Cameroonian fish farmers want to reduce frozen imports Reuters

Josiane Kouagheu

Douala (Reuters)-When Boris Kamgo was on the Dibamba River surrounded by palm trees, the water was churning when his fish farm spread food into a net-like fence Red tilapia, he hopes this will help curb Cameroon’s dependence on frozen imports.

The whole spicy grilled fish is one of the de facto national dishes of this Central African country, but about half of the about 500,000 tons of fish consumed each year are purchased from abroad, and the rest are almost all caught wild.

Kamgo is part of an emerging government-supported aquaculture movement that seeks to gain a larger share of the growing fish market in this country of more than 20 million people.

The 32-year-old had traveled to China, the Netherlands and Vietnam to learn how to raise red tilapia and catfish, a so-called shark catfish native to Asia, and he realized that this fish would thrive in the waters of Central Africa.

“With this, I think we can conquer the market,” Kamgo said, stroking a long-whisker pangasius that had just been caught from the freshwater pond of the aquaculture complex of his company, Agro World Group, which sells 23 tons of fish per month. .

Divine Ngala Tombuh, deputy director of aquaculture at the Ministry of Fisheries, said that market dominance is a distant dream, but fish farming in Cameroon is increasing, with production exceeding 10,000 tons in 2020 and 5,000 tons in 2018.

“We have moved from self-sufficiency or household aquaculture to aquaculture as job creators,” Tunbu told Reuters.

To support the country’s 15,000 fish farmers, the government has imposed import bans or restrictions on certain species, including red tilapia. He said that as of 2021, it has also eliminated all tariffs on imports of aquaculture equipment to encourage further expansion of the industry.

Kamgo is eager to share his expertise with colleagues in Cameroon and other parts of the African continent. He trained students on how to breed fish in company laboratories outside the commercial capital Douala, and sold young fish to farmers locally and in neighboring Gabon and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

“Demand always exceeds supply,” he said.