Sunyani (B/R), Dec. 23, GNA – Bono Region has recorded an impressive fish production this year, as a result of the government’s Aquaculture for Food and Jobs programme, Mr Hanson Kodzo Dzamese, the Regional Director of the Fisheries Commission said on Thursday.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Sunyani, Mr Dzamese said the region produced 274.219 tons of fish in the first and second quarters of the year, as compared to last year’s production of 195 tons of fish.
He said the intervention programme which constructed several fish ponds for selected institutions and fish farmer Associations, as well as improved extension services, made a significant impact on fish farming in the region.
Mr Dzamese said the region was compiling data on the third and fourth quarters of the year, saying production figures were expected to shoot up marginally.
He expressed discomfort with marketing, saying fish marketing remained one of the key aspects of the value chain that had not been exploited much in the region.
“A lot of fish farmers have increased production, but there are no ready markets for their produce. So if we have ready markets for farmers then the farmers will have value for money” he said.
Mr Dzamese, therefore, appealed for a feed subsidy for farmers to boost production in the region, and called on the government to reduce taxes on the importation of feed.
He said many fish farmers complained about the high cost of feed, thereby making costs high and affecting production as well.
Mr Dzamese said the 20-kilo bag of feed for tilapia and 15-kilo bag feed for catfish was selling for almost GHC120 which many farmers complained were costly.
He said with available machines and logistics, farmers in the region could produce local feed for the industry and called on the government to support the farmers in that regard.
Mr Dzamese commended the Fisheries Commission for establishing a hatchery for farmers in the region, saying his outfit had started pilot production of fingerlings to supply farmers to expand production.
GNA