I have been receiving this question from fellow youths for the past 6years especially those with intentions of gettings loans. Today, I decided to scratch it a bit.
As you maybe aware, Government through Citizens Economic Empowerment Commission - CEEC and Ministry of Youth and Sports has embraced Aquaculture better known “Fish Farming” as one sector that plays an important role in the economy, providing thousands of jobs in operations and ancillary services. Bank loans and funding assistance are also available on fish farming projects.
Truthfully, aquaculture is one of the fastest growing food production sector in the world and Zambia is not an exceptional.
In Zambia, the market environment; demand and price have proved that fish has a huge and increasing demand throughout the country, this includes its products.
Bottom line is, fish farming is very LUCRATIVE but if you would need to be cost-responsible for all the assets before starting your fish farm, you may never make any decent profit on your fish farming investment in your first production. Understand that you need at least 2-3 cycles of production before you start making good returns which is after completely offsetting the cost of some of these assets.
In starting a profitable fish farming business you will need to have substantial financial resources with land and good
quality water bodies. You will need to be enough knowledgeable about the process of this business.
As per requirement you need “capital investment” which includes capital costs and operating costs. Capital cost includes land & building, crafting ponds, vehicles for transport, plumbing arrangements, several tanks, oxygen meters etc. Operating cost includes purchasing eggs or fingerlings, fish feed, electricity, fuel, labour, chemical, medicine, tax, insurance, telephone, transportation and other maintenance cost involved.
So if you're planning to acquire a loans with outrageous interest rate to start your fish farming investment with the innocent hope of paying back in full after your first production, please do a feasibility analysis YOURSELF and business planning before starting fish farming business. Do an intensive market research before get into fish farming. Understand the local market demand. If you are going to start fish farming for export, then talk to fish processing units prior. Prepare an alternative marketing strategy to rely on. Choosing right species of fish plays major role in getting success in fish farming business. Decision should be based on market demand, maintenance point of view, availability of resources etc.
Be reminded also that having skill is important in starting fish farming business.
You can get training from Government running farms that conduct training.
If you're interested in this business, strive to know how to perform water quality management, disease control, feeding, marketing and processing skills. In addition, carefully prepare detailed cost calculation of your proposed fish related farming project. Calculations will be different as per the types of fish you are choosing for fish farming. And also according to your desired output and total land area.
While investing in aquaculture can be a tricky business, sophisticated investors who take the time to learn the business and the potential pitfalls may be well rewarded.
While fish farming or aquaculture may appear highly technical to many qualified investors, it’s still a business at its core and from this perspective it’s really no different from any other alternative investment that may be under consideration. By performing some basic due diligence, an astute investor can easily eliminate half of the prospects on his own right out of the gate. When it’s time to get serious, an accredited investor should absolutely hire an aquaculture expert to perform a technical due diligence on the most promising aquaculture investment opportunity or opportunities.
Against this background, I can gladly say YES one can I buy a dream vehicle, house in one cycle of fish farming depending on the scale of farming and other factors.
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About the Author
Winston Muleba Junior is a Writer, Aquaculture Specialist, Researcher, Digital Journalist and Disaster Management Practitioner who uses media and ICT to promote environmental conservation; science, technology and innovation. He gravitates towards youth affairs; environment, water, aquaculture and agriculture as he is skilled at juxtaposing the latest research and expert opinion with the everyday lives and struggles of people on the ground.
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