In a move aimed at enhancing fish farming in the country, the Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB), on Tuesday, August 27 gave greenlight to six private tilapia hatcheries to supply fingerlings to local fish farmers.
Prior to the development, the country only had two certified tilapia hatcheries, both owned by public agricultural institutions and operating on a small scale.
The newly approved private hatcheries are located in various parts of the country including Rwamagana, Kayonza, Bugesera, Gisagara and Rusizi, and are capable of producing several millions of fingerlings annually.
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According to RAB officials, the hatcheries underwent rigorous inspection exercises SOP's aimed at ensuring that they meet regional standards for fish seed and feed certification.
During the approval event, Dr. Solange Uwituze, RAB's Deputy Director General, talked about the significance of the new hatcheries, saying they will play a role in seeing Rwanda achieve its fish production potential.
Rwanda has an ambitious plan to produce over 80,000 tonnes of fingerlings by 2035, as outlined in the National Aquaculture Strategy.
"Previously, we had only two certified hatcheries, but the validation of more hatcheries will enhance our production capacity," Uwituze said, as she urged other operators to seek to join the business in order to improve both fish quality and national consumption.
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The journey of getting the new hatcheries approved involved various efforts including support from international experts from the World Fish Centre and Technologies for African Agriculture Transformation (TAAT) initiative.
Such experts have been training and mentoring hatchery managers since March 2023 to July 2024 through the Feed the Future Orora Wihaze project. A total of 16 hatcheries took part in the training and sought for approval, but out of them, only six have been given the greenlight so far.
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The approved hatcheries are: Fine Fish Limited and Fresh Fish Limited based in Rwamagana, Gishanda Fish Farm Limited in Kayonza, Lakeside Fish Farm in Bugesera, Kivu Choice Limited in Gisagara, and Kivu Tilapia Farm Limited in Rusizi.
Themistocle Munyangeyo, the Managing Director of Fine Fish Limited, one of the six approved hatcheries, noted that they will provide good quality fingerlings, thus reducing importation as well as solving problems related to substandard fingerlings that often led to poor yields.
"With our own hatchery, we can provide local farmers with high-quality fingerlings. Our facility can produce up to 1.2 million fingerlings annually," he noted.
Rwanda's goal of producing 112,000 tons of fish annually by this year could help the country achieve the average per capita fish consumption in sub-Saharan Africa of 6.6 kilograms per person per year.
To reach the global average of 16.6 kilograms, Rwanda would need to produce 265,600 metric tons annually.
