By Joseph Mugenyi
Kibiito: Fish farming or pisciculture involves rearing fish for commercial in tanks or enclosures such as fish ponds. It is the principle form of aquaculture, while other methods may fall under mariculture.
A facility that releases juvenile fish into the wild for recreational fishing or to supplement a species’ natural numbers is generally referred to as a fish hatchery. Worldwide, the most important fish species produced in fish farming are carp, tilapia, salmon, catfish, and catfish
Gone are the days when you could only get fish from local rivers, lakes etc; through a trial and error method nowadays people can grow fish in their farms and sale to consumers.
Types Of Fish Mostly Grown In Uganda
- Catfish;- it’s not popular but much desired.
- Tilapia;- It’s popular on Ugandan market. It’s easy to grow, reproduces rapidly and grows fast.
Tips On How To Start
1. Find Secure land
2. Construct ponds or acquire water tanks.
3. Dig A borehole
This helps in water supply, because fish life depends on water. It should be noted that water shortage may affect their growth. Important to note also is that the water has to be changed at regular intervals. Rain and chemically treated water (tap water) is not usually recommended for fish farming.
4. Overhead Tank
This acts as a water reservoir from which water is supplied to the ponds. It has to be fully connected to the ponds through a plumbing system, which allows old water to be passed out and fresh water to flow into the pond.
5. Juvenile Fish
In order to reap big, you need to get high-yielding species of cat fish or tilapia from a successful farmer. Fish need extra care or else they may have a stunted growth and this may result into huge losses. Fish farming especially cat fish, is compatible with poultry farming since you can use poultry droppings as feed for fish.
Start Up Capital Required
Capital depends on the size of pond a farmer intends to use. For instance 2,500 tilapia can be reared in a pond of an area of 400m2.
Market
It should be noted that fish have ready market both locally and internationally. This means that chances of getting rich through fish farming are very many, since it is one of the consumable agricultural products in Uganda with a very high demand. Fish can also be processed, packaged and exported, yet its bones and scales can be processed into fertilizers.
Get all agricultural information and tips here bi-weekly. Joseph Mugenyi (MJ Farmer) is a practicing Agribusiness entrepreneur based in Kibiito and a software Engineering student at Makerere University. He can be reached on 0701-443309, Email:mugenyijosemj@gmail.com
