Rwanda to invest US $16 million to boost fish farming

By Zablon Oyugi

The government of Rwanda is set to commit over $16 million towards implementing a five-year project to boost fish farming in the country. The East African nation’s demand for fish is estimated to reach 112,000 tons by 2024 yet the country has not even produced half of the projected demand with just a year remaining to meet the target.

According to Solange Uwituze, the Deputy Director General in charge of Animal Resources Research and Technology Transfer at RAB, the country’s fish production by 2021 was 39,269 tonnes of which 87 percent was from fish capture and only 13 percent came from fish farming.

The five-year project which is funded by the Belgium government will start by improving and increasing fish feeds. “Feeds made from soybeans and maize for tilapia are still expensive. So, we want to work with investors to increase fish feed production,” said Uwituze.

She says that currently only two factories, one at Huye district and the other in the special economic zone, are producing fish feeds that are suitable for tilapia in the country.

“We also want to use black soldier flies to produce fish feed rich in proteins as they has been beneficial in pigs and poultry. They can replace soybean and provide 75 per cent of the needed proteins to make fish feed,” she Uwituze adding that this is besides training more Rwandans on fish farming techniques that are affordable.

According to the director, 90 per cent of Rwanda fish production is fish capture.

In 2022, fish production in Rwanda was at 43,560 tonnes which is a slight improvement from 41,664 tonnes of 2021 indicating that only 4,000 tonnes of fish were produced from fish farming, agreeing the reports by the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources.

“We are training 96 cooperatives across the country on tilapia fish farming in over 3,000 ponds and we with the new project, fish production will improve through different ways,” she said.

Fish production from fish ponds has increased from 461 tonnes in 2020 to 490 tonnes in 2021. With support and new investment, the production is expected to increase from 1, 543.6 tonnes expected in 2022 to 2,000 tonnes by end of this year.

Until 2010, fish farming in ponds was the only common farming system that was adopted in Rwanda but today other intensive systems are being promoted such as fish farming in cages, tanks, and dams according to RAB.

Already there are at least 12 hatcheries available in the country able to produce 40 million fingerlings annually.

According to the report by the Ministry of Trade and Industry, fish imports increased from 22,473 tonnes worth Rwf22 billion in 2017 to 35,772 tonnes worth Rwf32.5 billion in 2020.

The most popular fish species in Rwanda is Nile Tilapia, which represents 90 per cent of the stock consumed, according to the report.

Investing in fish production is expected to reduce the trade deficit, said Uwituze.