Over Rwf2 billion has been invested in fish farming to produce tilapia for food to communities living around Akagera National Park as well as tilapia fingerlings (juvenile fish) to be distributed for fish farming in other parts of the country.

Dubbed "Gishanda Fish Farm” this is a sustainable socio-economic development project funded through partnership between Akagera National Park managed by African Parks and FoodTechAfrica, a consortium of Dutch private companies, with the support of the governments of Rwanda and The Netherlands.

The farm sits on 1.5 hectares in Kabare sector of Kayonza district, Eastern province.

Solange Uwituze, the Deputy Director-General of Animal Research and Technology Transfer at Rwanda Agricultural Board (RAB) said that the investment is expected to boost fish production across the country.

"As of today, the average national fish production is 39,400 tonnes per year of which 10 per cent is from fish farming. We want that the production from fish farming increases even higher than production from fish capture so that total national fish production hits 127,000 tonnes of fish per year in 2024,” she said.

There remain only two years to reach the target yet the country has not even produced half of the projected demand, a situation that has left officials scratching their heads for major interventions.

As part of efforts to increase production, the fishing technology being used around Akagera park involves boreholes and solar power to extract water from underground to enable fish farming in ponds, she said urging investors to tap into available opportunities.

The fishing project also got support from FoodTechAfrica, a consortium of Dutch private companies.

Located 10km from the Akagera National Park’s main gate, the Gishanda Fish Farm is the second fish farm of its kind in Rwanda according to officials.

The investment is expected to produce up to 30 tonnes of mature tilapia annually of which at least 10 per cent will be supplied locally at reasonable rates to supplement the local community’s nutritional needs.

Increasing fish production could help Rwanda attain the average sub-Sahara per capita consumption of 6.6 kilogrammes per person per annum and 265,600 metric tons to reach the global average of 16.6 kilos.

1.5 million tilapia fingerlings

The fish farm around Akagera park is also expected to produce about 1.5 million tilapia fingerlings annually for fish farming to increase production across the country, of which 110,000 fingerlings will be retained for farm production among communities around the park.

The commercial sale of around one million fingerlings, according to Ladis Ndahiriwe, Park Manager of Akagera National Park, will bolster the Rwandan aquaculture sector.

The balance of between 300,000 and 400,000 fingerlings will be used to re-stock lakes in the region, generating locally viable sources of protein and economic growth on a national scale, he said.

"This project addresses sustainable land use, biodiversity conservation, and improving community lives,” he noted, adding the hub will also transfer aquaculture skills to different people.

Three catfish demonstration ponds have been built on-site to teach household-level catfish farming to community members and assistance will be provided to the community to develop catfish farming for nutritional and enterprise purposes.

Sitting on 1.5 hectares, the farm was offered as a business to a selected community cooperative- COPECO -whose 96 members will benefit from hands-on technical, sales, and financial training to develop a viable and sustainable business.

Ariella Kageruka, Ariella Kageruka, the Head of Conservation and Tourism at the Rwanda Development Board, said that communities around national parks will continue to benefit more from the revenue-sharing scheme as tourism revenues increase.

Rwanda is set to generate up to $360 million (approx. Rwf372 billion) revenue from the tourism industry in 2022, according to Ariella Kageruka, Head of the Tourism and Conservation Department at the Rwanda Development Board.

In 2021, total tourism revenues were $164 million, a 25 per cent increase from $131 million in 2020.

Fighting against poaching

Fiston Ishimwe, the Community Conservation Manager in Akagera National Park said that allocating 10 per cent of tourism revenues to community income-generating projects will also drastically reduce poaching cases.

"They used to be involved in illegal fishing and poaching in the national park. By getting alternative sources of income and food, the communities in the sectors of Ndego, Kabare, Rwinkwavu, and Mwili will no longer hunt wildlife in the park,” he said.

Since 2010, Akagera has strengthened its law enforcement and community engagement capacities, which has allowed wildlife to flourish.

Poaching has dramatically decreased, attributed largely to the introduction of a canine unit in 2015 and because communities receive tangible benefits from the park according to the park managers.

The revenue-sharing scheme has also reduced poaching and illegal logging around in other parks such as Volcano national park where poaching cases have been reduced by over 70 per cent.

According to a recent study, the main causes of poaching include ignorance, poverty, culture, corruption, population growth, and commercial purposes.

The study shows that thanks to strategies in fighting poaching, the annual poaching cases have decreased from 1,000 in 2018 to 600 snares in 2020