Despite the rapid growth of the aquaculture sector in the Lake Victoria basin, several structural constraints remain prevalent, including limited access to finance and commercial networks, inadequate high-quality fish seed and feed, lack of skilled operators, lack of policy coherence, limited access to genetically improved strains, poor management of fish diseases, unstainable management of the basin’s Aquatic Genetic Resources (AqGR), and unsustainable utilization of biodiversity.
These constraints informed the creation of TRUE-FISH; a programme funded by the European Union (EU) through the East African Community (EAC), which is overseen by the Lake Victoria Fisheries Organisation (LVFO). The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations (UN), WorldFish and Landell Mills are providing expertise as implementing partners. TRUE-FISH has an estimated value of just over 10 million Euros and will be implemented between 2019 and 2025. The focus is on the Lake Victoria basin in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, but the aquatic animal health and biosecurity components will be extended to other EAC Member States.
The overall objective of TRUE-FISH is to contribute to the development of competitive, gender equitable and sustainable commercial aquaculture to improve the economic development and sustainable management of natural resources in the Lake Victoria basin. The sub-objectives relate to, (i) improving access to commercial networks for aquaculture-related businesses, (ii) increasing the availability and quality of skilled workers for the development of aquaculture-related businesses, and (iii) improving the sustainability and biosecurity of regional aquaculture production systems.
Landell Mills is addressing sub-objective (i), which includes the establishment of an East African Aquaculture Exhibition and Conference (EAAEC), the strengthening of business linkages, and support to aquaculture associations. Sub-objective (ii) sees the FAO upgrading and formalising aquaculture training, as well as strengthening linkages between training institutions and with aquaculture business operators. The FAO and WorldFish are jointly addressing sub-objective (iii), which includes the strengthening of aquatic animal health management, the zoning of Lake Victoria for sustainable cage culture development, and improved information on AqGR to support sustainable development of aquaculture together with protection of biodiversity through a better understanding of the genetic make-up of commercially farmed fish in the region.
This paper has been prepared to showcase the progress that has been made in TRUE-FISH to advance aquaculture in East Africa and coincides with TRUE-FISH facilitating 8 representatives from aquaculture associations in the region to attend the Aquaculture Africa 2021 Conference. This opportunity will see these representatives networking with global leaders in aquaculture, learning from the experience of others, and taking this knowledge back to East Africa for implementation towards advancing aquaculture.