The Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, Hon. Mavis Hawa Koomson, launched the Aquaculture Ghana today at the World Trade Centre in Accra.
The Aquaculture Ghana is the maiden Aquaculture Forum since the inception of the ministry, with the theme ““Fostering stakeholder collaboration for sustainable aquaculture industry”. The forum seeks to bring together all industry players to share ideas and innovative ways of promoting the aquaculture sub-sector in order to increase marine and inland fish production, create job opportunities and attract more investors.
In a brief statement, Hon. Koomson stated that the outcome of the Sustainable Development Impact Summit of the World Economic Forum revealed that aquaculture is currently the fastest growing food industry, accounting for over 50% of the total seafood supply globally.
She opined that aquaculture is a viable option to supplement production from marine and inland waters in order to meet rising demand for fish. It is anticipated that production will increase from 64,000 metric tonnes in 2020 to 132,710 metric tonnes in 2026. The shortfall presents enormous opportunities for new entrants and existing aquaculture operators to expand operations or diversify into other areas along the aquaculture value chain.
Hon. Koomson disclosed the Ministry’s readiness to create a conducive environment for improving the state of fisheries and aquaculture through ongoing regulatory reforms to sanitize the industry to enable it contribute more substantively to the agriculture sector.
She emphasized that networking and collaborating with diverse supply chain actors could pave the way to build the capacity of operators to resourcefully overcome challenges relating to production, marketing and management in the sector in order to remain competitive and profitable.
In attendance were the Norwegian Ambassador to Ghana, Her Excellency Ingrid Mollestad, the Chief Director of MoFAD, Mr. Kwesi Armo-Himbson, the Technical Advisor to the Minister, Mr. Samuel Quartey, the Chairman of the Fisheries Commission, Prof. Francis K. E. Nunoo and many other dignitaries.
