Jimi gets first inland fish farming training

 AT least 50 inland fish farmers in remote Jimi, Jiwaka, went through a weeklong fish farming programme at Tabibuga last week.

They attended the workshop conducted by officials from the Aiyura Aqua Culture Centre.

The training was aimed at enhancing the skills of the farmers, increasing fish population in ponds and maximising the production capacity to enable them to farm more successfully.

The programme was hosted and coordinated by the district rural development officer,  George Pere, and livestock officer Gloria TumunMasu at a cost of K60,000 provided by the National Fisheries Authority (NFA). 

The funding was from an initial allocation of K200,000 for this year.

“We’ve had a very vibrant fish farming programme in Jimi back in the 1980s and we managed to distribute over 10,000 fingerlings throughout the district. 

Many people benefited from it,” Pere said.

“The programme worked well but could not be sustained due to lack of funding support from the government, tough geographical conditions and rainy conditions.”

Last week’s weeklong training was a similar programme to revive the interest of fish farmers in the district.

“I am calling on the government to increase agriculture and livestock officers at district level so we can carry out such projects that benefit the bulk of the population,” Pere said. “Fish farming is one of the fastest growing activities and has a lot of economic benefits for the majority of the rural population.