Tanzania has started working on a scheme to help double aquaculture production and triple its contribution to the national economy from 1.4 to 4.2 percent by 2025, an official said Sunday.
Charles Mahika, director of aquaculture division, Tanzania's Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries (MALF), said that in the new drive, the east African nation will partner with some international aid organizations.
The official said: "This idea gained momentum few days ago when a team of 30 Tanzanian scientists met with their counterparts from international research organizations in order to develop an aquaculture strategy for the country."
"During the meeting, experts discussed ways on how to utilize huge freshwater resources in the country and environmental conditions favorable to tilapia farming," the official said.
He disclosed that the meeting, which was held in the Tanzania's semi-autonomous Zanzibar archipelago and was funded by the Swedish 'Agriculture for Food Security 2030' (AgriFoSe) program and jointly organized by University of Dar es Salaam, Worldfish Malaysia and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.
Mahika said that Tanzanian government has ambitious plans for diminutive freshwater wildlife with enormous, untapped potential.
Tilapia can be found in huge numbers in the Great Lakes (Victoria, Tanganyika, Malawi/Nyasa) that cover 6 percent of the country's land area.
The Great Lakes are considered a global biodiversity hotspot, one of only 25 worldwide, due to the hundreds of species of cichlid fish, including some of the 30-odd known subspecies of tilapia that are found in Tanzania.
However, Tanzanians eat on average only 8kg of fish per year, less than half the international average of 17kg.
Around a third of children under five are deficient in iron and vitamin A, contributing to stunting, while about a third of women between 15-49 years old are deficient in iron, vitamin A and iodine.
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