Lake Harvest Group History 92 – 94Pilot project 94 – 96Groundwork, permits, EIA, finance 97Lake Harvest established 97 – 992,000 tpa 99 Factory opens and EU exports commence 2000Zimbabwe problems 2002 MBO / 3,000t Uganda groundwork 06 SON Fish Farm Uganda pilot project 06-07Ghana groundwork 08 Signs of Zimbabwe reform 09 New investor (African Century Group)
Why Africa? Home of tilapia Strong local demand and proximity to Europe Great lakes! And rivers. Warm / natural / sustainable Good marketing stories e.g. millenium development goals Sustainability / good environmental protection Africa’s Century Why not? Pioneering / risky Lack of finance Skills Instability / politics / lack of property rights Security / theft Technological solutions don’t always work Management quite different
1.1 Technology - Cages are the way to go (in my opinion) But beware the tiger fish
1.2 Technology – should be creative and appropriate
2Balance of products and markets
3 Vertical Integration
4 Environmental Sustainability What was a luxury is now a must have Overintensification and disease
Uganda Zimbabwe 5 Political will
6
7 Investment Invest for the long term – (it will take longer than you think to get it right) Pilot projects ARE useful Don’t spend too much Don’t spend too little Choose your partners VERY carefully (or do it yourself) Do your OWN homework WELL
8 Location, location, location
9 FEED Be close to the source of feed and raw materials. Better still, make it yourself.
10 People, people, people, people, people, people…………. Invest in people from the outset Training Local management (you can’t do what they can do for you) Build loyalty Delegate
The next five years Expand Lake Harvest Zimbabwe to 10,000tpa Expand SON Uganda to more than 5,000tpa Develop in West Africa (maybe Ghana)
The NORAD study Norway has the political will and brings technical, marketing and financial expertise to aquaculture in Africa Ghana, Uganda, Egypt, Tanzania, Mozambique- yes Missed a few – Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi