Mr King Safo Agbale, 33, and artist from Koforidua, has invested about 10,000 Ghana cedis in catfish farming and processing, joining a growing number of young people interested in investing in the fish business.
Catfish farming and processing have been booming lately in several parts of the eastern region because catfish has become a delicacy for most households, attracting many people into investing in the catfish production value chain.
Speaking to Ghana News Agency, Mr. Agbale explained why he became interested and chose to invest in catfish farming as a young man, saying, “I developed the interest in catfish farming after I visited a catfish point and kill restaurant in Accra.”
Due to financial constraints, he said it took him three years to stock his 10 by 15-meter earthen pond with 1000 catfish fingerlings after it was dug.
His expectations were not met, according to him, because he only harvested 400 catfish out of the 1000 fingerlings he stocked into the pond, and he noted that there was more work to be done than just stocking and feeding the fish.
“I used to practice spot feeding until I realised that some of the fish were hiding in another side of the pond. Again, I didn’t sort the bigger ones from the smaller ones from the beginning,” he added.
As a result, he claims that the larger ones began to swallow up the smaller ones, resulting in the death of several catfish. Despite challenges, Mr Agbale expressed his willingness to continue investing in catfish farming by correcting mistakes and increasing output.
“I have increased production by adding two tarpaulin tanks, which I stocked with 700 fingerlings. I now practice random feeding and sorting out the catfish,” he stated.
Aside from the catfish farm, he stated that he was challenged to smoke some of his harvested catfish after some buyers offered an unsuitable purchase price.
“Some customers wanted to buy all my harvest, but the pricing was not good, so I turned them down. I now smoke some of the fish and distribute them to some other customers in Koforidua,” he said.
M. Agbale thanked the Eastern Regional Fisheries Commission for their assistance during his catfish farming journey, saying, “they brought experts from Sunyani to dig my earthen pond for me at an affordable cost.”
He revealed once more that the commission provided him with the 1,700 catfish fingerlings he stocked in his ponds.
Currently, Mr. Agbale indicated that his passion for catfish farming comes first before his artistic skill which has now become dormant after years of practicing and may in future operate a hatchery.