New investments in tilapia farming are expected to raise Rwanda’s per capita fish consumption from about 7.2 kg in 2025 to 9 kg by 2030 and 9.8 kg by 2035.

Rwanda, like much of Africa, remains largely dependent on Nile tilapia, the dominant species in its aquaculture sector.

Around 10 kg of fish per person per year is considered sufficient for basic health benefits, while the global average stands at 16.6 kg, levels Rwanda is still working to attain.

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"Over the past five years, tilapia farming in Rwanda has been steadily growing, driven by increased private sector investment,” said Eugene Kwibuka, spokesperson at the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI).

"These investments have focused on addressing two long-standing challenges, access to quality fish feed and fingerlings, while scaling up production to meet rising market demand.”

Major players in the sector include Kivu Choice Ltd, Fine Fish Ltd, Kivu Tilapia Farm Ltd, Gishanda Fish Farming Centre, Aquasante Ltd, Natural YINPIN Agriculture and Natural Resources, and Prodev (Tunga Feed).

Their investments span hatcheries, cage farming, mainly on Lake Kivu, modern aquaculture technologies, and feed production.

Data from the Rwanda Water Resources Board (RWB) show that aquaculture is expanding nationwide, with growing activity on lakes such as Lake Kivu and Lake Muhazi.

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Under MINAGRI’s Kwihaza Project (2023–2026), key interventions include the construction of the Nyamagabe Fish Breeding Centre, rehabilitation of the Rwasave Fish Farm, and support to 19 model farms across the country. Fish pond farmers have also received an 80% subsidy on feed purchases.

The project, funded by the European Union and the Government of Luxembourg, is also implementing an interest rate subsidy scheme through Access to Finance Rwanda (AFR). The subsidy, equivalent to 8% of loan interest rates for MSMEs and cooperatives in aquaculture and fisheries, aims to reduce borrowing costs and boost productivity.

As a result of increased investment, fish production, mainly tilapia, has risen from 31,465 metric tonnes in 2019 to 52,439 metric tonnes in 2025.

High-quality tilapia fingerling production reached 71.6 million in 2025, produced by six certified hatcheries.

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The National Aquaculture Strategy (2023–2035), valued at $5.4 million, aims to make aquaculture the country’s primary source of fish, targeting nearly 80,000 tonnes of sustainable production.

Overall, Rwanda could produce more than 106,000 tonnes of fish annually by 2035, including about 80,620 tonnes from aquaculture and 26,000 tonnes from wild fisheries.

Within aquaculture, production is expected to come largely from large-scale cage farming (74%), followed by small-scale ponds (13%), small-scale cage farms (9%), and intensive tank systems (3%).

At this level of output, fish consumption would reach around 10 kg per person per year, despite population growth from 12.6 million in 2020 to an estimated 18 million by 2035.

Job creation and market expansion

Direct employment in the aquaculture value chain could exceed 30,000 jobs by 2035, underscoring the sector’s growing economic importance.

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Experts say strong collaboration between government and the private sector will be key to achieving these targets. Expanding markets across all income groups in Rwanda, as well as into neighbouring countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, will also be critical.

Although often perceived as a meat-preferring society, Rwandans currently consume about 7 kg of fish per person annually, placing the country in the mid-range among East African nations.

Improved hatchery management, better grow-out systems, and more affordable fish feed are expected to enhance the profitability of Nile tilapia farming as production scales up.

Aquaculture to dominate production

By 2035, more than 85% of Rwanda’s fish production is expected to come from aquaculture, with 74% generated by large-scale cage farms producing over 1,000 tonnes annually. These operations will mainly be located on deeper lakes and are expected to adopt vertically integrated production models.

Meanwhile, the country’s 3,000 earthen ponds will remain important, contributing about 15% of output, particularly for smallholder and subsistence farmers.

Rwanda currently relies on two main aquaculture systems: cage farming in lakes and pond farming in low-lying wetlands. MINAGRI estimates that aquaculture production grew from 1,600 tonnes in 2016 to 4,900 tonnes in 2021, with cage farming accounting for 55% and ponds 45%.

By 2035, pond production is projected to reach about 11,000 tonnes, representing 13% of total aquaculture output.

According to the 2024/2025 sector report, Rwanda produced over 71.6 million fingerlings and 52,439 tonnes of market-size fish.

Among hatcheries, Kivu Choice in Gisagara District led with 37.5 million fingerlings (52.4%), followed by Fine Fish and Fresh Fish in Rwamagana District. Other contributors include Kivu Tilapia (Rusizi), Lakeside (Bugesera), and Gishanda (Kayonza).

The top three hatcheries account for more than 82% of total production, pointing to regional concentration.

New funding and persistent challenges

Regional investor Victory Group has secured $15 million from AgDevCo to expand tilapia farming operations in Rwanda and Kenya.

Emmanuel Bahizi, Managing Director of Kivu Choice, said the company aims to increase production from 9,000 tonnes to 30,000 tonnes annually by 2029, while expanding its workforce from 700 to 1,200 employees.

Themistocles Munyangeyo, owner of Fine Fish Ltd, said output has grown from 120 tonnes per month in 2024 to 250 tonnes in 2026, with plans to scale up to 500 tonnes monthly and 1,000 tonnes by 2030.

He noted that although banks are increasingly financing aquaculture, several challenges persist.

"Fish insurance remains expensive—I pay around Rwf180 million annually,” he said.

He added that feed costs are still high due to rising prices of imported raw materials, which have increased by 15–18%.

"The sector also needs more feed production factories and trained technicians, as we still rely on foreign expertise. Changing consumer habits to increase fish consumption is another challenge,” he said.