Meet the farmer

Mohamed El Gendy manages a 600-tonne capacity carp farm in Erbil, northern Iraq, which might be one of the country’s most promising aquaculture operations.

Dr Manoj Sharma is not only the pioneer of shrimp farming in Gujarat is but also credited with creating livelihoods for thousands of farmers who had been struggling to grow crops in the state’s salinised land.

Aquantic Fish Farm, in Saudi Arabia, combines tilapia production with crop cultivation, while there are also plans to produce rainbow trout in a RAS unit – as Youssef Eltahawy, the farm’s technical manager, explains.

Mohamed Sameh El-Sayed, who runs Al-Zohour's three tilapia hatcheries in Egypt alongside his father, Engineer Sameh El-Sayed, has faith that the country’s tilapia sector will continue to grow. 

Francisco Murillo is perplexed by the hundreds of millions of dollars wasted on failing RAS projects, when a fraction of the funding could help proven businesses like Tropo Farms produce tens of thousands more tonnes of tilapia a year.

For a decade Tom Ashton has held a fascination with Scotland's native oyster, and today has made it his mission to make the species a commercial and environmental success.

Former WNBA basketball player Sue Wicks now grows kelp, as well as oysters, in Great South Bay, Long Island, using a novel technique for shallow water cultivation.

Tulsi Haldar, a 65-year-old carp and shrimp farmer from West Bengal, remains committed to his profession, despite a string of setbacks and a debilitating illness.

Tran Van Van swapped a career as a civil engineer for one in aquaculture, founding the Minh Phu International Joint Stock Company, which produces tilapia, catfish and mitten crabs.

After graduating from United States International University (USIU-Africa), with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, Paul Murage opted to work at his family’s construction business, before establishing Pwani Fish Farm and Hatchery, in Kilifi County…

Lana Fish Company produces tilapia, carp, ornamental fish and even rainbow trout – despite being located in the Saudi Arabian desert – as executive director, Ibrahim Al-Madbouly, explains.

Mazen Elsawaf, technical director of Maher fish farm in Saudi Arabia and a strong advocate of RAS, represents a new generation of ambitious young Egyptians in aquaculture.

Times have rarely been tougher for shrimp farmers in India, but Balasubramaniam V, general secretary of the Prawn Farmers Federation of India, believes that the industry can transform its fortunes through a combination of improved genetics, the use of native s…

Mohamed Salah Ibrahim runs Al Sahaba Hatchery, one of the oldest tilapia hatcheries in Kafr El-Sheikh, and continues the legacy of his father, Dr Salah Ibrahim, one of Egypt’s pioneers of mono-sex tilapia production.

Akin Showemimo, widely known as “Akinfish”, is the director of Asher Royal Produce Limited, a company that produces its own catfish, tilapia and heterotis, and also helps to equip and train other farmers, both in Nigeria and further afield.

Gabriel Thomas Kimeu, 27, is a computer science graduate who set up a RAS tilapia, catfish and ornamental fish farm in eastern Kenya and has major ambitions to grow.

Omorinsola Giwa is the managing director of Mamijo Farms, a Nigeria-based operation which can produce over eight tonnes of catfish and over 10,000 fingerlings each month.

Nitul Chandra Das, a fish farmer in the Assam region of India, explains how a career in aquaculture completely changed his fortune, taking him from rags to riches.

Girdhari Mukhiya, who has served two jail terms and faced severe financial losses, has overcome the odds to become one of the biggest fish farmers in India’s Bihar state.

Waziri Selemani Mpogo is a fisherman-turned-farmer who ranches sea cucumbers off the shores of Mafia Island in Tanzania.

Jasvir Singh Aujla - a successful fish farmer from Punjab, India - stands as a shining example of the career opportunities to be found close to home.

Dupe Killa-Kafidipe, founder of Platinum Fisheries, has ambitious plans to build a modular RAS facility to help her to diversify and increase production of a range of species - from catfish to shrimp.

A former road contractor in Uttar Pradesh, Madanjeet Kumar Singh decided to pursue his passion of aquaculture. With dedication and hard work, Singh has become one of the best fish farmers in the state.

Alasinrin Musbau Abdulkadir is the chief executive officer of BawBaw Farms, a Nigeria-based operation which can produce over two tonnes of catfish, and 17 tonnes of aquafeeds each week.

Roberto Flores Aguilar, co-founder and technical manager of Abulones Cultivados, is one of the pioneering figures in Latin American marine aquaculture and a firm believer that the industry can help to uplift coastal communities in the developing world.

Kailash Narayan Singh ventured into farming carp five years ago and has since become one of the largest aquaculture producers in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

Muga Fish Farm has undergone remarkable growth under the leadership of founder and director, George Muga – overcoming challenges and earning prestigious awards – and is now poised for growth through continued innovation and genetic advances.

Despite scepticism from some parts of the mainstream aquaculture sector, aquaponics can make a meaningful contribution to global food security, as well as a flourishing business, according to Dr Hesham Haggag – founder of Egypt’s first aquaponics business.

Moses Njoku Uwa is the founder and managing director of St Mosco FeedNation, the largest fish farming company in southeast Nigeria, which produces 560 tonnes of African catfish from 100 earth ponds each year.

Dr Hamada Elkady, executive director of Delta Farm, believes that the Egyptian desert has the potential to be a successful shrimp producing region.

Pierrot Kokou Akakpovi, CEO of Togo’s largest organic tilapia farm, has ambitions – both for himself and the country’s aquaculture sector in general – to grow substantially in the coming years.

Kal Bahadur Gurung, 40, ditched his taxi business in the Indian state of Sikkim in favour of rainbow trout farming and now earns around $30,000 per year.

Prem Kumar Rai, 45, from Sikkim state, northeast India, earns 15 lakhs rupees ($18,333) annually by farming rainbow trout and has won several accolades from the state government.

Ahmed Al Sharaki is one of the pioneers of aquaculture in Egypt, who has worked in the public and private sectors in mono-sex tilapia culture for four decades. He currently runs the two Almadinah hatcheries.

Straight after her graduation with a degree in land economy in 2019, Precious Nutifafa decided to build a catfish farm in Saviefe Agorkpo, in the Volta Region of Ghana, and she now has plans to build production to 200 tonnes a year.

Femi Ilesanmi Eniola is the founder and CEO of Osky Catfish, a vertically integrated company that produces 30 million catfish fry, has 80 grow out cages and does its own training, processing and exporting.

Shrimp farming consultant and hatchery specialist, Philip Buike, was instrumental in getting the first commercial production of post-larvae in Europe off the ground, at a farm run by White Panther in Austria. He is currently involved with the development of va…

Vincent Oduor, who was recently named Kenya’s most innovative fish farmer, is the co-founder and CEO of Aquaculture Barn Limited – a producer of juvenile tilapia and catfish.

Kenneth Odoemenam is an aquaculture consultant, catfish farmer and YouTube sensation from Nigeria, who leverages the power of social media to drive his catfish farming and consulting business.

Kwame David Adade took over Windmill Farms – a catfish and tilapia farm in Ghana – from his father four years ago and since then has made some interesting discoveries, especially in feed formulation.