Aquaculture in ghana

After some years of mild growth, Ghana’s aquaculture industry is now set to play a crucial role in the economy, especially in closing

the wide gap between local fish demand and domestic production, which burdens the nation with a high annual fish import bill. Quite a number of local and foreign inves-tors are showing interest in this sector. One major issue set to give the industry a badly needed boost is the availability of alternative feed resources, which hold the prospect of significantly reducing the fish farmer’s production budget.

In 2013, the government launched the FAO-funded National Aquaculture Development Plan, which is being implemented over five years at a cost of US$ 85 million. The pro-gramme aims to improve the viability of the aquaculture business, and to raise national fish output from the present 27,750 metric tons to 130,000 metric tons by the end of 2018. Over 80 percent of commercial fish farmers in Ghana are engaged in the production of Nile tilapia, whilst the others are engaged mostly in the production of African sharp-tooth catfish.

Demand for tilapia, a delicacy in Ghana, is very high, even though at between US$ 2.50 and US$ 3.00 per kilo it is way above the world market price.

Fish consumption in Ghana increased from 900,000 metric tons in 2013 to one million metric tons in 2014, but local output in the two years was less than 450,000 metric tons. Ghana, whose current per-capita fish consumption is 25 kg/person/year, imports US$ 200 million of fish annually. The decline of local fish production over the years is due to the use of outmoded equipment and illegal fishing methods, especially lights, chemicals, explosives and small mesh-size nets. Age-old plans for introducing fibreglass boats are yet to be realised, so Ghanaian artisanal fishermen still use canoes and drag-nets to produce 70 percent of local output.

Aquaculture is fast gaining pace as an alter-native source of animal protein as Ghana’s marine and freshwater fishery production decline. Interest in aquaculture has been growing steadily in recent years, but a major issue of concern to farmers is the cost of feed. On average, feed costs take up 70 percent of a fish farmer’s budget, due mainly to the

fact that maize, the major ingredient, is also the major feed source for humans. The use of non-conventional feed sources, which until recently had virtually no commercial value, would substantially reduce the aquaculture production budget and attract more investors. Among the alternative ingredients which are currently being deployed in aquaculture are cocoa pod husk, palm kernel cake, wheat bran and sunflower cake.

Cocoa pod husk (CPH) is derived from the remains of the fruit after the beans, which comprise 25 percent of the fruit, have been extracted. Over 3720 metric tons of CPH can be generated annually. Scientists in Ghana, Nigeria and elsewhere have long proven that CPH is viable as poultry, pig and fish feed. For example, Ashade and Osineye (2013) reported that “CPH could suitably substitute up to 100 percent” in the diet of tilapia. Adewumi and Olalaye (2010) reported that CPH was one of several plant residues that had been tested and found to be suitable substitutes for conventional fish feed. Some aquafeed producers have started using CPH as substitute for maize.

Palm kernel cake (PKC) is the residue

by Francis Ekow de Heer

Alternative feed sources

Aquaculture in ghana #1

Ghana is one of the countries in the Sub-Saharan Africa region with the potential to dramatically increase its fish production through aquaculture. In this two part special focus on Ghana, we examine two major issues; alternative feed resources and best management practices.

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obtained from the kernel after the extraction of the oil. Ghana produced 53,000 metric tons of PKC in 2014. PKC is a valuable commod-ity in major palm oil producing countries like Indonesia and Malaysia, where it is used locally and exported as cattle feed. Until recently, only a small amount of this commodity was used in Ghana in pig diets. Presently, however, it is being used on a small scale as poultry, pig and aquaculture feed.

The Ministry of Agriculture recommends the inclusion of PKC at 15 percent in fish diets. Some researchers have found PKC a useful inclusion in fish diets. Omoregie obtained the best results with Nile tilapia fed on a diet of 15 percent palm kernel meal

and 25 percent fishmeal. Onwudike also concluded that although PKC was a viable substitute for groundnut cake, it had to be added to other protein sources in order to increase dietary levels of some otherwise deficient amino acids.

Soybean meal is the main protein source for poultry and fish farmers in African coun-tries. It is an imported, expensive commodity, so most farmers would appreciate a local substitute. Sunflower cake is recognised in Ghana as a valuable protein source in animal diets. Commercial cultivation of sunflowers, which stalled for some three years, is resuming in the Central Region of the country. Mr Kwasi Addae, a commercial farmer, has mobilised

out-grower farmers who are expected to grow enough sun-flower oil for the local fish cannery industry, and enough sunflow-er seed cake for the poultry and aquacul-ture industries.

