Mr. King Cofie Faska, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Faska King Farms, says the cost of producing fish is crippling the aquaculture sector.
Mr. Faska attributed the high cost of production to the rising cost of fish feed, electricity, water, and major tools needed for the smooth running of the farm.
He told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview that production costs have been rising over the years, and that has been a major bane, resulting in some of the farmers shutting down their businesses.
He said the fish feed was a major part of the business as it contains maize, fish meal, soy meal, groundnut cake, and other micronutrients that are important ingredients needed to produce well-balanced feed for the fish; therefore, an increase in its cost would affect the productivity of the farm.
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The CEO added that feeds that were low in quality could affect the growth of the fish and sometimes even lead to some malnutrition in them; therefore, getting alternatives was not advised.
He said fish were a major source of animal protein for Ghanaians, hence the need to adopt best fish practices and purchase the best ingredients needed for fish growth and survival.
Mr. Faska explained that with catfish, for instance, the water containing the fish needed to be changed twice a week, and farmers using boreholes needed electricity to pump water into the fishpond, adding that failure to change the water could lead to mortalities.
He mentioned that the aquaculture industry had become a major source of employment for the youth in the country and therefore appealed to the authorities to find solutions to the production problems to encourage the youth to produce on a small scale for survival and not close the business.
He called on the government to consider waiving taxes on the main ingredients needed for feed production to enable the farmers to produce more fish for both consumption and exportation.
Mr. Faska said the government’s investment in the sector could boost production, increase the employment rate in the sector, and have a positive impact on the country’s gross domestic product.
