Fisheries coordinator calls for increased investment in fish farming

The Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock in Mufumbwe district has called for more investment in fish farming so as to meet the unceasing demand for fish in the area.

Mufumbwe District Fisheries and Livestock Coordinator, Bonna Zulu told ZANIS in an interview that the supply of fish from local water bodies and a few fish ponds does not meet the demand for fish in the district hence the need for more investment in aquaculture.

Mr. Zulu said apart from being endowed with a number of water bodies, Mufumbwe is also blessed with good soils for the construction of fish ponds.

“Mufumbwe has a lot of water resources which are necessary for the fish farming. We have good soils; good soils will naturally make it cheaper to construct fish ponds,” he said.

He added that the key ingredients for feed formulation are readily available as there are a lot of crops in the area.

“We have a lot of feed resources from the many crops that are grown in the district which can be used for feed formulations, as you know feeding is one of the important aspects in fish production,” he explained.

Mr. Zulu said his department has qualified staff who are readily available to assist farmers in the fish farming projects.

He has since encouraged local people who are interested in fish farming to visit his office so that they can be empowered with more knowledge regarding aquaculture activities.

He stressed that another major aspect, which works to the advantage of investors in fish farming, is the centrality of Mufumbwe among other districts in North-western province.

Mr. Zulu noted that the fact that Mufumbwe is surrounded by other districts makes the area an ideal destination for investment as they can easily sell their fish in surrounding districts if need be.

“The location of Mufumbwe entails that investors can easily take their produce to neighbouring districts should that time come. But for now, the fact is that there is a lot of demand for fish in Mufumbwe,” he said.

Apart from having a number of water logged plains that can be used for the construction of fish ponds, Mufumbwe has a lot of water bodies which include Musonweji, Kabompo, Lalafuta, Munyambala and Mufumbwe rivers as well as several streams such as Kifue and Matushi coupled with wet lands.