Results from a collaborative work by AquaFish CRSP of Oregon State University and the Sokoine University in Tanzania showed that a 50/50 combination

of moringa and sunflower seed cake was a viable substitute for soya bean meal.

A major challenge facing the aquafeed industry is the absence of good quality feed processing. About 30 percent of feed used in the industry is imported, and Raanan Feeds, the only producer of extruded feed in Ghana, is currently producing at maximum capacity. Most of the feed used or produced by the many small-scale farms in Ghana are neither pelletised nor extruded, and do not float. Current signs show good prospects for investment inflows. The combination of size-able investment and alternative feed resource deployment will give aquaculture in Ghana a bright future.

At the fish farm of Crystal Lake Fishing Ltd, Volta Lake, Ghana

July-August 2015 | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | 31

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Classified by the World Bank in 2014 as a ‘lower middle income’ country, Ghana has an economy largely depend-ent on agriculture. The agricultural sector contributes 23 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP)

annually, whereas 42 percent of the population was employed in the agricultural sector in 2013. Ghana’s 2.3 percent annual population growth rate requires a sustained increase in food production.

The country has increased food production per capita by more than 80 percent since the early 1980s, and is largely self-sufficient in staple crops such as maize, cassava, plantain, and yam. In 2011 the Overseas Development Institute forecasted that Ghana will meet the United Nation (UN)’s Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 1 of eradicating extreme poverty and hunger by 2015. However, it is important to go beyond meeting this goal of ‘food quantity’ to target ‘food quality’, both of which are components of food security.

Ghana is one of the countries in the sub-Saharan Africa region with the potential to dramatically increase its fish production through

aquaculture. This is the result of a high fish demand, and the combina-tion of a stable political environment and the commissioning of the only commercial fish feed mill in West Africa. The country derives a majority of its dietary protein from fish, with an estimated per capita fish consumption of 20–30 kg per annum in 2009, higher than the global estimate of about 18 kg.

The global aquaculture industry has been blamed widely for its negative impacts on natural aquatic ecosystems. Pond effluents are relatively dilute, and as such not amenable to conventional treatment technologies. Aquaculture management practices affect the volume of water, nutrient, solids, and oxygen demand loading rates from ponds to effluent-receiving water bodies. Generally, these practices are grouped into nutrient management and effluent management.

In 2014 Frimpong et al showed the effect of two best manage-ment practices (BMPs) on the growth of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) and their effectiveness at preventing the transport of nutri-ents and solids from fishponds to water bodies in Ghana. Specifically, these two BMPs were the use of commercial floating feeds and pond

Commercial floating feeds for pond culture of tilapia in Ghana

In this article, the research of Dr Yaw B. Ansah and Dr Emmanuel A. Frimpong on the effectiveness of BMPs on the aquaculture industry, specifically the production of tilapia in Ghana will be shared. Dr Ansah received his PhD from the Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation as well as an MSc in Agricultural and Applied Economics, both from Virginia Tech (USA). Dr Frimpong is an associate professor at Virginia Tech, he studies fish biology and aquaculture and supervised Dr Ansah’s dissertation.

The impact of the adaption of best management practices on social welfare

Aquaculture in ghana #2

A case study


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water reuse. That study showed that reused pond water resulted in the same growth rates as the usual practice of draining and refilling pond with new water before stocking. This result was in contrast to the widely held belief among pond fish farmers in the sub-Saharan Africa region that reusing water from a previous cycle could harm cultured fish.

Two main types of fish feed are used by fish farm-ers in Ghana. The recommended commercial feed type is pelleted, smooth, and mostly floating, unlike the farm-made type, which is coarse, powdery, and sinking. In a previous study Frimpong et al showed that the commercial floating feed type resulted in up to a 100 percent increase in fish growth compared to the farm-made sinking feed. Analysis of revenues and costs on a typical tilapia farm in Ghana also indicated that using commercial floating feed resulted in a higher probability of profitability (45%) than using the farm-made alternative (25%).

Demonstrating profitability of better management practices will encourage the adoption by fish farmers, which will both protect the environment and further increase farm profits. Widespread adoption of profit-able innovations is expected to have an impact not only at the farm–household level, but also on the welfare of the society as a whole, including both pro-ducers and consumers. Positive outcomes of adopt-ing BMPs such as commercial floating feeds include achievement of an “environmentally-friendly” image by the aquaculture industry, increased tilapia produc-tion, and lower fish costs. This study conducted by Dr Ansah and Dr Frimpong sought to quantify the


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economic impact of the adoption of floating feeds in pond culture of tilapia in a developing country on social welfare. Specifically, they were interested in the net present value (NPV) of BMP adoption, with Ghana as a case country. Also, it was of interest to determine factors that had the greatest influence on NPV from adoption of the BMP.

Research details, methodology and data collectionGenerally, according to economic theory, an innovation (a new

technology) shifts the supply function for a commodity downward, resulting in a larger equilibrium quantity at a lower price. This develop-ment may have a significant bearing on the level of poverty or welfare of a particular community where a new agricultural technology is dif-fused. The conventional framework for applied welfare economics is provided by a three-part assumption: the demander’s perceived value of a unit of a good or service is indicated by the competitive demand price of that unit; the supplier’s perceived value of a unit of a good or service is indicated by the competitive supply price of that unit; and the net benefits and costs of a given action to a group of people is the total of the benefits and costs to each member.

Dr Ansah and Dr Frimpong employed the economic surplus method, which is the most common method for analysing the welfare impacts of agricultural research in a partial equilibrium framework. The popularity of this method stems from the fact that it requires the least data, can be applied to the broadest ranges of situations, is easy to grasp, and can be used both ex ante and ex post.

To effectively run the economic surplus model, both physical and market data must be collected on the following: • The proportion of farmers who adopt the innovation overtime • The price of the commodity• The change in yield of the commodity with the new technology• The nature of the market, as products that are traded may not

experience price declines if production increases• The time it takes to develop the innovation, and the number of

years for maximum adoption to be reached• The discount rate for future benefits compared to current

benefitsThe researchers raised Nile tilapia (O. niloticus) on five demonstra-

tion earthen-pond farms in central Ghana. Stocking, feeding, and other management practices employed for the production of tilapia on these demonstrations were consistent with those used on typical tilapia farms

in Ghana. These demonstrations provided both physical data on the effects of two BMPs on the growth of Nile tilapia and budgeting data for profitability analysis. The two BMPs were use of commercial floating feed (as opposed to farm-made feed prepared on site from food and agro-industrial wastes), and reused water (as opposed to draining and refilling ponds with new water before each production cycle).

In the Frimpong et al 2014 study, it was concluded that of the two BMPs, only feed type significantly influenced fish growth and yield. Using floating feed resulted in average yields 100 percent higher than using sinking feed. Since there was no significant difference in fish growth with water type (reused or fresh water), the researchers analysed only the welfare impacts of the adoption of floating feed as a new technology.

Reusing pond water for multiple production cycles is clearly envi-ronmentally beneficial. However, there were no significant differences detected in fish yields or farm costs from this BMP. The quantification of the environmental impacts of reusing pond water is the subject of a separate study. Without resulting in differences in growth, the only potential source of economic benefits of water reuse is saving input cost from refilling emptied ponds. The vast majority of pond farmers in Ghana obtain water at no direct cost from diverted streams or groundwater seepage. Cost savings to the farmer are therefore not readily apparent.

The unit cost of the recommended feed type is almost eight times that of the farm-made alternative, and the cost of fish feed makes up over 50 percent of total costs on a typical fish farm. The implication is that the adoption of the new feed technology will result in a 350 percent increase in total annual farm costs.

The rate of adoption of each BMP was tracked over three years though a comprehensive survey that was administered from 2011 to 2013, to 363 fish farmers in Ghana. Respondents came from the cen-tral and southwestern parts of Ghana, specifically in the Ashanti, Brong-Ahafo, Central, Eastern, and Western Regions. Pond farms in Ghana are located mostly within these regions, due to conducive biophysical factors. Average adoption rates over this period were 58.2 percent for commercial floating feed and 27.4 percent for pond water reuse. It is worth noting that most farmers who claim to use the former technol-ogy presently do not use it exclusively, but the trial of the technology is an indication of their desire to fully adopt it if it proves superior and affordable. Dr Ansah and Dr Frimpong assumed 70 percent as the


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maximum adoption rate, which they believe to be a realistic figure for an aquaculture innovation.

