Drought conditions and the absence of locally produced fish feed continue to hamper the aquaculture sector.
 
A fish farmer in the Musanga area of the Zambezi Region is appealing to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, and Land Reform to reinstate the procurement of fish feed.
 
Brighton Harris is the owner of the Sinazi Fishpond Project, which he started in 2022.
 
He recalled the relief the Government once offered, where he would buy a thousand fingerlings from the ministry at about N$200.
 
“We were informed about food; we were supposed to buy the fish feed from the Ministry, so the 50 kg was sold at two hundred and sixty dollars. So we were buying up until there were issues with the food.”
  
Harris explained that since August last year, the Ministry has not procured fish feed for aqua farmers to buy, adding that they have been pleading for assistance.

“Initially they started promising us that they ordered. From there on, they told us the person they gave the tender to, that the procurement is no longer in the tender and it is the Government that has to supply. Since then we have been going back to them, and now they informed us that the Ministry has changed and has now joined another Ministry, and that is what is causing the delays.”
 
 
The situation has become so dire that fish feed now consists mainly of breadcrumbs and corn chaff with limited nutritional value, resulting in fish deaths and underweight fish being brought to the market.
Harris complained about the high price of breadcrumbs at about N$300 for a 20 kg bag.
 
He explained that they are ten farmers in the region who have reached out to fish farmers in Zambia.
 
Co-owner of the Sinazi Fishpond Project Norren Harris shared the same sentiment.
 
“That is the challenge that we have found, that even in Zambia, we are failing to get people to help us.”
 
Approached for comment, Deputy Director for Inland Fisheries, Renier Burger, said that there is no policy that requires the Ministry to supply fish feed to farmers.
 
He said farming is a business, and aquafarmers can import fish feed directly from Zambia.
 
Burger further advised farmers to make their own fish feed by mixing maize meal with soy mince or dog food in cases of emergency.