Over the past decade, the aquaculture sector in Ghana has experienced tremendous growth—driven mainly by large-scale cage farms—but it has been unclear how the rural poor have shared in this growth. A research project has been initiated to help diagnose, design, and test interventions for better inclusion of the rural poor, women, and youth in the tilapia value chain. This report describes the baseline data on 603 small-scale tilapia farmers in Ghana. The data collected during two-hour face-to-face interviews during May–July 2019 are disaggregated by socioeconomic indicators, gender, and age group. Baseline data show that 9 percent of farm managers and owners were women, and an additional 9 percent of farms engaged women in some decision-making. Moreover, women contributed 16 percent of family labor and 5 percent of hired labor on farms. Youth represented 14 and 24 percent of owners and managers, respectively, but contributed 68 percent of the total family and hired labor on farms. A large majority of managers and owners had at least high school education, with a third of owners and a quarter of managers attaining at least a college degree. In Brong Ahafo and Ashanti regions especially, most farmers engaged mainly in crop farming and non-farm businesses as their main livelihood, with fish farming as a small contributor to overall household income and livelihood. Farmers in all regions had poor record-keeping and management practices and low compliance with sanitation, fish health, and food safety standards. A wide variety of input usage, management practices, and performance was observed among fish farms. As a result, the profitability of fish farms was also wide-ranging, between –12.00 and 46.00 cedi per m2, with an average of 8.82 cedi per m2. Despite wide variability in production and profits, the majority of farmers experienced positive profits. On average, a farmer received a profit of 2.4 cedi per kilogram of tilapia produced or a 27 percent profit margin. These encouraging figures indicate that farmers who adopt good aquaculture practices can achieve respectable profits.

The output from world aquaculture, a multi-billion dollar global industry, continues to rise at a very rapid rate and it is now acknowledged that it will take over from fisheries to become the main source of animal and plant products from aquatic environments in the future. Since the first edition of this excellent and successful book was published, the aquaculture industry has continued to expand at a massive rate globally and has seen huge advances across its many and diverse facets. This new edition of Aquaculture: Farming Aquatic Animals and Plants covers all major aspects of the culture of fish, shellfish and algae in freshwater and marine environments. Subject areas covered include principles, water quality, environmental impacts of aquaculture, desert aquaculture, reproduction, life cycles and growth, genetics and stock improvement, nutrition and feed production, diseases, vaccination, post-harvest technology, economics and marketing, and future developments of aquaculture. Separate chapters also cover the culture of algae, carps, salmonids, tilapias, channel catfish, marine and brackish fishes, soft-shelled turtles, marine shrimp, mitten crabs and other decapod crustaceans, bivalves, gastropods, and ornamentals. There is greater coverage of aquaculture in China in this new edition, reflecting China's importance in the world scene. For many, Aquaculture: Farming Aquatic Animals and Plants is now the book of choice, as a recommended text for students and as a concise reference for those working or entering into the industry. Providing core scientific and commercially useful information, and written by around 30 internationally-known and respected authors, this expanded and fully updated new edition of Aquaculture is a book that is essential reading for all students and professionals studying and working in aquaculture. Fish farmers, hatchery managers and all those supplying the aquaculture industry, including personnel within equipment and feed manufacturing companies, will find a great deal of commercially useful information within this important and now established book. Reviews of the First Edition "This exciting, new and comprehensive book covers all major aspects of the aquaculture of fish, shellfish and algae in freshwater and marine environments including nutrition and feed production." —International Aquafeed "Do we really need yet another book about aquaculture? As far as this 502-page work goes, the answer is a resounding 'yes'. This book will definitely find a place in university libraries, in the offices of policy-makers and with economists looking for production and marketing figures. Fish farmers can benefit greatly from the thematic chapters, as well as from those pertaining to the specific plant or animal they are keeping or intending to farm. Also, they may explore new species, using the wealth of information supplied." —African Journal of Aquatic Science "Anyone studying the subject or working in any way interested in aquaculture would be well advised to acquire and study this wide-ranging book. One of the real 'bibles' on the aquaculture industry." —Fishing Boat World and also Ausmarine

Many countries are promoting aquaculture as one of the prime drivers of the rural economy and the employment of women and youth. [Author] However, the industry is criticized for inadequately representing the needs of workers. [Author] Most African countries have shown a willingness to advance industry goals through domestic programme planning and facilitating foreign direct investment. [Author] However, there is a need for coherent strategies for employment governance. [Author] Hence, immediate change is required to modify the governance of aquaculture employment to foster industrial transformation. [Author] The objective of this research is to enhance understanding of the governance of aquaculture employment in ten African countries (Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Uganda and Zambia) and to determine their level of compliance with existing employment legislation in those countries. [Author] The ultimate goal is to learn from both positive and negative lessons and propose possible corrective measures for substandard practices in order to improve the public perception of aquaculture. [Author] The study seeks to evaluate existing employment governance in the aquaculture industry and to use the acquired knowledge to inform policymakers and industry leaders on the status of governance in employment. [Author]

Integrated farming in Asia is either considered an eco-friendly good that should be preserved for environmental reasons or a poor practice that will soon be superseded by industrial aquaculture. This report finds that most livestock-fish integration is sound business conducted by entrepreneurs accessing urban markets where the price of fish is relatively low. It can be used as part of a strategy to reduce environmental impacts of intensive livestock production and to produce low-cost food. Farmers have proved adept at both developing their systems to meet their own needs and diversifying the role of ponds, fish and livestock within their complex livelihoods.

Aquaculture Economics and Financing Aquaculture Economics and Financing: Management and Analysis provides a detailed and specific set of guidelines for using economic and financial analysis in aquaculture production. By discussing key issues, such as how to finance and plan new aquaculture business; how to monitor and evaluate economic performance; and how to manage capital, labor, and business risk; the book equips aquaculture professionals, researchers, and students with important information applicable to a wide range of business decisions. Chapters address each stage of developing an aquaculture business, including financing, marketing, and developing a business plan to manage cash flows and analyze financial statements. Each chapter includes a detailed example of practical application taken from every-day experience. Written in straightforward terminology facilitating ready application, Aquaculture Economics and Financing: Management and Analysis is an essential tool for analyzing and improving financial performance of aquaculture operations. Key Features: Provides a practical and comprehensive understanding of aquaculture economics and financing Discusses key issues in business plan development; marketing; monitoring financial performance; and managing cash flow, assets, and business risk Features examples of practical application in each chapter Includes an annotated bibliography and webliography detailing key resources and software products available for economic and financial analyses Also of Interest: Bioeconomics of Fisheries Management Lee G. Anderson and Juan Carlos Seijo ISBN: 9780813817323 Statistics for Aquaculture Ram C. Bhujel ISBN: 9780813815879