The ManicaPost
Blessing Rwizi: Post Correspondent
ABOUT 68 smallholder farmers in Mutare, Mutasa and Makoni districts have started fish stocking as the remaining 467 finish up preparations in their respective ponds. The exercise has commenced due to high temperatures that has reduced fish death rates during the stocking process.53 680 Nile Telapia fish have already been distributed among the three districts by Aquafeeds Zimbabwe, with Mutare having received 20 000, while Mutasa and Makoni received 12 000 and 21 680, respectively.
Aquafeeds is getting the fish from Lake Harvest in Kariba and they are also supplying feeds to farmers as well as educating them on how to breed them. An additional 3 000 fish and their feeds have also been set for three demonstration fish ponds owned by Riversdale Aquaculture Group in Mutasa, Progress Aquaculture Group in Marange and at Mr Chitsara’s homestead in Makoni.
The aim of the demonstration ponds is to educate new and old farmers on how to breed fish using Aquafeeds products and ideas. Aquafeeds Manicaland marketing development officer, Mr John Shumba, said farmers were urged to stop stocking fish over the past few months because of low temperatures.
“We urged farmers to stop fish stocking in winter because fish death rates are very high during the stocking process due of to low winter temperatures. Moreso, growth rates are very low since the fish will be busy looking for warm places to hide.
They are also affected by the cotton wall disease during winter season. Now this is the right time and we are glad that farmers are co-operating and we are experiencing progress,” said Mr Shumba. He also said the number of farmers engaging in fish breeding around the three districts was increasing rapidly.
“Fish farming’s rich pickings have rapidly improved livelihoods of many people in the three districts over a short space of time and that has lured more farmers. Most of them are youths who had no employment. We have a target of 2 000 farmers and we urge more to keep coming,” he said.
Aquaculture is the fastest growing agricultural industry globally and fish have the highest food conservation ratios as they produce more protein per kg of feed.
