Fish Farming
In 2016, we piloted a new business line in fish farming with one cage and 10,000 fingerlings. The pilot produced 4.8 tones of fish and was sold locally through the help of the former fish traders mostly women as the chain of distribution. We hope to expand this model to 7 cages of same capacity and explore the market of the neighboring countries such as DR Congo, South Sudan and Kenya, which has been traditional destination of such fish products. The business will also create employment for the local fishmongers especially woman who will buy from us and sell to the local market as retailers.
After the Fisheries Protection Unit (FPU), a wing of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) Marine, was established to curb the illegalities in the lake, KSE commenced cage fish farming practice in this area, in 2018.
The FPU actions, though very important in the improvement of the Fisheries sector in the country, left many people who were employed along with the fisheries value-chain with very little or no livelihood alternatives. Mostly, the fishermen and fishmongers were greatly affected.
Together with the technical support from the District Fisheries Office, Kizimba started cage fish farming in Lake Kyoga.
Amolatar district, one of the areas where this business is located is in a peninsula of lake Kyoga and the only major economic activity has been fishing and fish related businesses in Lake Kyoga for generations.
Unfortunately with the depletion of wild fish from the lake in the recent years, this has made the demand for fish way higher than the supply and its related challenges like unemployment of the former fish mongers and fishermen. The business comes in to bridge the supply gap through aquaculture.
We are focusing on fish farming of Nile Perch and Tilapia through the cage system.