Liberia: Fisheries Technicians, Fish Farmers Depart Liberia for Aquaculture Training in Ghana

Two technicians representing the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Authority (NaFAA) and ten fish farmers selected from the private sector will depart Liberia for Accra, Ghana, on June 15, 2023 to attend a two-month practical training in Tilapia cage farming.

The initiative is being sponsored by the World Bank.                             

A NaFAA release  said that the training is hands-on capacity building for fish farmers, extension workers, and researchers in tilapia hatchery management and growth techniques in aquaculture production systems.

“The aquaculture tailored training is designed to meet the needs of private sector actors through the transfer of farm management knowledge aimed at enhancing productivity,” NAFFA Director General, Emma Metieh Glassco said.

“The training will also help cultivate skills and a needed labor force to stimulate the development of aquaculture in Liberia.”

According to NaFAA, the purpose of the training is to strengthen the capacity of the trainees in farm data collection and further enhance their technical capacity to enable them to become master trainers. 

Some of the individuals selected for the training are from Bong and Nimba. while others are from two coastal counties, including Margibi and Montserrado.

Fish can be stocked at a higher density in cages in lakes, rivers, and other larger water bodies, thus increasing production. Ghana, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, and other countries in the region have experienced exponential growth in the aquaculture industry in recent years through the introduction of cage farming.

Following the return of the trainees from the two months of training, each farmer will be provided a cage to jump start the pilot cage farming, therefore, it is envisaged that the trainees will be organized into cooperatives for the sustainability of the initiative.