Mpango: Support young fish farmers to reach global markets

DODOMA: VICE President Philip Mpango on Friday directed the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries to help youth engaged in cage fish farming access larger capital to scale up their businesses and reach international markets.

He also urged the ministry to launch an aggressive media campaign to showcase successful youth-led fish farming initiatives as a way to inspire more young people into self-employment.

Mpango made the remarks after visiting the Nane Nane agricultural exhibition in Dodoma, where he heard the testimony of nine youth from the “Vijana Nguvu Kazi Mwanza” group, who run a successful fish farming business funded by the Tanzania Agricultural Development Bank (TADB).

“These young people should be seen frequently in the media,” Mpango said. “There are many youths complaining about unemployment. Let’s use these ones as real-life examples to inspire others into fish farming and economic independence.”

The group was initially granted a loan of 137.9 mil/- by TADB, which enabled them to purchase nine cages and begin farming. Within six months, they had harvested from six cages, earning 102 mil/-. A second harvest brought in 25 mil/-, allowing them to repay 68 mil/- of the initial loan and divide the remaining 34 mil/- among themselves.

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After repaying the loan, they secured another 63 mil/- from the bank and have since recorded a profit of 106 mil/-.

“Our dream is to process and export fish. But we need more capital because the returns we get are divided among nine people,” said Pius Makindi, the group’s secretary. “With more funding, we can expand from nine cages to 30 or even 50, which would greatly boost our income.”

Mpango praised TADB for empowering youth entrepreneurs and emphasized the strong domestic and international demand for fish fillets.

“You’re doing a good job supporting these youths,” he told TADB representatives. “Please continue holding their hands as they grow.”