SYDNEY SAIZE IN MUTARE
Players in the fish industry in Zimbabwe are battling severe headwinds resulting in sharp decline in exports, Business Times can report.
They said the situation was dire and the country was now importing fish instead.
The industry bemoaned crippling power cuts, high taxation levels and skyrocketing prices of fish feed, among many other problems.
Zimbabwe Fish Producers Association chairman, Garikai Munatsirei, told Business Times on the sidelines of a recent stakeholders’ meeting in Mutare that Zimbabwe was now importing fish despite being an exporter some years ago due to the high cost of running the sector.
“Fish food is very expensive and it take about 70% of the profits and to add to that we have high taxation levels in the country when exporting the product which then makes it unsustainable and less competitive on the regional markets,” Munatsirei said.
He added: “Fish by nature is a perishable product and requires a reliable source of power to be kept chilled after harvest. However, with (severe) power outages, this makes it a kind of risky business.”
Munatsirei said fish feed was mostly imported from China and was costly, urging local businesses to manufacture feed to reduce the cost of fish farming.
Milton Makumbe, director of the Fisheries and Aquatic Resources weighed in saying: “We are calling on women and youth to take up fish farming, particularly tilapia and have their dams secured to avoid poaching and when harvesting to come into groups and sell their harvest in bulk.”
The Fish for Africa, Caribbean and Pacific, (FISH4ACP) project in Zimbabwe focuses on the farmed tilapia value chain, which started in 2020 through a series of engagements with the government and key stakeholders.
Chinhoyi University of Technology was engaged to support the data collection effort.
The FISH4ACP is an initiative of the Organisation of African Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) contributing to food and nutrition security, economic prosperity and job creation by ensuring the economic, social and environmental sustainability of fisheries and aquaculture value chains in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific.
It is implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organisation and partners with funding from the European Union and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.
The FISH4ACP seeks to enhance the productivity and competitiveness of 12 fisheries and aquaculture value chains in the 12 OACP member countries, making sure that economic improvements go hand in hand with environmental sustainability and social inclusiveness.
It will pay special attention to small and medium sized businesses because of their potential to deliver economic and social benefits, particularly for women and youth.
The OACPS members are Zimbabwe, Zambia, Senegal, Marshall Islands, Tanzania, Cameroon, Nigeria, Dominican Republic, the Gambia, Guyana, and Sao Tome and Principe.
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country with a surface area of 390 580sq km of which 3 910sq km is under water.
According to the ZFPA, the commercial fishery sector is concentrated in the major lakes of Chivero, Darwendale, and Kariba.
The organisation says that a major focus on fisheries resources has been capturing fisheries and the decline in fish catches over the past decade demonstrates the need to strengthen the sector.
In Zimbabwe, fish consumption is currently estimated at 0.5kg per person per annum, which is very low when compared to Zambia where fish consumption is 5kg per capita.
Aquaculture provides an alternative use for maximum and sustainable utilisation of water resources and also provides the much needed protein to feed the nation.
