Online Reporter
Edgar Vhera
Specialist Writer – Agribusiness
STAKEHOLDERS are working towards the development of environmental and biosecurity guidelines for small-scale tilapia fish farming as the country targets a US$1 billion fisheries and aquaculture industry by 2030.
These guidelines will address key areas such as biosecurity protocols, stock movement, water management, sanitation, waste disposal, feeding practices and record-keeping.
The principles are a practical, accessible framework to empower farmers, natural resources and safeguard the health of national aquatic ecosystems.
This came out at a meeting hosted by the Zimbabwe Environmental Law Organisation (ZELO) in collaboration with Ministries of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development and Environment, Climate and Wildlife, Zimbabwe Fish Producers Association (ZFPA), with support from Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) recently.
Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Permanent Secretary, Professor Obert Jiri, represented by Department of Veterinary Services chief director, Dr Pious Makaya, said the meeting was crucial as standards and guidelines were key to national and international fish trade.
“Aquaculture, particularly Tilapia farming, holds tremendous potential for enhancing food and nutrition security, good health, generating employment and driving rural economic growth.
“It is a key component of the Agriculture, Food Systems and Rural Transformation Strategy 2 (AFSRTS 2), which aims to build a US$15, 8 billion agriculture industry by 2030,” said Prof Jiri.
The Government initiated initiatives such as the Presidential Community Fisheries Scheme to promote fish farming for rural industrialisation and development.
“Our Tilapia products must meet international standards for quality, traceability and environmental compliance to enhance competitiveness in regional and global markets,” Prof Jiri highlighted.
“A single biosecurity breach can devastate individual livelihoods, undermine consumer confidence and cripple the entire value chain.”
FAO subregional coordinator for Southern Africa, Dr Patrice Talla said his organisation was guided by the Blue Transformation Roadmap and the Ecosystem Approach to Aquaculture, which advocated for sustainable growth with strong environmental safeguards and effective biosecurity.
“Aquaculture in Zimbabwe is increasingly recognised as a key contributor to food and nutrition security, rural livelihoods and economic diversification,” he said.
“However, the expansion of small-scale tilapia farming has outpaced the development and application of adequate environmental management and biosecurity controls.”
Dr Talla said key issues included limited awareness and application of farm-level biosecurity measures, increasing vulnerability to disease outbreaks and unregulated movement of fish and stocking material, among others.
“Inconsistent feeding practices and weak record-keeping, traceability, and management decision-making all reduce farm efficiency.
“Increasing pressure on surface and groundwater resources due to climate variability, recurrent droughts and competing water uses are among some of the issues affecting the industry,” he said.
These issues, he said, restrict the efficiency of coordinated sector growth, regulatory supervision and extension services.
ZELO team leader, Dr Cecil Machena, said the project was being developed under the FISH4ACP, an initiative of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) aimed at making fisheries and aquaculture value chains in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific more sustainable.
The project is being implemented by FAO with funding from the European union (EU) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
“Aquaculture is organised and run at mainly two levels: small-scale (run mostly by smallholder farmers in communal areas with several ponds varying from one to 14 and commercial.
“Impacts of small-scale fish farming have a bearing on integrated smallholder farming systems, nutrition and livelihoods.
“The Zimbabwe Fish Producers Association (ZFPA) was setting fingerling hubs in Masvingo and Honde Valley to bring fingerlings close to the farmers to lower cost of production and losses,” he said.
Between 2021 and 2022, FISH4ACP carried out a comprehensive value chain analysis of Zimbabwe’s aquaculture sector, which revealed several priority environmental and biosecurity concerns.
“These concerns were further exacerbated by a general lack of regulatory guidance for fish farmers, limited awareness of existing regulations, weak enforcement mechanisms and lack of a framework for regular environmental monitoring,” he said.
