EPA links fish farming to agricultural growth

The EPA has noted that farmers get double benefits when they farm fish with rice and harvest the rice at the same time as harvesting the fish.

By Lincoln G. Peters 

Monrovia, July 22, 2024: Liberia’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recognized fish farming as environmentally friendly and key to agriculture growth and economic sustainability in Liberia to address food security and self-sufficiency.

The EPA also believes that fish farming is an agricultural activity that, if invested in, can rapidly eliminate poverty and improve sustainable development in Liberia. 

Mr. Timothy Yoko, Chief of Staff in the office of EPA Executive Director Dr. Emmanuel King Urey-Yarkpawolo, encouraged farmers to make fish farms not just for subsistence but also for commercial gains.

Over the weekend, a stakeholders’ meeting focusing on fish farming in Liberia was held in Gbarnga, Bong County.

According to Mr. Yoko, in the age of global scarcity, nutritional inequalities, over-depletion of fish stock, and global warming with its associated poverty, the innovation and importance of fish farming cannot be overemphasized. 

He further indicated that it is well established in the literature that eating fish is healthier than eating red meat, adding that fish farming has the potential to improve nutritional intake for all people, despite their economic status. 

“On the national level, according to the OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) Fund September 2022 report, fisheries account for 10 percent of agriculture production and 3 percent of Growth Domestic Product (GDP) in Liberia,” he said.

“This is why improving this sector is key to agriculture growth and sustainability in Liberia. If our country is to gain food security and self-sufficiency, the innovation of fishing farming will have to be part of it.”

Mr. Yoko suggested that this is why Agriculture is the first part of President Joseph Nyuma Boakai’s ARREST Agenda, encouraging farmers to continue this effort.

The ex-Liberian journalist further pointed out that production is a matter of scale, and once fish farmers learn how to manage a small fishpond, they can use the same idea to manage larger fish farms. 

Mr. Yoko recommended that Liberians looking for jobs, especially college graduates with agriculture degrees, get involved with fish farming.

He stated that the future for this endeavor is bright as the Government of Liberia is prioritizing self-sufficiency through agricultural productivity.

“Create yourself jobs and create jobs for others. You will not regret this decision. I have seen some of the work of this institution’s sustainable fish farming practices,” said Mr. Yoko.

He explained that their technique is simple, easy, and environmentally friendly. Yoko detailed that sometimes fish are farmed with rice, and the farmer harvests rice at the same time as they harvest fish, giving them double benefits. 

“We encourage you to take care of this opportunity,” he pleaded with farmers.