A father taught his son how to fish, now Oyo is reaping big

When his father passed on, leaving him with one fish pond, Patrick Oyo dug 11 more and is selling fish in his community and the East African region



At 3:00pm I hit the road to Araki village, Amwoma sub-county, Dokolo district to find a fish farmer. Due to the nature of the rural setting, I am a bit doubtful about the type of farmer and farm I am going to visit. He had told me to turn off the main road at a signpost for Aminkwac Fish and Pellets. The moment I saw it, I was impressed. With such a big sign post dominating the roadside, the farm had to be impressive. I was not wrong. 

As you enter the farm, you see the solar panels which power the pump that supplies water  to the fish ponds. A short distance into the farm, several rows of fish ponds welcomed me.

Fish farming  

"It was my father, John Angura, who started the idea of fish farming before I was even born," says Patrick Oyo, a professional medical worker. Oyo is in charge of Kalaki health unit in Kaberamaido district. He also owns Olimpat Medical Clinic in Dokolo Town.

His father had one fish pond and when he passed on 10 years ago, Oyo took on the mantle and started expanding the business. He hired an excavator to dig 11 more ponds and subsequently employed the community members to run the farm.

"The demand for fish was very high; you find fishmongers travelling from Dokolo to Amolatar district to buy fish," he says, adding that he used savings from his job to expand the business.



Stocking

In 2015, after the completion of the construction, Oyo procured 20,000 fingerlings (tilapia and catfish) from Serere district. "I procured 10,000 tilapia at sh200 each and 10,000 catfish at sh300," he said. He also made sure that he stocked enough feeds for the fish. Currently, the  ponds have over 30,000 fish.

"The ponds, if well fertilised, can create planktons (water organisms) that fish feed on. However, we were advised to supplement these with processed feeds," he says.

A fish consumes around 1.5kg to gain one kilogramme of weight in eight   months.  To cut expenses on feeds, he decided to acquire his own fish feeds processing unit.

"We procured a fish hatchery machine, solar water pump and extruder feed pellet machines," he says.   

Extruder feed pellets machines are used to prepare powder feeds for fingerlings, floating pellet feeds, sinking pellet feeds and crumble feeds. They make the feeds from silver fish, maize and soybean.

Market

The fish matured after nine months and in 2016, they sold them to clients in Tanzania. The total weight of both the tilapia and catfish was 600kg. Oyo says he sold a kilogramme of tilapia at sh6,000 and catfish at sh8,000.

"We could not sell all of them because some had not yet matured," says Geoffrey Obote, the farm manager.

"In 2017 we sold 1,170kg of tilapia and catfish and got sh12m," he added.

Oyo sold his fish to the same clients from Tanzania, Kenya and the neighbouring communities in Dokolo. He still does.

Expenses

Oyo spends about sh500,000 to pay those who help him to harvest - twice a year. Fuel costs sh100,000 to mix the feeds and run a slashing machine. He also pays the four permanent workers a salary. 

The workers include Obote, the hatchery officer and manager, Bonney Omara, the security officer, Bernard Otim, the assistant manager and Julius Ecatu.

Oyo's wife, Olympia Ayoo Pato, also participates in the running of the farm. "My work is supervision, looking at the welfare of workers, handling the  finances and releasing money to the farm manager to pay the staff," she adds.

To acquire more knowledge about fish farming, Oyo sends his managers for further training. Obote, for instance, was trained by the National Agriculture Research Organisation (NARO)  on how to construct fish pond hatchery and feed formulation in 2017 and 2018.

Challenges

Limited skills on fish farming, material to prepare feeds, market for the product among others are some of the hurdles affecting the farm.

Impact

Oyo says he shares knowledge with the community. "With our constant training, they have learnt how to construct fish ponds as well as how to manage them and keep records."

Mistakes

"Initially I used an excavator to dig the ponds, but I later realised it was not the best thing to do because it could dig so deep which is not good so I started using manual labour," he says.

Fish is harvested using nets and when a pond is too deep the harvesting process becomes difficult.

Security

To keep out wrong elements, Oyo has fenced his farm, installed a solar system to provide light and employed a security guard.

To keep the fish safe from contamination, he has set up a storage structure where he keeps the fish before customers pick it.

Removing frogs, monitor lizards and predatory fish, among others are  key to keeping fish safe.

To chase predators like reptiles away, plants like tobacco are planted in the vicinity of the ponds. Dogs are also trained to chase them.

Future plans

Oyo intends to turn his farm into a learning centre. He also plans to venture into fish farming in Lango sub-region and to add more fish ponds as well as a big hatchery.

"I want to construct a big water reservoir which uses solar energy to supply water to the fish pond even during dry spells," Oyo says.

How to do aquaculture

-Select an area that is flat, but with natural sources of water. A swamp that does not flood is the best. If you have a swamp, you need a license from the National Environment Management Authority to do aquaculture.

-Dig a pond of your desired size. Oyo's are 20ft x 40ft, with an inlet and outlet. The pond has to be slanted with the outlet being lower than the inlet to allow water flow.

-Put garbage in a sack to make planktons (do not use a  polythene sack because it will make the garbage instead) and should be put in one selected place to avoid dirtying the pond. Planktons are natural feeds for fish.

-Proper stocking of fish determines the yield at harvest. Most farmers are deceived into stocking five to  10 fish per square metre, with others even stocking 20 and expecting a massive harvest. But this is wrong. Ideal stocking density is two to three fish per square metre; here, a farmer is assured of harvesting fish of between 800g and 1.2kg each  for catfish and mirror carp and 450 - 500g for tilapia. In such a pond one harvests three to five kilogrammes per square metre for catfish and mirror carp and 1.8kg - 2kg for tilapia. In such, feeds are consumed three times more in over stocked ponds than in well stocked ponds yet more yields are realised in less stocked ponds over the same period.

-Tilapia needs a temperature of between 82 and 86 degrees Fahrenheit or 28-30 Celsius, preferably tropical temperature. If your location experiences cold seasons, you need to have a water heater for your tilapia.

-A female can produce 100 little fishes in a week. Having one cage for your tilapia will not do. It may cause competition for food and space which will affect the growth of your fish.

-After eight months, your female tilapia fish is now capable in producing 100 young fishes per week and 1,000 fishes in three months. They carry the fry in their mouths.

-Most of the fish die because of insufficient oxygen. Using filters could help your fish sustain the right amount of oxygen that they need. But sometimes, because of harsh weather, it can affect fish cages in lake areas, and that causes drastic fish kills.

-Fish need gases that can sustain their lives. They live in water so the water must provide the right amount of nutrients and minerals. In natural water bodies like lakes and rivers, these conditions are created naturally. However in constructed ponds, the farmer has to create them by, for example, dropping the feeds in for the fish regularly.

Sourced from the Fisheries Research Institute, Kajjansi