Catfish culture in circular tanks with high fish densities for youth employment and halting stress migration
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About this practice
Catfish culture in circular tanks with high fish densities for youth employment and halting stress migration appeared very successful in Ghana. The same method also appeared successful to integrate IDPs into host communities in NE Nigeria and stop youth from joining militias. In three cubic meters of water, 500 kg of fish can be cultured, provided they are fed regularly. The fish excrements pollute the water and has to be partly replaced regularly. The “wastewater” is then used for crop culture. Formation of clusters and cooperatives leading to sustainable processors unions was one of the achievements.
Entry point
What was/were the main shock(s) that triggered this practice? What was the entry point for the implementation of the practice?
- With limited water resources, catfish culture is providing decent employment to youth, IDPs and host communities, and setting up a (processed or fresh) fish value chain for food and nutrition security and safety. This is an example of profitable small-scale fish farming for beginners. With increasing experience, the profitability and sustainability of the activities will increase.
Impact
What are the main social, economic, political impacts?
- The fish farmers made a profit from sales of high-quality products.
- The clients had never seen such quality products before. The shelf life of the product was more than double that of traditional products.
- The smoked product is very safe for consumption as the exporters easily sent their produce to the EU where it was extensively tested for Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (toxic and carcinogenic substances).
- Traditionally processed fish contains high quantities of PAH leading to refusal and destruction of the fish by EU authorities.
Main lesson learned summary
What is the main lesson learned about this good practice?
- Youth are keen to become involved in agriculture/fishery as long as the production method is "sexy".
- Employed youth lost the wish/need to move to the big city or abroad.
- The method encouraged IDPs and host communities to collaborate so that both groups would benefit from the intervention.
- The fact that catfish can "breathe" atmospheric air allows high fish densities and as such use limited water quantities for survival, unlike tilapia, which needs much more water for growth performance.
- In the middle of nowhere one can start such a project, provided the water table is not too deep (otherwise a borehole would have to be supplied), which can lead to complete fish and crop value chains.
Learn more
Download the presentation below to find out more about this best practice
Martinus Van der Knaap
Martin started his career with FAO in Senegal in 1984 as a fisheries biologist followed by assignments in Sri Lanka, Maldives and Cameroon. Later he became the director of a Tropical Fisheries Management Course in the Netherlands in Wageningen. In that position, he became the coordinator of the EU-funded Lake Victoria Fisheries Research Project from 1986 to 2002, based in Uganda. Upon conclusion of that project, he conducted numerous missions for FAO, IFAD, ADB, AfDB, EU, World Bank, etc. in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Caribbean. He then returned to FAO and he became CTA in an AfDB-funded project on Lake Tanganyika. In January 2016, he joined FAO/RAF in Accra until June 2019, when he arrived at FAO/SFE, based in Addis Ababa.
