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Growing Blue: TAAT and Partners Seek to Unlock Rwanda’s Aquaculture Potential
Rwanda imports about 70,000 tonnes of frozen fish annually, mainly tilapia, at a cost of more than US$92 million, while domestic aquaculture production remains between 3,000 and 4,000 tonnes per year, insufficient to meet the country’s growing demand.
This persistent gap highlights the need to strengthen local fish production and address the technical and structural constraints affecting Rwanda’s aquaculture value chain.
To address these challenges, the Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT), through its Fish Compact led by WorldFish, brought together 52 aquaculture value chain actors for a series of practical Training of Trainers (ToT) workshops in Rwanda from 27 July to 9 August 2026.
The initiative, organised in collaboration with the Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB) and Fine Fish Limited, focused on strengthening capacities in fish seed production, feed formulation and production, fish processing and value addition, and aqua-business development.
This ToT comes at a time when Rwanda is seeking to expand aquaculture as an important source of food, nutrition and economic opportunities.
Despite the country’s considerable potential, including its lakes, rivers and reservoirs suitable for aquaculture, the sector continues to face constraints such as inadequate access to quality fingerlings, limited certified hatchery infrastructure, insufficient access to affordable and high-quality fish feed, gaps in technical knowledge and extension services, and post-harvest losses linked to inadequate processing and value addition.
The training programme addressed these challenges across several critical stages of the fish value chain.
The first Training of Trainers workshop, which focused on tilapia seed production, was held from 27 to 30 July at the Fine Fish Tilapia Hatchery in Muhazi. Participants learnt about tilapia husbandry, carrying capacity, broodstock selection and care, water-quality management, the use of hapas, broodstock sexing, egg collection and incubation, fish health, biosecurity and better management practices.
The programme also introduced aqua-business development for the production of monosex tilapia fingerlings.
From 31 July to 3 August 2026, the programme was held at the Catfish Hatchery at the University of Rwanda in Huyi for training in catfish seed production. Participants explored Clarias gariepinus production, seed management, larval and fingerling nutrition, broodstock management, hypophysation, stripping, fertilisation and incubation, as well as water-quality monitoring and biosecurity. Practical hatchery sessions allowed participants to apply improved techniques in a real production environment.
The third workshop, held from 4 to 6 August 2026 at the Fine Fish Feed Factory in the Rwamagana Industrial Area, focused on fish feed formulation and production. Participants received practical training in feed formulation, production management, safety and biosecurity, while also exploring the business aspects of fish feed production through business planning and group activities.
The programme concluded with a three-day training on fish processing and value addition from 7 to 9 August 2026 at Fine Fish in Muhazi. The sessions covered climate-smart technologies for fish value addition, good processing practices, fish processing techniques, fish by-products, packaging, labelling and marketing.
Participants also engaged in practical sessions and explored business planning, value propositions, revenue streams, sales channels, financial forecasting and gross-profit projections.
Through its Training of Trainers approach, TAAT aims to extend the intervention’s reach beyond the 52 direct participants by equipping them with knowledge and practical skills to disseminate to other actors across the aquaculture value chain.
According to Prof. Bernadette Fregene, leader of TAAT Fish Compact, “Our initiative seeks to strengthen the capacity of aquaculture stakeholders to sustainably produce high-quality tilapia and catfish fingerlings, independently formulate and produce affordable fish feed using locally available resources, enhance fish processing and value addition, and establish viable, self-sustaining aquaculture enterprises that can contribute to the long-term development of Rwanda’s aquaculture sector.”
“By strengthening these critical areas of the aquaculture value chain, TAAT, through its Fish Compact and its partners, seeks to contribute to increased productivity and profitability while reducing fish mortality and post-harvest losses,” she said.
“The initiative also promotes collaboration and knowledge exchange among government institutions, research organisations and private-sector actors, supporting Rwanda’s efforts to build a more productive, competitive and sustainable aquaculture sector.
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