$3M invested in Catfish farming by a farmer in Akuapem North

Mr Seth Boakye-Dankwah, the Managing Director of Mordecai Farms and Portfolio Manager, has invested about $3 million in the development of a recirculatory catfish farm and processing facility in the Eastern Region.

The recirculatory catfish farm and processing facility are already under construction in Kokoomu, Akuapem North Municipality, Eastern Region, and are expected to produce about 25 metric tonnes of catfish per month and 300 metric tonnes of catfish per year.

A Recirculatory Aquaculture System is a water recycling and reuse technology that removes suspended matter and metabolites through mechanical and biological filtration.

Mr Boakye-Dankwah, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency during an inspection tour of the construction site with the Fisheries Commission, outlined several benefits associated with the project, including improved livelihoods.

“I want to make money, so I want to take some of the value out of the value chain, so I am not only selling the fresh fish, but I am going to smoke the fish and sell it to the market,” he said.

He also mentioned that everything produced by the farm, including the fish waste, would be beneficial to the farm, as the fish waste would be used to generate biogas, which would be used to smoke the fish.

Also, the water that would be discharged from the catfish farm would be used to irrigate a greenhouse facility that would be constructed adjacent to the recirculatory catfish farm and processing facility.

He said while his primary motivation was to make money, the farm would rely on solar energy to produce healthy, fresh, and tasty organic catfish in a good environment at a reasonable price.

Ghana, he said, was ready for the catfish market although the organisation did not have a ready market largely because people were struggling to find a catfish supply source.

Mr Boakye-Danquah said the facility could employ 20 people and added, “We do not need people who are intellectuals because the job does not need that, but people who are passionate about catfish farming and could observe the fish and identify any abnormalities in them.”

Mr Francis Barnes, the Fisheries Commission’s Eastern Regional Director, praised Mr Boakye-Dankwah for his significant investment and contribution to promoting catfish production in the region.

Catfish are a diverse group of ray-refined fish, named for their prominent barbels that resemble cats’ whiskers. Experts say they are low in calories but high in heart-healthy omega-3 fats and vitamin B12.