UN starts fish project in northern Uganda
Dec 18, 2005
ARUA, Sunday— A pilot fish-farming project launched by the UN World Food Programme (WFP) in northwestern Uganda is helping poor communities to increase their incomes and improve their diets, according to residents.
ARUA, Sunday— A pilot fish-farming project launched by the UN World Food Programme (WFP) in northwestern Uganda is helping poor communities to increase their incomes and improve their diets, according to residents.
The project, launched by WFP in October 2004 and specifically targeted at food-insecure communities in Arua and Yumbe districts, saw its first yield on December 2, when enthusiastic villagers harvested some 600kg of fish.
Brian Achikule of Wece village near Koboko town said the fact that he no longer had to travel 50km to buy fish was “a dream come true.â€
“Fish is very marketable in Koboko. We usually get it from Obongo from the River Nile, over 50km away, or from Panymuri in Nebbi, over 100km away,†he said.
“Now we can get fish from our own ponds and sell it in Koboko. The people here like fish a great deal.
“A fish the size of my palm costs sh500 (US$0.275), but now that we are harvesting ours, we shall sell at a lower price and make it more affordable,†he added.
Under the project, 2,000 participants were trained and directly engaged in integrated fish farming, including pond construction, management and maintenance as well as financial-management techniques.
WFP estimated that up to 50 tonnes of fish would be harvested every eight months, earning poor families in 10 sub-counties about sh50m ($27,500) per harvest.
“We know this fish pond is going to help us - we will get money to pay our children’s school fees,†Achikule said.
The project, launched by WFP in October 2004 and specifically targeted at food-insecure communities in Arua and Yumbe districts, saw its first yield on December 2, when enthusiastic villagers harvested some 600kg of fish.
Brian Achikule of Wece village near Koboko town said the fact that he no longer had to travel 50km to buy fish was “a dream come true.â€
“Fish is very marketable in Koboko. We usually get it from Obongo from the River Nile, over 50km away, or from Panymuri in Nebbi, over 100km away,†he said.
“Now we can get fish from our own ponds and sell it in Koboko. The people here like fish a great deal.
“A fish the size of my palm costs sh500 (US$0.275), but now that we are harvesting ours, we shall sell at a lower price and make it more affordable,†he added.
Under the project, 2,000 participants were trained and directly engaged in integrated fish farming, including pond construction, management and maintenance as well as financial-management techniques.
WFP estimated that up to 50 tonnes of fish would be harvested every eight months, earning poor families in 10 sub-counties about sh50m ($27,500) per harvest.
“We know this fish pond is going to help us - we will get money to pay our children’s school fees,†Achikule said.