Specialists in fisheries are of the view that the country has great capacity to increase fish production through aquaculture, if principal challenges like weak extension service system and high cost of quality fish feed are adequately addressed. Ghana is endowed with natural inland water resources unique for the successful venture of aquaculture. Aquaculture, also known as aquafarming, involves cultivating freshwater and saltwater fish populations under controlled conditions. This can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is the harvesting of wild fish. Fish farmers in Ghana have been counting the economic prospects of aquaculture should government prioritize the implementation of policies for the promotion of fisheries. According to them, fish production should be seen as a major source of job creation and solving problems of protein deficiency in the country. Tilapia, for instance, has become a major delicacy in most Ghanaian dishes. But fish producers who have been speaking to Luv Biz Report say sustainability of production will demand concerted commitment from the government. Sam Biako, who owns a fish farm in the Brong Ahafo Region, says the first hurdle is how farmers can get technical support through extension services, especially in pond construction, which he describes as is a science. “I’m told that we have only one fish veterinary officer in this country and you can imagine what it will mean if you need help when you think your fish need some medical help”, he wondered. Fish feeding is another major challenge. “Government will definitely have to do something about that by either waiving the taxes on imported feed or maybe setting up strategically feed manufacturing companies across the belt where inland fishing or cage fishing is being practiced in this country”, Mr. Biako suggested. Other fish farmers say addressing challenges in the fishing industry could earn the Ghanaian economy more revenue than the cocoa sector. There are already a number of interventions to increase jobs and profits for small aquaculture operations as well as improve food security. The World Bank recently approved a $53.8 million financial package to support Ghana’s fisheries sector, for the sustainable management of the country’s fish and aquatic resources. There is also $1.1million dollar funding under the ‘Feed the Future’ project to enhance the profitability of small aquaculture operations in Ghana, Kenya, and Tanzania through improved resource management and environmental best management practices. The USAID AquaFish Collaborative Research Support Program (CRSP) is running for a three-year period, 2010-2013. Dr. Emmanuel Anokye Frimpong, Assistant Professor of Fisheries Science at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in the US is the lead investigator. He has been engaged in the training of some 150 inland fish farmers in the Ashanti region to find profitable ways to manage their operations and the environment. Dr. Frimpong observed more people in Ghana are venturing aquaculture that existing technical infrastructure can support. “Our intervention is identifying the constraints that make aquaculture not so profitable. The lure of it that it is profitable obviously is out there because a lot of people get into it before they realize that it’s hard to run fish farming for profit. So our interventions are targeted at helping farmers eliminate the sources of non-profitability and the threat to a sustained growth down the road”, he told Luv Biz Report. Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh/Luv Fm/Ghana