Global non-governmental organization WorldFish sees opportunities for investors to take on the low-value species market across Africa.
WorldFish is present in Egypt, Zambia and Malawi and recently also entered the Nigerian market by transferring 50,000 Genetically Improved Tilapia Fish (GITF) fingerlings to the country earlier this spring.
Genetic improvement is a system based on selective breeding whereby choosing the parents of the next generation in done in a way to achieve improved performance for certain traits. These genetic gains are cumulative and permanent.
In the GITF method, full-sibling families of fish are reared in small, separate enclosures until they are big enough to be tagged with a microchip and moved into a communal pond. The tags allow researchers to identify individual fish and track growth against their siblings and other individuals.
Not all countries have the needed facilities in place for GITF, as state-of-the-art hatcheries and logistics need to be in place for the fish to efficiently reach consumers.
“It’s critical that WorldFish capitalize on its recent expansion in Africa,” Worldfish Global lead Essam Yassin Mohammed told IntraFish on the sidelines of the Blue Food Innovation Summit in London in June.
There are significant opportunities for the private sector in Africa, he said. The continent is soon set to have the highest proportion of young people globally and the economic forecasts are overall strong, yet the investment flow is still not there, he said.
African leapfrogging
“In telecom, the continent took a leapfrog. When I grew up in Africa, not many had a landline but now almost everyone has a mobile phone. This development could be replicated in aquaculture,” Mohammed said.
There are several hurdles the continent’s aquaculture sector can avoid by learning from the sector in Asia for instance, he said.
WorldFish is particularly keen to set up a tech transfer super highway facility, whereby the African and Asian sectors can share learnings.
Climate resilient fish
WorldFish aims to increase the volume of low-trophic, low-value species globally.
“Low fish-in-fish-out ratios and meat-eating fish have a huge negative effect on the planet,” Mohammed said.
Tilapia has many benefits, including being a fast-growing fish. It holds good value for many farmers operating on thin margins.
And the NGO is further enhancing the tilapia species by making it more resilient via selective breeding. The organization is currently trying to add further traits to the fish, such as making it more resilient to climate change.
Fish is sensitive to temperature change but through genetic improvement or selective breeding they can be more tolerant to temperature changes and diseases, Mohammed explained.
“Today, about half of the tilapia market is genetically improved, but what if we genetically improved catfish and carp?”
These three warm water species make up 28 percent of all global farmed fish globally, and are affordable for millions of people living in poverty, he said.
There doesn’t have to be a dichotomy between sustainability and profitability.
“I see huge growth in tilapia, not because it’s charitable, but because it’s profitable.”
