1 July 2009
book review
Written by: J. Rutaisire, G. Bwanika, P. Walekhwa and D. Kahwa
Publisher: Fountain Publishers Ltd, Kampala
Available at: All leading bookshops
Price: Shs 8,000/-
Reviewed by: Kikonyogo Ngatya
There is a wild appetite for beef in Uganda lately with the rise of middle class consumers. But in a country of 30 million people, against a cattle population of 11 million, the single biggest source of beef, there is a big gap for animal proteins from other sources.
That's where fish comes in handy. This book written in simple flow style is easy to read and the layout is easy to navigate. It's written with a sense to make the reader understand, far from the scientific journal kind of presentation or the classroom agriculture book.
It's like a business proposal- it offers most of the answers to questions on how to start fish farming, finding the market, care for the fish, the feed and pond construction. What I like about this book is the business mind of the authors.
It sets out realistic expectations from fish farming. What's important is that there is a ready market for the products, most of which should mature from about 90 days onwards.
It's packed with information on the type of fish stocks for keeping, pond hygiene, where to get the fish seed and their care. If you have a mind for making good money, I recommend Fish Farming as a business for you. Then learn about the fish predators like monitor lizards and diseases, all well outlined in this book. But most importantly, the authors try as much as possible to highlight that it does not require lots of money to start the business. It can be done using locally available materials, then upgraded to better ponds.
It's biggest shortcoming though is that it's not available yet in other languages that would help as many people enrich their fish enterprises or knowledge.
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