Cameroon already imports more than 200,000 tons of fish per year, to make up for the low national production.
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The Djoandila Aquaculture and Fish Farming Training Center in the Haut-Nyong department, East Cameroon region hosted on August 11, 2023, a workshop to assess fish farming activities and short and medium term prospects, entrepreneurs aquaculture in the country.
From this workshop, we learn that Cameroonian fish farmers plan to make available to consumers about 100,000 tonnes of fish during the last quarter of 2023, i.e. during the months of October, November and December.
Indeed, of the 176,000 tons of fish produced in Cameroon each year, according to official figures, only 1,000 tons come from aquaculture, that is to say 0.1% of national production. Nevertheless, during the year 2022, Cameroon produced 169,740 tons of fish, compared to 150,826 tons a year earlier. This production increased by 13% year on year.
In order to catch up in aquaculture production, the Cameroonian government launched the formulation work of its Aquaculture Entrepreneurship Development Support Program (PDEA) in March 2022 during a meeting held in Yaoundé. Endowed with financing of 21.3 billion FCFA provided by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), this program aims to cover five regions out of the 10 in Cameroon.
Indeed, fish is one of the foodstuffs imported in large quantities in Cameroon. According to figures from the Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Industries (Minepia), the country imports more than 200,000 tonnes of fish per year, to make up for the low national production. This causes the country to lose approximately 170 billion FCFA each year, thus contributing to the trade balance deficit.
