Aquaculture in Uganda contributes 20% to fisheries production, supporting economic growth and food security. Despite this, challenges such as seed and feed shortages, poor marketing, and climate change hinder its progress. Achieving the national production target of one million tons requires strong business skills, including understanding business ownership models. These may include; personal, family-owned, group-owned, public-private, governmental, and non-governmental. Incorporating business skills like entrepreneurship and innovation into aquaculture development is vital to enhancing production efficiency and sustainability. Students need practical business skills to link science with business.
Tools like SWOT analysis could be used to choose the business model to adopt. For example, public-private partnerships leverage governmental support in the form of funding and technical support. Similarly, cooperative models can enhance local participation and shared resource management; bulk purchasing and price regulation can be achieved by farmers under this. Family businesses are also good models that ensure the longevity and development of enterprises. Focus areas for training to be adopted for business are value chain development, financial management, taxes, project management, marketing, governance, policy, and insurance, among others.
By linking technical aquaculture training with business education, students and local fish farmers gain the capacity to translate scientific innovations into profitable ventures. This dual competency will foster entrepreneurship among Uganda’s youth (who represent 70% of the population) and integrate sustainable practices into the broader spectrum of general business management. The impact will be a resilient aquaculture and business sector that meets current production targets, reduction of employment gaps, and increase of revenue, among others.