General News of Thursday, 18 January 2018
Source: Graphic.com.gh
2018-01-18
Deputy Minister, Mr Francis Ato Cudjoe, made this known at a stakeholders’ workshop
The Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development (MoFAD) is expected to launch the Aquaculture for Food and Jobs Programme this year as part of moves to make fish farming a viable industry in Ghana.
The Deputy Minister of MoFAD, Mr Francis Ato Cudjoe who made this known Thursday at a stakeholders’ workshop to disseminate results of Zonation of the Volta Lake for Aquaculture Study said the Ministry was collaborating with identifiable institutions interested in undertaking fish farming to boost the country’s demand for fish.
The Zonation of the Volta Lake for Aquaculture study was carried out under the West Africa Regional Fisheries Project and coordinated by the Fisheries Commission between 205 and 2016.
The study, among other things, was aimed at establishing the best possible areas for aquaculture production on the Volta Lake.
It was also aimed at determining the maximum fish production from aquaculture that can be sustained by the Volta Lake.
Ghana, which consumes over 950,000 metric tons of fish annually, currently imports over 60 percent of its fish, and in 2016, imported 135 million dollars’ worth of fish because of the reduction in the country’s fish stock.
Addressing participants at the workshop, Mr Cudjoe said although some aquaculture activities were being carried out on the Volta Lake, the country was not achieving the expected dividends because not every portion of the lake is conducive for farming.
He therefore welcomed the results of the study noting that it would provide the necessary information needed for government agencies to guide potential investors on areas to site their farms.
He stated that based on the findings and recommendations of the study, government would collaborate with the Norwegian government under the Fish for Development Programme to enhance the capacity of stakeholders for spatial planning for Aquaculture on the countries water bodies.