Zimbabwe’s aquaculture sector is set for a shake-up as a new partnership between local distributor, FinFish Suppliers and European feed giant, Aller Aqua promises to deliver higher-quality feed, potentially lowering costs and shortening production cycles for farmers.
The alliance directly addresses one of the most significant challenges in local fish farming: the high cost and limited availability of feed, which can account for up to 70% of production expenses. The entry of a major international player like Denmark’s Aller Aqua is expected to intensify competition, giving farmers more choice and better leverage.
A Critical Bottleneck for Farmers
Officiating at the launch, Deputy Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, and Rural Development, Davis Marapira, underscored the strategic importance of reliable feed supply. “The availability, quality, and price of feed directly influence the profitability and productivity of every farmer,” he stated.
He highlighted a recent Aquaculture Frame Survey that revealed a key logistical hurdle: most feed retail outlets are not centrally located, forcing farmers to travel long distances and incur high transport costs. “The end result is that the consumer bears the brunt, making our aquaculture products more expensive and less competitive,” Marapira added.
With national production targets set at 60,000 metric tonnes of fish, Zimbabwe requires approximately 120,000 metric tonnes of feed annually—a threshold current supply levels fail to meet.
Promising Technology and Efficiency Gains
The new partnership aims to close this gap with advanced feed formulations. Tinashe Chihota, CEO of FinFish, announced that their product would enable farmers to grow a 500-gram tilapia in just 184 days.
“This brings a shorter production cycle, allowing a farmer to have two cycles in a year,” Chihota explained. “Our feed has a very low food-conversion ratio, meaning less feed is required for more growth, making it very competitive in the market.”
Farmers Welcome Increased Choice
For local farmers, the new competition is a welcome development. Dr. Silvanos Gwarinda, a fish farmer based in Goromonzi, believes it will lead to competitive pricing and innovation.
“Not only competition, but I’m sure they’re also bringing in their own quality product,” said Dr. Gwarinda. “We expect the pricing for fish feed to go down.”
Eager to test the claims, Dr. Gwarinda plans to run a direct comparison. “I’m actually going to construct three new fish ponds using the new feed. In parallel, I also have another three ponds using my current supplier’s feed. On a monthly basis, I’ll try and draw a graph to see how the two products are matching.”
He expressed optimism about the promised six-month harvest, a milestone he has not achieved with existing feeds. “So, I’m really happy that there’s a new player in the market and we are ready to support that.”
The entry of Aller Aqua into the Zimbabwean market signals a potential transformation for the aquaculture industry, where increased competition could soon translate into greater productivity and profitability for farmers.
