According to officials from the institution, the target is to increase fingerling production from 2 to 5 million by the end of the financial year to increase fish production in the country, reports NewTimes.
The agriculture body has also embarked on empowering farmers to produce their own fingerlings by availing three small scale fish hatcheries to remote districts of Nyamasheke, Karongi and Rubavu, according to Dr Christine Kanyandekwe, Head of Animal Resources Department at RAB.
Speaking to NewTimes, Dr Kanyandekwe said that the RAB had imported a new hatchery worth Rwf78 million to hatch fish of the clarias species and it had already been set up at the Kigembe centre.
Dr Kanyandekwe noted that the move intends to put more efforts in clarias fish to diversify from the tilapia fish that has dominated the market for years.
Meanwhile, Dr Kanyandekwe said there are three small scale fish hatcheries that have been procured and will be used this financial year, to ensure hatching activities are brought near where farming is taking place.
The president of Fish Farmers’ Cooperative Federation, Theophile Nyandwi, TheNewTimes that there was a problem where some fingerlings died due to long distance from the hatchery.
Another issue, he said, is the shortage of, as well as costly fish feeds, saying that production of fingerlings in remote district will ensure safety of fish off-springs.
RAB figures show that annual fish production was 25,000 tonnes in 2015. Rwanda imports 15,000 tonnes of fish per year. The target is to produce 120,000 tonnes in 2017.
