The course was set by the Interministerial Committee responsible for supporting investors in the aquaculture sector during its 3rd session which ended recently in Yaoundé.
It is a question for this committee to ensure the production of good fish made in Cameroon, to make it available and accessible. The work that is coming to an end, under the leadership of the Minister of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Industries, Dr. Taïga, has made it possible to assess the situation and reflect on the best way to strengthen national fish production.
A change in technology recommended
For Divine Ngala Tombuh, coordinator of the technical secretariat of the said committee, current fisheries production still fails to meet national demand. In question, certain obstacles which are however not insurmountable. He quotes thus:
– Obstacles related to quality inputs, ie food to feed fish and fry;
– A technical problem located at the level of producers’ capacities which boils down to a need for technology transfer.
For him, producing more simply amounts to changing current technology. “We are in the process of leaving subsistence aquaculture for commercial aquaculture, which must create jobs and produce a lot of fish,” he underlines. For this, it is essential to find well-trained actors to build the capacities of producers and find appropriate strategies.
Support the private sector
According to Divine Ngala Tombuh, the State plays its role well in this area. He recalls to this effect that in 2019, the Prime Minister Head of Government had then instructed the Minister of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Industries to do everything possible to reduce the import of fish. The 2021 Finance Law, continuing in the same vein, had prescribed many facilities for producers, he said.
He cites, among other things, the tax and customs exemption for those who import aquaculture equipment, they are no longer subject to customs duty or VAT. In the same vein, import quotas for fish that can be produced locally have also been reduced. This would then have allowed the beginning of the industrialization of this sector.
Encouraging results
Divine Ngala Tombuh notes in this regard a downward trend in imports. This implies that local production has increased. “In 2015, we were at 5,000 tonnes of production per year and in 2023 we are at more than 10,000 tonnes of production”, he says before adding that this is why it is difficult to find “freshwater fish” or “Tilapias” in fishmongers, because these are two species produced massively in our country.
On the other hand, he notes that the price of fish has fallen. “In 2020, the kg of catfish was 2500 on the market against 1800 or 2000 currently”. The idea being to reach less than 1000 f per kg by 2025 and 25 thousand tons of production per year by 2025.
Aline-Florence Nguini