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African aquaculture
Small, but growing rapidly
Over the past few years, interest in aquaculture in Africa has increased. While
there has been local interest in aquaculture for a long time, foreign
investors are now showing their interest in several countries. The potential
for developing aquaculture is there, but the continent still faces a number
of challenges.
The total aquaculture production of Africa
only amounts to 570,000 tonnes annually (2004), or a little less than 1.0 per
cent of the global production. Until the mid-1990s production was relatively
stable at around 50,000 to 100,000 tonnes, but developments since then have
shown that there is both room and possibilities for growth. Growth in
particularly Egypt’s production has contributed to
a five-fold increase in less than 10 years.
Fish farming spreads through Africa
Egypt
has been the largest producer in African aquaculture since as far back as
1950. In 2004, Egypt
accounted for almost 83 per cent of the total African production. Nile tilapia is the dominating
species in Egypt.
In 2004 Egyptian farmed tilapia production amounted to some 200,000 tonnes,
accounting for over 42 per cent of the total aquaculture production of the
country. But in recent years aquaculture has been
developed in other countries like Congo DR, Nigeria, Madagascar, South Africa,
Tanzania,
Uganda,
Zambia
and Zimbabwe.
In Nigeria
it is particularly catfish farming that has contributed to this development. In
2004, production of catfishes accounted for about 63 per cent of the total
Nigerian aquaculture production.
By far the major part of African aquaculture is done in inland waters, -
lakes, water reservoirs and rivers. In 2004, this accounted for 89 per cent
of all African aquaculture. There is some marine aquaculture, mainly in the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean, while activities on the
Atlantic coast have been very limited until now. The largest species in
African aquaculture in terms of volume include tilapias, gray
mullet, carps and catfishes. There is also some production of shrimp, mainly
black tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon),
and in 2004 African farmed production of this species amounted to 7,600
tonnes.
Investments
Interest and investments in African aquaculture can broadly be divided into
two: community based aquaculture which is promoted by international
organizations, aid agencies and governments as part of their efforts to
alleviate poverty and create livelihoods and improve the food supply
situation; and commercial aquaculture, which is mainly privately financed and
export oriented. A number of community based aquaculture projects have been
started in countries such as Cote
d”Ivoire, Ghana, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria and Zambia. These
projects are of a small scale nature and have been financed by aid agencies
and national governments. Commercial investments in aquaculture have been
registered in countries such as Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa
and Zimbabwe.
Generally, these projects are developed on a larger scale and their
production is mainly export oriented. Often, there is foreign capital
involved, in some cases in joint venture with local investors.
Markets
As mentioned, most of the commercial aquaculture operations in Africa are targeting the international
export markets. That often puts the continent at a disadvantage because of
inadequate transport options. However, even so, some projects have been
successful in exporting to world markets, such as tilapia farming in Zimbabwe, shrimp
farming in Mozambique
and Madagascar,
and oyster farming in Namibia.
The local markets, which until now have been mainly served by small scale,
community based fish farming, are probably grossly under-estimated. There is
a growing demand in the region for fish and seafood, and many markets are
able and willing to pay good prices. In fact, for many operations the local,
African markets represent a better option in terms of profitability. What is
needed, though, is the development of distribution systems, and to some
extent cold chains.
Challenges
African aquaculture is still facing a number of challenges that must be dealt
with. Corruption and lack of infrastructure in some areas are major obstacles,
but there are also other challenges, such as the lack of seed, lack of feed,
lack of knowledge, and above all lack of financing. The lack of access to
financing is caused mainly by the lack of knowledge and experience on the
part of financial institutions in the region with regard to aquaculture. Both
development banks and commercial banks in the region are reluctant to finance
aquaculture projects because they do not know the sector, they do not
understand it, and they do not see sufficient collateral available. Consequently,
they tend to turn down applications for loans. However, the investors must
also take part of the blame for this, as many do not know how to present
their projects to financial institutions. Furthermore, many
investors/initiators lack equity and ask for too large external financing
shares for their projects.
Foreign, non-African banks with understanding of and experience in
aquaculture financing could find new business opportunities in Africa, particularly if they are
willing to work with local commercial banks.
What needs to be done
A recent assessment of the situation for African aquaculture by the FAO
points to a number of initiatives that are important in order to further the
development of the sector:
- Increasing the involvement of the
private sector. The private sector should be responsible for all
production inputs such as seed, feed, technology etc., and it should
focus on market-driven, profitable operations. Furthermore, the private
sector should be active in the management of the aquaculture sector in
each country and contribute to functions such as research, extension,
information etc.
- Focusing effort on high potential
areas. Such areas are those that have the greatest possibilities for
providing the best results both in terms of successful production and
profitable operations. Authorities should provide an environment
conducive to development of these areas.
- Redefining the role of the governments.
In many countries, the government has been managing and even investing
in the sector. This is not considered the best way to achieve results. Governments
should instead focus on their role as a facilitator and monitor of
activities. They should support research, provide information and
provide proper quality control.
- Divesting public infrastructure. Public
sector involvement in providing such infrastructure as seed production,
demonstration projects etc should discontinued and left to the private
sector. Government installations in such activities should be sold to
the private sector or converted to other uses.
- Increasing the responsibilities and
organization of producers. The private sector needs to be more involved
in the management of the sector through producer associations and
increased participating in supplying reliable and correct information.
- Developing methods for monitoring and
evaluation. These functions are the responsibility of all the
stakeholders in the sector. Correct, reliable record-keeping provides a
basis for future planning, but also requires responsive institutions. Getting
the correct information about the sector is a necessity for successful
planning in harmony with national development strategies.
- Elaborating flexible national
aquaculture strategies. Such strategies have been neglected in some
countries, but must be developed and in harmony with the overall
national development plans. There may be a need in some countries for a
focused, national aquaculture task force in order to secure sustain
development.
There
is little doubt that the African continent offers ample opportunities for
aquaculture development. With the general movement towards democratic
societies and the continuous fight against corruption in many African
countries today, development prospects for the sector appear brighter that in
many decades. Africa
may still have a long way to go, but the process has started.
Erik Hempel, INFOSA Team Leader
Article from EUROFISH
Magazine, Issue 6/2006
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