The Aquaculture Community Initiative in Kyoga (ACIK)
Our Challenge
Our communities are on the edge of human and ecological disaster. Lake fishing, our main source of livelihood, is no longer viable due to overfishing, driving millions of people in the lake Kyoga region deeper into extreme poverty and even starvation. Desperate for a means of subsistence, people around the lake continue to fish illegally, collapse.https://www.monitor.co.ug
Not only risking arrest and incarceration, but also accelerating ecological collapse https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news
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Demand
At the same time, there is a huge and growing demand for fresh fish in Uganda and throughout East Africa.https://www.gatsbyafrica.org.uk/insight Over 67% of Ugandan fish production is exported, creating a shortage of supply and high prices in local markets. Demand far outstrips current production capacity.
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Solution
Aquaculture offers a means for meeting this demand, providing us with a livelihood, and protecting the lake. https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/ However, few small farmers in Uganda benefit from fish farming, because large farms enjoy advantages in financing, technical knowledge, fish feed, and access to markets. Our challenge is to make the benefits of aquaculture accessible to the small farmer by providing training, financing, and on-going technical support https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/magazines
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Our Target
ACIK’s short-term goal is to enable families to pull themselves out of extreme poverty by earning a yearly income of at least $1600 from aquaculture in a region where the current GDP per capita ranges from $174 - $222 per year.
