By Dradenya Amazia

A fish farmer in Nyangilia village, Dranya sub-county in Koboko district earns over sh30m a month from his farm.

Charles Yangu, 50, says he gets over sh5m from the sale of fish fingerings (young fish) and about sh28m from mature fish on his two-acre farm every month.

“I hatch between 10,000 and 12,000 fingerlings a day and sell each at sh300,” Yangu said.

He said he earns more money from the hatchery than from the sale of mature fish.

“I get orders from non-governmental organisations, NAADS, research centres and individual farmers from Uganda, southern Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo,” Yangu said.

How he started
Yangu joined commercial fish farming on a small scale in 1987, rearing tilapia, mudfish and catfish. His project soon picked up because Koboko district is far from the River Nile and the supply of fish was low.

“Since people would not get enough fish, my farm became the major supplier in the district,” he said.

Yangu’s breakthrough came when the Vice-President, Prof. Gilbert Bukenya, visited his farm in 2008.

“He was pleased with my work and helped me get training in rearing catfish and tilapia and fish hatching,” Yangu said.

In 2009, the Government sponsored Yangu to go for training in fish hatching in China and also helped him set up a hatchery. Today, Yangu has over 10,000 catfish, each weighing about eight kilogrammes. A kilo of catfish goes for sh5,000.

Apart from using the fish to feed his family, Yangu sells it to raise school fees for his 13 children. Yangu has three wives and over 20 children.
He encourages farmers to embrace fish farming, saying it is the easiest way to get out of poverty.

“Unlike animals and chicken, fish is not attacked by diseases,” he said.
He said drought and lack of electricity to regulate the temperature in the hatchery are some of his main challenges.

“In the dry season, I have to hire a vehicle to transport water to my farm, which is costly. During the rainy season, temperatures fall, leading to the death of fingerlings,” he said.

James Baba, the state minister in the Office of the Vice-President, hailed Yangu for his hard work.

“He is the only fish farmer with a hatchery in northern Uganda. Government’s plan is to make people not only produce to eat, but also for sale,” he said.

Baba urged farmers to diversify and tap markets in the neighbouring countries.