Assessment of Value Chain of Farmed Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) in Coastal and Lake zones of Tanzania  

In Tanzania Fish farming is currently being promoted as an option for rural development as it provides an important opportunity for reducing poverty and protein malnutrition of the rural poor people. Furthermore, fish farming is emphasized as an alternative to capture fisheries due to decline of wild fish from natural water bodies. Pond culture of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) is given first priority due to better characteristics of the Nile tilapia, which include fast growth,  efficiency conversion of food, high fecundity, tolerance to a wide range of environmental conditions and good meat quality. Value chain analysis is a prerequisite for poverty alleviation as it contributes to overall improvement of the systems from production through to the final consumers. This study was conducted in four regions of Tanzania  (Dar es Salaam, Coast, Mwanza and Geita) to assess the value chain of pond cultured Nile tilapia. The study aimed at determining and mapping actors and identifying constraints and opportunities of various actors in the value chain.

The study involved 113 fish farmers, 16 input suppliers, 74 fish marketers/retailers, 16 fish distributors/wholesalers and 41 restaurant owners/managers. The value chain actors for farmed Nile tilapia included input suppliers, fish farmers, fish traders and fish consumers. The input suppliers were private individuals (12.5%), farmers' groups (25%) and government institutions (62.5%) and supplied fingerlings, concentrate feeds, information and training on fish farming to farmers. The fish farmers owned 2.3 ± 0.3  ponds (mean ± se) with average size of  598.3 ± 56.4. All fish farmers cultured Nile tilapia and a few (23%) of them cultured African catfish. Average (± se) Nile tilapia yield was 4,928.4 ± 427.4 kg/ha/year and 68.1% of the fish produced were sold, mainly to retailers (26.5%), neighbour consumers (21.2%) and distributors (17.7%).  For most farmers (85.8%) price of fish was based on market price. However, the selling price was sometimes negotiable. The Fish traders included retailers, wholesalers, restaurant operators and food vendors. Fish retailers bought fresh fish, mainly Nile tilapia, not only from  fish farmers but also from fishermen and they sold to distributors/wholesalers, restaurants, food vendors and consumers. Before selling the fish, they added value by  washing, dressing, frying, smoking and sun drying.  Wholesalers sold fish to other traders, consumers and restaurants. Restaurants sold cooked or fried fish to consumers. For all traders the price of fish was based on market price and cost plus pricing. Constraints for fish farmers included shortage of water for fish ponds, high costs of inputs, lack of proper knowledge on fish farming, shortage of fish feeds, low price of fish, slow growth of cultured fish and lack of reliable source of fingerlings. Problems encountered by fish traders  included low capital, inadequate fish supply, lack of storage facilities and buying spoiled fish. Lack of contractual arrangement between input suppliers and fish farmers and fish farmers and fish traders was identified as the weakness among the various actors in the value chain. Opportunities for fish farmers included readily available markets for Nile tilapia in the villages and towns. For traders opportunities included high demand for Nile tilapia, availability of tenders in hotels  and rising income for the majority of the people and increase of the middle class group in the country.