Project: introducing scientific and technical knowhow on aquaculture, or aquafarming, in Mozambique
Beneficiary: Ghent university, Can-Tho University (Vietnam), Instituto Nacional de Investigação Pesqueira (Mozambique)
Duration: 2010-2012
Budget: 98.005 euro
Aquaculture is the process where aquatic organisms, such as fish and shellfish, are bred in ponds and basins to be sold on the market later. Aquaculture is still a very young technique in Mozambique, and the production process still needs a lot of improving. According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), the output of the aquafarming supplies half of the fish consumed by humans worldwide.
This project focuses on Mozambique’s salt lakes. Salt mining is the main source of income in this country. Next to salt, artemia can also be grown in the ponds, which creates extra income. The artemia are used as food for the fish.
In Mozambique, aquaculture focuses on freshwater fish farming. There are an estimated 6000 ponds in Mozambique, but the productivity of these ponds is very low (12 kg/ha each year). An additional 1 to 2 tons/hectare can be added yearly without much effort. The Mozambican government is beginning to see the importance of fish production for the food security of its poor population. But the government also sees aquaculture as a possibility for the country to play a role on the international fish market.
The project consists of two parts:
- showing the advantages of the integrated salt production and the artemia in salt pans
- giving future teachers and animators technical formations on aqua culture in general, and tropical fish farming in particular