Workshop to increase livestock and Fish production ends in Koforidua

Mrs Lydia Sasu, National Women’s Organizer of the Farmers Organization Network in Ghana (FONG), a network of small scale farmer and fisher based organizations, has appealed for subsidy on feed for fish production to enable more people to go into aqua-culture to increase the nation’s fish stock.

She noted that Ghanaians relied greatly on fish for their daily meals and that the depletion of fish stock should therefore be a matter of great concern.

Mrs Sasu was addressing a closing ceremony of a two-day workshop in Koforidua on Wednesday on Livestock and Fish production organized for 25 members of FONG drawn from all over the country.

The workshop aimed at empowering the participants to know more about their roles and responsibilities as livestock farmers.

Mrs Sasu noted that, the depletion of fish stock was affecting the livelihoods of people living in coastal areas, especially women who depended on fish trading.

She appealed to the government to enforce the laws on unapproved methods of fishing to prevent the depletion of the country's fish stock.

Mrs Sasu called for standardized weight for fishes so that there would be equal price for fish at the beaches.

Dr King David-Amoah, President of FONG, expressed worry about negative activities of some fishermen which was contributing greatly to fish depletion.

He mentioned pair trawling, use of light in fishing as well as the use of unapproved nets in fishing, as some of the causes of fish depletion in the seas and rivers.

Dr King-Amoah noted that though livestock and fisheries are part of agriculture, not much attention was being paid to them and appealed to the government to take the necessary steps to address that situation.**