Ex-school heads rally locals on fish farming

Two retired head teachers in Kamusala Village, Serere District, are rallying locals to embrace fish farming as a remedy against poverty.

 Mr John Patrick Olupot and Mr Francis Edepu, who retired in 2020 and 2022 respectively, have since become crusaders on fish farming because of the monetary benefits involved. Mr Olupot, a former head teacher of Ongangai Kidetok Primary School in Pingire County, said the dream started way back in 1999 but due to commitment at school, there was no time to have it implemented until he clocked retirement in 2020.

 He said after sensitising the interested residents, they registered a group known as Akurest fish farmers group with the intention of attracting support from the government to help them excavate ponds in Kamusala swamp.

 “We made known to the ministry of Agriculture about our interest to venture into fish farming through a group concept, they sent an excavator in 2020, which did tremendous work. They excavated more than 20 fish ponds,” Mr Olupot said.
 He added after this was done, they opened an account in Centenary Bank, adding that with a work plan in place, the ministry delivered thousands of fingerlings of Tilapia and catfish, which they will be harvesting in November.

 Mr Olupot said they expect to harvest 18,000 catfish, 5,000 Tilapia fish and 2,000 Miracarp, adding they expect about Shs130m from the six ponds.
 Mr Edepu said officials from the ministry of Agriculture visited last week and requested them to prepare 12 more ponds, which they promised to stock with fingerlings in December.

 He said they are rallying members to have the ponds levelled and draining system installed with pipes in the next two weeks.
 “We are at infancy but imagine next month, we are eyeing good money we have never handled as a village,” Mr Edepu explained.
 Mr Edepu said a well-stocked fish pond, depending on the size, can take between 10,000 and 30,000 fingerlings, which, when well fed, will mature between six and 10 months.

 The retired head teacher said fish farming is one of the lucrative ventures because of the high demand for fish.
 “Ours is to enjoy our retirement time in the most dignified manner with the people, we don’t want to become a burden to our children, and have looked at fish farming as a way to make meaningful contributions to our village,” he said.

 Ms Hellen Adoa, the State Minister for Fisheries, who helped the residents start up the project, said a well-managed fish pond can earn a farmer more than Shs40m.
She added that since fish matures between six and 10 months, a farmer is better off stocking more than four pounds in an interval of one month each.

 Ms Adoa said it is expensive to buy fingerlings, the reason the ministry comes in to support organised groups.
 She said fish remains one of the major economic drivers of the economy, and in 2021, Uganda exported fish fillet worth $37.5m. Ms Adoa said in the same year, fish was the ninth most exported product in the country.
 She added that about 15,000 tonnes of fish is produced through fish farming annually.
 According to National Agricultural Advisory services, there are an estimated 20,000 ponds throughout the country.