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Uganda: Nakaseke Embarks on Fish Farming
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New Vision (Kampala)
29 July 2008
Posted to the web 30 July 2008
Aidah Nanyonjo
Kampala
FARMERS in Nakaseke District have embarked on fish farming as an alternative sources of income. This is because poor soils and pests have increasingly affected crop production in the area.
"Because of poor soils, pests, diseases and the prolonged drought, I had to resort to fish farming," says Emmanuel Lubega.
Lubega, who has been a fish farmer for two years, owns 12 ponds with various types of fish such as cat-fish, tilapia and lung fish.
Lubega ventured into fish farming because his land was swampy and he could neither use it for crop production nor animal rearing.
"I once tried to rear cattle, but they were attacked by foot and mouth disease. Crops could not grow because of too much water," he says.
Apart from visiting several demonstration farms, Lubega has received training from both Environmental Alert and the National Agriculture Research Organisation on how to practice sustainable agriculture without harming the environment and how to make food for the fish.
"It has helped me cut down production costs. I used to buy feeds, which was expensive. Today, I mix them myself," he says.
Lubega has a stock of 10,000 tilapia and 1,000 cat-fish. Cat-fish takes six months to mature while tilapia takes eight months.
"I stocked more tilapia than cat-fish because the cat-fish feed on tilapia," he says.
He expects to earn more than sh10m out of his stock.
Lubega also plans to sell his fish when they are of a medium size instead of waiting for them to grow big. The current market price favours medium size. Mature cat-fish from his ponds weigh between five and nine kilogrammes, but many buyers cannot afford to give him the price he asks for them.
"It would be good if the cat-fish weighed between two to three kilos, while the tilapia weighed between 250 to 400 grams. It is easy to get buyers for small sized fish than the bigger ones," Lubega notes.
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He has also embarked on the construction of a hatchery of fish and he plans to stop buying stock from other farms.
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