Aquaculture: A Solution for Food Security

Food security, like many other social issues, has been a key\r\nissue for discussion as governments around the world grapple with the\r\nmanagement of the covid19 pandemic.

In TT’s agriculture sector, there have been challenges that\r\nvary from funding to policy implementation to legislation. But as the sector\r\nseeks success, one sub-sector has captured the eyes of the Ministry of\r\nAgriculture, Land and Fisheries and by extension, entrepreneurs.

Locally, aquaculture has been around for some time and a\r\nspecial unit has been set up under the ministry to bolster production. At the\r\nAquaculture Demonstration Centre in Valsayn, managed by the Fisheries Division,\r\nit seeks to promote the sub-sector commercially.

According to fisheries officer Harnarine Lalla, aquaculture\r\ncan be described as the farming or husbandry of aquatic organisms under\r\ncontrolled or semi-controlled conditions. It is regarded as a means of reducing\r\nfishing pressure on marine fisheries resources and meeting increasing demands\r\nfor fish and fishery products via culture methodologies.

“The growth and meaningful nature of aquaculture was and is\r\nneeded locally. Aquaculture globally amounts to about 50 per cent of fish\r\nproducts that are consumed by humans. While there has been an incremental\r\ngrowth globally, TT has not yet seen that type of growth. A tremendous amount\r\nof potential has always existed and continues to exist, but unfortunately, we\r\nhave not been following up with the production potential,” he told Business\r\nDay.

Nadia Ramphal, fisheries officer of the Ministry of\r\nAgriculture’s Aquaculture Unit, shows some of the cascadura fish populated in\r\nthe unit’s nursery.↔PHOTO BY ROGER JACOB

Statistics outlined in the State of World Fisheries and\r\nAquaculture 2018 report showed a 5.8 per cent annual growth rate globally\r\nduring the period 2001 to 2016. Aquaculture, it said, continues to grow faster\r\nthan other major food production sectors.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation,\r\naquaculture production is not significant and fluctuating in TT. It said\r\nproduction increased from negligible amounts in 2009 to peak at approximately\r\n21 tonnes in 2015, to decline again to five tonnes in 2017.

Lalla said however that there is a demand for fish and fish\r\nproducts and TT has the knowledge, technologies and facilities to expand its\r\nproduction capacity. According to the ministry's food import bill, imports of\r\nfish and fish preparations were up nearly five per cent in 2019 compared to\r\n2018. In 2019, the country imported 11.5 million kilograms of fish valued at\r\n$315.7 million.

“Most people who got involved in aquaculture did so with\r\nponds. With changes in technology we see the utilisation of new systems and\r\nmethods. What has better success would be the tank-based systems, which can be\r\ndone on a small-scale system (16 tanks) or a medium-scale system (eight\r\ntanks).”

At the Aquaculture Demonstration Centre specific training is\r\noffered at no cost to the public on all the processes of setting up the\r\nsystems, maintenance, management and production.

TT, Lalla said, has the potential to produce in large\r\ncapacities cascadura (hoplosternum littorale), tilapia (oreochromis), pacu or\r\ntambaqui (colossoma macropomum) and swai or bassa, also known as the iridescent\r\nshark (pangasianodon hypophthalmus).The ministry offers various incentives to aquaculture\r\nfarmers which included a percentage of construction of ponds, dams and wells or\r\nconstruction alternative culture systems, such as raceway type systems;\r\nrefurbishment of dams and wells; rehabilitation of ponds, cost of equipment\r\nsuch as water pumps, harvesting gear and equipment and vehicles.

Lalla said that setting up is labour intensive and the cost\r\nfor such a project varies, with the basic starting cost between $70,000 to\r\n$85,000, with starting land capacity of ten acres.

“This figure does not include land preparation or the\r\nassociated labour to get the system established. Also, the figures can vary\r\ndepending on the part of the country that the farm is being set up and the land\r\npreparation by the prospective farmer,” he said.

Lalla added that aquaculture is a very viable business, but\r\nfinancial and training investments are encouraged and needed.

Fisheries officers Harnarine Lalla and Nadia Ramphal stand\r\nin front of one of the demonstration commercial green water recirculating\r\nsystems on display at the Ministry of Agriculture’s Aquaculture Unit.PHOTO BY\r\nROGER JACOB

He said, “Farm fishes are never going to be cheap, by any\r\nstretch of the imagination. At the centre our role is to disseminate the\r\nrelevant information to ensure the right and practical decisions are taken in\r\nsetting up a farm.

“It is not going to be lucrative unless there is large scale\r\nproduction and we certainly recommend larger sized operations for income\r\ngeneration.”

Entrepreneur Christian Penco who operates an aquaculture\r\nfarm in Central Trinidad rears mainly tilapia.

He told Newsday that while there are challenges, it is very\r\nfulfilling, and hopes to achieve a large tank-based system to produce\r\nsignificant amounts for commercial distribution.

“My investment has been heavy, and the work has been a lot.\r\nThe help from the supporting bodies has been minimal. I enjoy what I do, and I\r\nam not a quitter, so I intend to see it through and be successful.”

He said the sector is worthwhile and encouraged anyone with\r\na passion and sound business mind to invest.

Penco also called for the ministry to take the sub-sector\r\nmore seriously and invest the necessary tools, funding and know-how that is\r\nneeded for a successful aquaculture industry.

State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2018 report noted\r\nthat there has been an increase in aquaculture workers in Latin America and the\r\nCaribbean to almost 381,000 fish farmers for the period 2016.

Lalla admitted that while TT has a comparative advantage in\r\nthe sector, it has failed to capitalise and enforce a competitive advantage to\r\nallow it to compete in the global value chain.

“We would have to first look at expanding in our regional\r\nmarkets because they too are importers of farm fish, most of it being tilapia\r\nfrom the Far East. The major drawback in international trade would be our\r\nprices. At this time, we cannot produce the fish at costs that are cheaper than\r\nthe frozen imports."

Along the global value chain, he said, production is where\r\nthe country might be most successful because of its natural endowments. He\r\nadded that a lack of marketing and branding has also contributed to a downfall\r\nof the sector.

“Farmers cannot rear the fishes and see about marketing as\r\nwell. It consumes a lot of time and some farmers do not have the funding to\r\nexplore such means. They (the farmers) are willing to rear the fishes but need\r\nthe advice and expertise from the professionals and the ministry to get the\r\nproduct in the supermarkets and on the consumers tables. This is one of the\r\nmajor shortfalls of the sector.”

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Lalla called for investments from the private sector in\r\norder to pull away from government dependence for a sustainable and thriving\r\nsector.

Source: News Day