By GIDEON NYENDWA
More than K7 million will be raised by June this year from the six fish ponds that have been recently constructed by the Zambia National Service (ZNS) Chanyanya Fish Farming unit in Kafue.
Minister of Defense and National Security, Ambrose Lufuma, said that fish farming was among the most profitable ventures in the agricultural sector that people could undertake.
He said that Zambia had a fish deficit of about 40,000 metric tonnes which the country was currently importing from other countries.
Mr Lufuma said that with the initiative such as the one that had been embarked on by the ZNS, it could save the country up to $80 million that was being lost through the importation of fish.
He said that because of the fish deficits the prices of fish had gone high in the country because the demand was more than the supply.
Mr Lufuma said that as per President Hakainde Hichilema’s directive that defence forces must engage in productive activities, the ZNS commander went to the ministry to discuss how the Chanyanya fish farming unit could be expanded and these were the results.
He said this when he conducted a fish farming and feeding tour at the recently launched ZNS Chanyanya Fish Farming unit in Kafue yesterday.
And ZNS commander Lieutenant General Maliti Solochi said that the service will construct 300 hectares of ponds for fish farming.
Gen Solochi said that the fish farming project shall be expanded to other provinces in ZNS camps where there was water.
He said that ZNS was equal to the task to make sure that the president’s vision to improve the lives of Zambians through fish farming was achieved.
Meanwhile Mr Lufuma said that fish farming does not only add value to the nutritional value of the people but it also a job creation venture.
He said that a lot of youths were going to get jobs in these fish farms because the fish needed feed.
And fish bleeding consultant Dr Conlins Kachaka said that the fish was going to be healthy and of high quality because of the proper fish bleeding guidelines that were being followed.
Dr. Kachaka said that a lot of fish farmers were using untreated pig dang to feed the fish which was not healthy to the consumers because the dang was contaminated and could spread diseases.
He said that was the reason why ZNS chose to remove all the piggeries from the fish farming unit so that they could produce good quality fish that was going to be healthy for the population.
Dr. Kachaka also said that it was a sin for Zambia to be importing fish with all the water bodies that the country was blessed with.
