Vision Statement by Association of Fish Farmers at the Ashanti ...
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VISION STATEMENT OF ASSOCIATION OF FISH FARMERS Presented by Osei Kweku Bernard (Secretary to the Fish Farmers Association) Date: 13th August 2015 Venue: Crystal Rose Hotel, Kumasi -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mr. Chairman, All protocols observed; I am Osei Kweku Bernard, Secretary to the Fish Farmers Association. When I say fish farming, I always say opportunity because I see it as an opportunity Ghana can explore. Ghana consumes 950,000 tonnes of fish in a year. Ghana is able to produce 450,000 tonnes, which means the deficit is made up with the importation of fish. The deficit can be produced here in Ghana. So our vision is that we produce 10,000 more tonnes of fish within the next five years. Ghana could produce 9,000 tonnes of fish from aquaculture. We are doing a lot of aquaculture in the Ashanti Region, raising fish in ponds from the fingerling stage. But we have some challenges – out of our share of the 9,000 tonnes we are only able to produce 34 tonnes whereas we should be producing 1,000 tonnes in a year. The following are some of the challenges we face as fish farmers: high cost of feeding, lack of skills or machinery, lack of credit facilities, extension services and a whole lot more. The sector contributes US$1 billion to Ghana’s GDP every year. The sector supports 2.2 million people in the country. That forms nearly 10 percent of the country’s population. We spend US$2 million every year importing fish. So when I say fish farming, I always say opportunity. If all these challenges are met or at least minimized, and the sector is taken seriously as a business, it can add a lot to Ghana’s GDP. What can fish farming bring into the country? Employment, alternative livelihoods, poverty alleviation, high quality of fish – because what we import we don’t know how old it is – and what we produce here is high in protein. We believe that if the sector is taken seriously, we would bring a lot to the country.
REGIONAL CONSULTATION ON THE LONG-TERM NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN Vision Statement by Association of Fish Farmers, Ashanti Region ©NDPC, 2015
VISION STATEMENT OF ASSOCIATION OF FISH FARMERS Presented by Osei Kweku Bernard (Secretary to the Fish Farmers Association) Date: 13th August 2015 Venue: Crystal Rose Hotel, Kumasi -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mr. Chairman, All protocols observed; I am Osei Kweku Bernard, Secretary to the Fish Farmers Association. When I say fish farming, I always say opportunity because I see it as an opportunity Ghana can explore. Ghana consumes 950,000 tonnes of fish in a year. Ghana is able to produce 450,000 tonnes, which means the deficit is made up with the importation of fish. The deficit can be produced here in Ghana. So our vision is that we produce 10,000 more tonnes of fish within the next five years. Ghana could produce 9,000 tonnes of fish from aquaculture. We are doing a lot of aquaculture in the Ashanti Region, raising fish in ponds from the fingerling stage. But we have some challenges – out of our share of the 9,000 tonnes we are only able to produce 34 tonnes whereas we should be producing 1,000 tonnes in a year. The following are some of the challenges we face as fish farmers: high cost of feeding, lack of skills or machinery, lack of credit facilities, extension services and a whole lot more. The sector contributes US$1 billion to Ghana’s GDP every year. The sector supports 2.2 million people in the country. That forms nearly 10 percent of the country’s population. We spend US$2 million every year importing fish. So when I say fish farming, I always say opportunity. If all these challenges are met or at least minimized, and the sector is taken seriously as a business, it can add a lot to Ghana’s GDP. What can fish farming bring into the country? Employment, alternative livelihoods, poverty alleviation, high quality of fish – because what we import we don’t know how old it is – and what we produce here is high in protein. We believe that if the sector is taken seriously, we would bring a lot to the country.
REGIONAL CONSULTATION ON THE LONG-TERM NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN Vision Statement by Association of Fish Farmers, Ashanti Region ©NDPC, 2015
