Fish farmers affected by the Akosombo Dam Spillage incurred a loss of about GH¢54 million due to the incident.
This was revealed by the Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber of Aquaculture, Jacob Adzikah.
According to him, the Chamber has engaged the government on different levels for support but there has not been support for any of the victims.
“The affected farmers haven’t received any support. Most of the affected farmers are on their own at the moment. They have to source for their funds to recover from this [spillage]. We’re hoping that through collaborations with our stakeholders, a lot of attention will be drawn to the aquaculture industry”.
“In terms of number of farmers, we projected over 896. But in terms of figures, the overall impact of the dam spillage was GH¢54,867,000,” he added.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Farmed Blue Food Festival, Mr. Adzikah indicated that hundreds of Ghana’s cage fish farmers are still counting their losses and some farms had to shut down as a result.
“Once again, we’re still appealing to the government to come to the aid of these farmers because most of them couldn’t recover from this which has led to a lot of young men and women losing their source of livelihoods. They are unemployed at the moment because the farms they worked for have shut down,” he appealed.
In Ghana, the aquaculture industry plays a vital role in the nation’s economy. As consumers become more discerning, there is a growing need for transparent information about the products they purchase, particularly in terms of health, safety, and sustainability. It is for this reason the Chamber of Aquaculture organised the Farmed Blue Food Festival under the Blue Food Partnership Ghana Initiative.
The overall Lead of the Blue Food Partnership from the World Economic Forum, Karen Demavivas said, “It’s been very important and gratifying to us that the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development and the Fisheries Commission are very supportive of this work. We cannot do anything without the enabling environment for a more productive and resilient sector”.
“It is important to add that we need more knowledge sharing across and also break silos to get to a point where we can more sustainably grow aquaculture and create a brighter future for the sector in Ghana”.
The Farmed Blue Food Festival is sponsored by the Blue Food Partnership Ghana Initiative led by the World Economic Forum in partnership with the Chamber of Aquaculture Ghana with the global technical support of FUTUREFISH.