Sat, 04 Feb 2017 12:33:50 +0000
YOUTHS should engage in fish farming as a way of creating employment for themselves, fisheries and aquaculture consultant Adrian Piers has said.
Mr. Piers said fish farming was a lucrative venture which needed to be encouraged among young people.
He told the Daily Nation in an interview that with the high levels of unemployment in the country, fish farming would help in the quest of creating jobs for the teeming growing population of unemployed youth, and lessen the pressure on the Government to provide jobs for the youth.
Mr. Piers noted that Zambia was currently experiencing a deficit in local fish production, urging the youth to take up fish farming as a career to generate income for themselves, as it presented a huge opportunity.
“With current levels of unemployment at such high figures, this initiative has very good potential of making a large impact, and should be seriously considered as a future career for our youths that can give them excellent returns and a satisfying livelihood.
“They should stop depending on Government for employment, but rather take up fish farming as a career to generate income for themselves,” Mr. Piers said.
He also observed that the major benefit of the fish farming business was that it had ready markets, as fish was essential in the provision of the proteins.
“Fish is a good source of protein and in Zambia provides about 60 percent of the essential dietary intake of affordable animal protein, mainly for the poorest sections of the community. More uptake of this activity has the potential to expand our national resource base, generate foreign exchange, diversify the economy from copper and alleviate poverty,” he said.
Mr. Piers, who is Aquaculture Development Association of Zambia (ADAZ) executive committee member, pointed out that lack of skills and knowledge was the major limitation of youth engagement in fish farming.
He said his organisation had taken up the challenge to sensitize the youth on the opportunities waiting to be exploited in fish farming.
“Dissemination of skills and knowledge is the major limitation. Overcoming this can address these challenges and enable them make a significant contribution. Our organisation is very aware of this, and we have taken up the challenge to sensitize the nation, especially the youths, on the opportunities waiting to be exploited in this sector. “We are currently trying to raise funding to enable us to take this message and provide information to those interested on a national basis, and hope to have good results to show in future,” he said.
