Ethiopia to Develop Fish Industry
The Ministry of Agriculture plans to promote Ethiopia’s fish industry on the international market. Establishing a commercial aquaculture will require focused research and development, increased partnerships between hatcheries, feed suppliers, producers and researchers as well as more significant investment by the private sector said Dr. Harrison Charo-Karisa Director of the National Aquaculture Research Development Training Center.
Significant challenges that hampered the development of a commercial fishing industry in Ethiopia include low technical capacity, limited knowledge about the sector, dietary culture, absence of infrastructure and equipment, unavailable feed and low quality seeds according to the MoT. The MoT aims to establish seed production centers to develop a commercial aquaculture.The seed production centers will supply investors, provide marketing infrastructure including roads and communication channels, facilitate credit access, strengthen research and extension supports, promote private sector investment, set up land and water user rights favorable to commercial fishing, establish a coordinated institutional mechanism, as well as promoting fish farming supporting continued training and eliminating unnecessary processing costs.
Ethiopia’s climatic condition, agro-ecology, availability of commercially popular species such as tilapia, catfish and carp, and the increasing demand for fish both locally and international results in the need to develop the fish industry according to the MoT.
The ministry aims to attract investors with the diversity of fish species and plants with high pharmaceutical and protein value.
There are 30 investors with licenses for commercial fishing in Ethiopia. The aquaculture in the country is dominated by traditional fishing, integrated aquaculture and cage culture.
Source: Capital
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