Aquaculture production in Ghana occurs in two main systems, floating cages in the Volta Lake and dugout earthen ponds. Floating cage systems are intensive operations that rely solely on commercial floating feed through the production cycle, and these systems account for about 90 percent of the country’s aquaculture production. Total production from cages alone was 24,250 metric tons (mt) in 2013. Current BMP dissemination efforts are targeted at the less-intensive earthen-pond systems that rely more on the farm-made sinking feed type. Effectively, the adoption of the new feed technology will likely impact the production from earthen ponds, since the innovation is already being used widely in the cage systems.

Research findingsThe estimated average NPV of adopting commercial floating tilapia

feed for tilapia farming in earthen ponds in Ghana over 20 years was almost US$ 11 million (Figure 1). The probability that the NPV is a positive value was about 70 percent (Figure 2). Additionally, there was a probability of about 48 percent that the NPV is greater than the estimated mean value of 11 million (Figure 2). Sensitivity analysis showed that the variables (and direction of correlation) with the greatest impacts on mean NPV were the change in yield of tilapia (+) and the change in production costs (−), resulting from the adoption of commercial floating fish feed (Figure 3). To a less significant extent, mean NPV also was sensitive to the 2013 tilapia earthen-pond produc-tion level (+), the chosen discount rate (−), the level of peak adoption rate (+), and the specific amount of recurrent costs (+), in that order. A plus sign indicates that an increase in that variable will increase NPV, while a decrease in a variable with a minus sign will increase NPV.

Final thoughtsFrom the results of this study, it emerges that Ghana’s economy

has a high probability of profiting significantly from adoption of BMPs, such as use of floating fish feed in earthen-pond farms. The GDP for the country in 2013 was US$48 billion. Ghana’s agricul-ture sector contributes about 22 percent of the country’s GDP.

Extrapolations based on figures from Ghana’s National Aquaculture Development Plan indicate that the current value of commercially farmed fish in the country to be approximately US$40 million. This implies that the study’s calculated average ben-efit (US$11 million over 20 years) will annually add > 25 percent of the current value of commercially farmed fish.

Clearly, Ghana stands to benefit substantially from the increased fish yield, which will result from adoption of the recommended, floating fish feed. A previous study conducted by Ansah et al in 2014 identified possible key socioeconomic benefits or impacts of higher fish yields to include increased employment within the improved aquaculture industry, higher incomes, reduced poverty, possible foreign exchange, lower fish cost, better nutritional diet (more pro-tein), improved health and welfare. Additionally, women in Ghana’s fisheries sector are involved more in processing and marketing of fish, and as such, they too will benefit from the increased fish yields from the adoption of the recommended feed type.

The recommended commercial floating feed type is known to cost almost eight times as much as the alternative feed type pro-duced on farms from a mixture of byproducts of local agro-food industry. It is also not unusual for the cost of fish feed to make up > 50 percent of variable or total costs of a fish farm, therefore, it is expected that adoption of the recommended feed type will be accompanied by a substantial investment of capital, and principles of innovation adoption predict that the higher cost implications could discourage rapid diffusion of this feed innovation among pond farmers in Ghana.

However, considering the significant positive social welfare impli-cations of adopting this feed type in earthen pond farming, both governmental and nongovernmental agencies could invest in reducing feed cost in order to facilitate diffusion. Our results indicate that the marginal benefit from any investments made to reduce feed costs and facilitate farmers’ use of the new feed type is high.

Also, adoption rates of the recommended feed type had a non-significant but positive effect on mean NPV. However, adoption rate links indirectly to change in yield. Change in yield is the physical change in the average weight of fish fed the new feed type, but the more farmers that adopt the technology the higher the chances of increasing production in order to realise the calculated NPV.

This study projected that adoption of yield-enhancing aquacul-ture BMPs and innovations in a developing country such as Ghana would result in significant social welfare benefits. Considering the high marginal benefits of investments in floating feed, it is recom-mended that affordable credit programs and other financial packages be created to help farmers meet the current price of fish feed. Dr Ansah and Dr Frimpong also recommend investment into research and development projects to reduce the amount of feed wasted from overfeeding. The focusing of extension effort on production technologies will lead to the realisation of benefits and reduction in risk. These efforts will result in the country reaping high social benefits from the increased yield. Also, active dissemination of this and other BMPs will create the awareness required for rapid diffusion of these innovations.

This feature has been altered from the original open access article for formatting reasons. The original open access article is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 license. Published by Cogent Food & Agriculture (ISSN: 2331-1932), Cogent OA, part of Taylor & Francis Group.


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Aquaculture in ghana