Uganda is one of the largest aquaculture producers in Africa with a remarkable growth attributed to a private sector led industry. However, current aquaculture production cannot meet the national and regional demand of food fish mainly due to: limited access to affordable quality feed and seed, and limited access to knowledge technologies. Several efforts are set to drive aquaculture into a sustainable and equitable sector through participatory innovations and governance.
Governance is a pivotal transformer for aquaculture’s growth but there is limited information on Africa’s landscape. Therefore, this study assessed the political, institutional, collaborative arrangements /partnerships, and regulatory dimensions that have contributed to the transformation of Uganda’s Aquaculture sector using Aquaculture Governance Indicators (AGIs). Preliminary analysis revealed that Uganda has strong legislative framework covering major industry and sea food watch issue areas including effects of aquaculture effluent on the environment, habitat, chemical use, source of stock disease and escapees. However, it needs to be; i) strengthened at National and local levels ii) efficiently coordinated and enforced, and iii) extension support strengthened to increase compliance for small scale farmers. Voluntary and compulsory national standards relating to aquaculture production, inputs, fish processing and marketing guidelines have been developed by the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS). However, there is need for more awareness and inclusion of stakeholders. Private standards like ASC are generally perceived to be applicable to large scale commercial farms targeting international export of farmed fish, with only one farm reported to have pursued ASC certification. The key collaborative processes are industry-led (Commercial Fish Farmers Associations) or have interactive governance (donor funded projects implemented by government ministries or research institutions in collaboration with market and civil society actors). Governance and partnership arrangements are deemed very relevant to address the main industry issue areas. However, there is need to: i) enhance the visibility of their deliberative processes, ii) strengthen coordination and learning processes within and between collaborative arrangements. This study provides insights to foster learning, better understanding of the challenges within the sector and a starting point for engagement among different stakeholders around identified gaps to ensure sustainable development.