THE CURRENT STATUS OF AQUACULTURE IN KISANGANI REGION, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO: CONSTRAINTS AND OPPORTUNITIES

Aquaculture was established in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in colonial times because the country has climatic conditions suited for aquaculture. However, very little is known about the industry now and hence the objective of the study was to determine its current status.The study was carried out in Kisangani region, located in the north-east of the country Surveys were carried out where farmers were interviewed and observations made on the nature of any aquaculture operations. Only fish farmers with a minimum of 100m² of ponds surface area were assessed in detail in this study. It was quite an unexpected to discover that many farmers have maintained the aquaculture tradition in this region. Within an 18km radius of Kisangani town, a total of 45 fish farmers were interviewed

In Kisangani region, 44% of fish farmers have up to 15 years' experience but only about 7% have farmed fish for 26-35 years. Hence, aquaculture is an established agricultural practice and is not a new concept. The majority of the fish farmers interviewed (about 90%) are not members of any fish farmers association. as there is none. The fish farmers in this region mainly practise polyculture. The most commonly cultivated fish species was Orechromis niloticus, followed by Clarias gariepinus and then Parachanna obsura.

There are no commercially produced fish feeds on the market and hence the feeding of the fish remains very basic. Most of the farmers (64%) used rice bran; 42% use pig waste; 78% farmers used household wastes; and about 22% of the fish famers do not feed the fish. The average of production is 11.4kg per 100m² while the lowest and highest production was 4.0 kg/100m² and 29.5 kg/100m², respectively. Fish were sold without post-harvest processing in lots or singles depending on fish size.