee bountiful harvest, cut the cost of running your fish and seafood farm to the barest minimum and of course try as much as possible to attract buyers to your fish and seafood farm as against taking your fish and seafood to the market to source for buyers; with this, you would have successfully eliminate the cost of transporting the goods to the market and other logistics.

We are quite aware that one of the easiest means of penetrating the market and acquiring loads of customers for all our fishes and seafood is to sell them at competitive prices hence we will do all we can to ensure that the prices of our fish and seafood are going to be what other fish and seafood farmers would look towards beating.

One thing is certain; the nature of fish and seafood farming business makes it possible for fish and seafood farmers to place prices for their fish and seafood based on their discretion without following the benchmark in the industry. The truth is that it is one of the means of avoiding running into loss.

• Payment Options

The payment policy adopted by St. Vincent Fish and Seafood Aquaculture, LLC is all inclusive because we are quite aware that different customers prefer different payment options as it suits them but at the same time, we will ensure that we abide by the financial rules and regulation of the United States of America.

Here are the payment options that St. Vincent Fish and Seafood Aquaculture, LLC will make available to her clients;

• Payment via bank transfer
• Payment with cash
• Payment via online bank transfer
• Payment via check
• Payment via mobile money
• Payment via bank draft

In view of the above, we have chosen banking platforms that will enable our client make payment for farm produces purchase without any stress on their part. Our bank account numbers will be made available on our website and promotional materials to clients who may want to deposit cash or make online transfer for fishes and seafood.

13. Startup Expenditure (Budget)

When it comes to calculating the cost of starting a fish and seafood farm, there are some key factors that should serve as a guide. The different types of fishes and seafood to be raised in the fish and seafood farms determine the total cost of setting up the business.

Besides, in setting up any business, the amount or cost will depend on the approach and scale you want to undertake. If you intend to go big by renting / leasing a big facility, then you would need a good amount of capital as you would need to ensure that your employees are well taken care of, and that your facility is conducive enough for workers to be creative and productive.

This means that the start-up can either be low or high depending on your goals, vision and aspirations for your business. The tools and equipment that will be used are nearly the same cost everywhere, and any difference in prices would be minimal and can be overlooked.

As for the detailed cost analysis for starting a fish and seafood farming business; it might differ in other countries due to the value of their money. Below are some of the basic areas we will spend our start – up capital in setting up our fish and seafood farm;

• The Total Fee for incorporating the Business (commercial farm) in United States of America – $750.
• The amount needed to acquire / lease a fish farm land  – $50,000
• The amount required for preparing the farm land (fish ponds and fresh water supply et al) – $30,000
• Legal expenses for obtaining licenses and permits as well as the accounting services (software, P.O.S machines and other software) – $3,300.
• Marketing promotion expenses for the grand opening of St. Vincent Fish and Seafood Aquaculture, LLC in the amount of $3,500 and as well as flyer printing (2,000 flyers at $0.04 per copy) for the total amount of $3,580.
• The total cost for hiring Business Consultant – $2,500.
• The total cost for payment of insurance policy covers (general liability, workers’ compensation and property casualty) coverage at a total premium – $9,400
• The amount required for the purchase of the first set of fishes and seafood (fingerlings) – $10,000
• The cost for acquiring the required working tools and equipment / machines / hatchery et al– $50,000
• Operational cost for the first 3 months (salaries of employees, payments of bills et al) – $60,000
• The Cost of Launching an official Website – $600
• Additional Expenditure (Business cards, Signage, Adverts and Promotions et al) – $2,000

Going by the report from detailed research and feasibility studies conducted, we will need an average of $500,000 to start a standard fish and seafood farming business in the United States of America.

Generating Funding / Startup Capital for St. Vincent Fish and Seafood Aquaculture, LLC

No matter how fantastic your business idea might be, if you don’t have the required money to finance the business, the business might not become a reality.

No doubt raising start – up capital for a business might not come cheap, but it is a task that an entrepreneur must go through. St. Vincent Fish and Seafood Aquaculture, LLC is a family business that is solely owned and financed by Vincent Denis and his immediate family members.

They do not intend to welcome any external business partners, which is why he has decided to restrict the sourcing of the start – up capital to 3 major sources. These are the areas we intend generating our start – up capital;

• Generate part of the start – up capital from personal savings
• Source for soft loans from family members and friends
• Apply for loan from my Bank

N.B: We have been able to generate about $150,000 (Personal savings $100,000 and soft loan from family members $50,000) and we are at the final stages of obtaining a loan facility of $350,000 from our bank. All the papers and document have been signed and submitted, the loan has been approved and any moment from now our account will be credited with the amount.

14. Sustainability and Expansion Strategy

The future of a business lies in the numbers of loyal customers that they have the capacity and competence of the employees, their investment strategy and the business structure. If all of these factors are missing from a business (company), then it won’t be too long before the business close shop.

One of our major goals of starting St. Vincent Fish and Seafood Aquaculture, LLC is to build a business that will survive off its own cash flow without the need for injecting finance from external sources once the business is officially running.

We know that one of the ways of gaining approval and winning customers over is to retail our fishes and seafood a little bit cheaper than what is obtainable in the market and we are well prepared to survive on lower profit margin for a while.

St. Vincent Fish and Seafood Aquaculture, LLC will make sure that the right foundation, structures and processes are put in place to ensure that our staff welfare are well taken of. Our company’s corporate culture is designed to drive our business to greater heights and training and retraining of our workforce is at the top burner.

As a matter of fact, profit-sharing arrangement will be made available to all our management staff and it will be based on their performance for a period of six years or more. We know that if that is put in place, we will be able to successfully hire and retain the best hands we can get in the industry; they will be more committed to help us build the business of our dreams.

Check List / Milestone

• Business Name Availability Check: Completed
• Business Registration: Completed
• Opening of Corporate Bank Accounts: Completed
• Securing Point of Sales (POS) Machines: Completed
• Opening Mobile Money Accounts: Completed
• Opening Online Payment Platforms: Completed
• Application and Obtaining Tax Payer’s ID: In Progress
• Application for business license and permit: Completed
• Purchase of Insurance for the Business: Completed
• Leasing of farm land and building of standard fish ponds: In Progress
• Conducting Feasibility Studies: Completed
• Generating capital from family members: Completed
• Applications for Loan from the bank: In Progress
• Writing of Business Plan: Completed
• Drafting of Employee’s Handbook: Completed
• Drafting of Contract Documents and other relevant Legal Documents: In Progress
• Design of The Company’s Logo: Completed
• Graphic Designs and Printing of Packaging Marketing / Promotional Materials: In Progress
• Recruitment of employees: In Progress
• Purchase of the Needed furniture, racks, shelves, computers, electronic appliances, office appliances and CCTV: In progress
• Creating Official Website for the Company: In Progress
• Creating Awareness for the business both online and around the community: In Progress
• Health and Safety and Fire Safety Arrangement (License): Secured
• Opening party / launching party planning: In Progress
• Compilation of our list of products that will be available in our store: Completed
• Establishing business relationship with vendors – key players in the industry: In Progress

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