Fish farming in Uganda is profitable; however, it is only practised by few individuals who have the capital to buy the fish seeds commonly known as fry/fingerlings.
Fish farming needs professional guidance, training and monitoring, especially for beginners. Most farmers copy from others what to invest in without understanding what it takes to get the expected harvest.
In Uganda, few farmers are equipped with the knowledge and skills in fish farming. Some fisheries officers have little to say about fish farming, especially those that have spent time on landing sites with fishermen.
Therefore, fisheries technicians or officers with much exposure to fish farming should be consulted in regard to fish farming. Organisations such as Kajjansi Research Centre and District Fisheries projects can provide good and practical information about fish farming.
Avoiding fake fish experts is one way you can succeed in fish farming. These fake fish experts have led to failure of most fish farmers.
Identifying these fake experts is easy, as they provide services, request for their academic documents and referees from the institutions they attended.
Things to note
- Fish farming is one of the most profitable forms of farming in Uganda.
- Poor pond construction is the beginning of failure of fish farming.
- Poor water quality is due to poor farm management and poor pond construction.
- Specific fish types reared; do well in different geographical areas.
- Poor quality fish seeds lead to poor growth rate and high mortality. l Proper feeds are needed for faster fish growth.
- Supplementary feeding increases profits and reduces the growth period.
- Fake fish experts mislead and the result is unexpected harvest normally poor and disgusting.
- Farm the fish that is marketable locally.
Basic knowledge
Fish farming needs trainings and practical experience. The training is normally done before stocking the fish pond and more skills gained when rearing.
Kajjansi Research Centre, Geossy Co. Ltd in Kampala, Umoja fish farm in Wakiso and others provide such trainings and guidance. All farmers must know the behaviour of fish before involving themselves in fish farming alternatively they can employ trained personnel to manage their farms who can later train other farm staff.
