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A Director at the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development (MoFAD) and the Fisheries Commission (FC), Mr. Matthew Cofie Oyih, has urged fishers and aquaculture operators to take advantage of the Livestock, Poultry, Fisheries Training Tradeshow, to network with other producers, prospective customers, service providers and other firms and promote their products.
He said the Fisheries sector employs about 10% of the Ghanaian population, being the major source of livelihood for coastal communities in the country; noting that, the total fish production for 2019 was 471,794mt.
The fisheries sector, he however noted, faces challenges including illegal fishing and the declining of fishery resources from the marine sub-sector; disease and high cost of inputs, especially feed, for the aquaculture sub-sector, “These affect production efficiency,” he stressed.
Mr. Mr. Matthew Cofie Oyih made these comments yesterday in his speech, at the launch of the 3rd Livestock, Poultry, Fisheries Training Tradeshow, organized by Agrihouse Foundation, at Nungua Farms, on the theme, “WE MOVE! W)N YAA.”
The main event would be a two-day training and exhibition tradeshow, slated for Friday, May 21 – Saturday, May 22, in partnership with the United State Department of Agriculture (UNDA) – Ghana Poultry Project (GPP), Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA), and National Farmers and Fishermen Award Winner’s Association of Ghana (NFFAWAG).
Touching on how COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the fisheries sector, Mr. Cofie Oyih said, closure of the Entertainment and Tourism sectors, also resulted in a decrease in demand for fish with a sharp drop in prices, resulting in huge loses in investments.
“Fear and panic surrounding COVID-19 negatively influenced fish production decisions, leading to reduced investment in fisheries and aquaculture; decrease in fish and fishery products and loss of some livelihood opportunities,” he outlined.
In spite of these challenges created by the pandemic, he noted, some traders have taken advantage of innovative avenues such as social media platforms and house to house delivery services to improve their product distributions.
Some Pictures from the Launch
