Yusuf Mwima, the Butaleja district Fisheries officer has stated that Butaleja district has a total of 127 registered fish farmers, 350 ponds, and apparently employs a total of 700 people directly.
By Ambrose Wanagoli
Butaleja district Agriculture Engineer, Charles Swama, has this morning counted gains out of fish farming in Nawetaka, Nawanjofu sub-county, Butaleja district.
Swama has revealed that he began fish farming in May and he has so far sold out 500 kilograms of fish at sh8,000 per kilogram.
He said that fish farming is best paying because a pond occupies less than a quarter of an acre, but the income harvested from it goes beyond sh10m, in a short time.
He has further discouraged rice growing, comparing the labour costs between fish and rice farming. He also revealed that there’s available market for fish, to the extent that his buyers largely came to him from Budaka, Kibuku and Tororo districts. To the less privileged, Swama has advised them to dig ponds manually which is cost effective.
Yusuf Mwima, the Butaleja district Fisheries officer has stated that Butaleja district has a total of 127 registered fish farmers, 350 ponds, and apparently employs a total of 700 people directly.
Mwima said that the Ministry of Agriculture and that of Water, offered Butaleja district with 2 fish feed processing machines in Nampologoma and Nabiganda towns, now helping to crush soya beans, and silver fish, for fish feeds.
He nevertheless reported that there are cases of theft of fish, fish ponds poisoning as long as predators such as; monitor lizards, Herons and (birds that feed on rats, snakes as well), frogs, and tortoises. Though the above challenges discourage the farmers but he assured them that they are working around the clock to get lasting solutions to them.
Habbubu Magge, one of the residents of Nawetaka, Nawanjofu sub-county, thanked Engineer Swama, for having initiated the fish farming business in their area. He urged the youths to desist from politics and rather form groups and dig ponds manually for fish farming. He also urged the haves to help such vulnerable people for capital.
