The iniative was announced by More Fish AS, Nofima and the Norwegian Veterinary Institute, and is called the Norway Ghana Tilapia Initiative (NORGHATI).
"With NORGHATI, we want to transfer technological and veterinary expertise to ensure a biological sustainable development of aquaculture in Ghana. We would like to contribute to the development of a commercially viable aquaculture in Africa," said Dr Kofitsyo Cudjoe, project manager for NORGHATI.
Dr Cudjoe, who comes from Ghana, is Head of Bacteriology at the Norwegian National Veterinary Institute in Oslo.
The initiative was presented at a meeting in Oslo hosted by Tekna FTU with participants from the Foreign Ministry, Norad and Innovation Norway.
The aim of the meeting was to formulate concrete advice and suggestions on how the government's development programme 'Fish for Development' can contribute to sustainable commercial aquaculture in selected developing countries or regions. NORGHATI has been proposed as a flagship project in development, with the potential to be a model for other countries.
"The Norwegian partners want to ensure that Ghana could create a commercial and sustainable beacon for African aquaculture, adapted to local needs. This requires a strengthening of fish health in the country through the transfer of expertise from Norwegian research community.
"It is also an object of NORGHATI to create a showcase for Norwegian equipment suppliers and Norwegian aquaculture technology," said Dr Cudjoe.
The aquaculture industry is growing in the West African country, but struggling to become viable commercially and sustainably. Norway has expertise and experience in aquaculture which can be of benefit to Ghana to develop the potential this industry has as a stable source of self-sufficient food.
NORGHATI aims to provide practical training in breeding, feeding, diagnosis and fish health management as well as technical and technological implementation in accordance with industry standards.
The project is due to be implemented in phases with interactive participation by the private sector and academic specialists.
