Fish farmers across the country have raised concerns over lack of quality and affordable feed which they say is affecting fish productivity in the country.

Fish production stood at about 29, 000 tonnes last year with the target to reach over 31,600 tonnes this year, according to officials from the Ministry of Agriculture.

According to the fisheries and fish farming master plan approved by cabinet in 2012, Rwanda has capacity of producing 200,000 tonnes if enough investment is injected in the sector.

Yet fish farmers say if most of these challenges are addressed the target can be reached.

Alfred Niyonzima, a fish farmer from Nyamasheke District, told Business Times, that a kilogramme of feeds for big fish costs Rwf1,200 while a kilogramme of feeds for younger fish costs Rwf3,500.

"We need subsidies on fish feed prices because they are too high compared to our expenses on fish farming. In six months, a  fish can consume about one kilogramme of feeds.

"One cage of fish with six meters per six meters accommodates between 3,000 and 4,000 fish which provides between 1 tonne and 2 tonne of produce of fish after 8 months,” said   German Hafashimana, a fish farmer in Burera District.

Besides the high prices, they also say that they are still facing issues of quality feeds.

"For example we have tried fish feeds imported from outside but we observed difference in fish production compared to the feeds from local fish feeds factories. With quality feeds, one fish could provide 1.5 kilogrammes, while with low quality feeds we could observe that one fish provides only between 300 and 600 grams,” said

Innocent Hirwa, another fish farmer based around Lake Muhazi in Eastern Province said that some fish feeds lose quality only after one month in store.

More investment needed

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, there are two types of fish farming in Rwanda, fish farming using ponds, at about 80 per cent, while cage fish farming is at less than 20 per cent.

However, there are only three big fish feeds factories, according to Mathilde Mukasekuru, a fish farming specialist at the Ministry of Agriculture.

"We are going to conduct a survey of all fish farmers, know what they do, their production and their challenges. We have realised that there is still few fish feed factories. Only three big factories and four   smaller ones that are producing less than what fish farmers need and that is why they prefer to import feeds some of which are of poor quality,” she said.

Estimates show that a Rwamagana District based factory produces one tonne of feeds per day, another at the Special Economic Zone has capacity to produce 4 tonne per day while the one based in Huye District has capacity of 4 tonnes per day.

However, this is no adequate leading to importation feeds, she said.

Figures show that, for instance, a fish farming company with 24 cages imports nearly 26 tonnes every week in Rusizi District.

Across the country, figures show that about 400 tonnes of feed are required every day.

Mukasekuru said that enough fish production could curb between 8,000 tonnes and 15,000 tonnes of fish that are imported annually.

According to the Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources Geraldine Mukeshimana, there is need for more joint efforts to increase fish production because Rwanda also needs to export fish besides producing for the local market.

She added that a team has also been set up to examine what skills fish farmers require, to further boost production.

Fish feeds factories speak out

According to Bart Gasana, the Managing Director of Aquahort Exports Ltd, based at the Kigali Special Economic Zone, the price of fish feeds is still high due to the high cost of electricity tariffs and raw materials.

The factory has capacity to produce between 80 tonnes and 100 tonnes per month.

"High cost of electricity prevents us from manufacturing all hours. The factory often operates from midnight up 8:00 a.m to avoid high costs. We cannot afford the cost of operating in all three segments of the tariffs namely from 8:00 a.m to 17:00 p.m, from 17:00 p.m to 23:00 p.m and from 12:00 to 8:00 a.m. We use one of three tariffs and pay Rwf90 per Kwatt as a standard price and if we operate over that period there is an additional cost,” he said.

He explained that, besides the high cost of electricity, raw materials are so costly which leads to sell fish feeds at high prices.

"To make fish feeds, we need cereal grains such as maize and soya. However, soya grains are quite expensive as the lowest price is Rwf400 per kilogramme.  Rwanda produces little quantity of soya which forces us to import.   Other fish meal  such as ‘Indagara’, that are part of making fish feeds, are  very expensive  with Rwf1,400 per kg yet they do not exist in Rwanda while the species that exist in Rwanda cost Rwf1,500 per kg,” he said.

He said that if such cost is reduced, they would be competitive and reduce prices.

Commenting about lack of quality of fish feeds, he explained that the ecosystem also requires quality workers and experts, better testing laboratories, good production techniques, micro-ingredients and inputs with proteins to help make better formulations to produce quality feeds.

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