In an effort to ensure that the aquaculture sector in Sierra Leone realise its potential,  the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations has donated a large consignment of fish feed worth over US$28,000 to fish farmers from various parts of the country.

The programme which was organised in partnership with the ministry of fisheries and marine resources attracted a good number of fish farmers from the North, South and Western regions of the country.

The deputy minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Haja Jeneh Kandeh said there is currently heavy pressure on the harvesting of fisheries resources through illegal fishing practices leading to a global decline in fish stocks.

This situation has prompted the government to seriously focus on aquaculture to ensure food security, job creation and export earnings. Kandeh lamented that the sub sector is underdeveloped despite its immense potential and efforts in the past to stimulate growth.

"It's against this background and in line with President Koroma's Agenda for Change that the ministry in collaboration with FAO is giving free feed to fish farmers in the country," she added.

The deputy minister thanked FAO for providing support to fish farmers through the Technical Cooperation Programme and providing funds to develop the "Strategic Framework for Sustainable Aquaculture development in Sierra Leone.

The acting deputy director of Fisheries, Alpha Bangura said they started fish farming by using rice bran and termites and have not been able to expand aquaculture over the years due to lack of technology and materials needed to compose formidable feed that helps fish to grow.

The donation was the beginning of accessing quality fish feed by farmers and it was hoped that their ponds would grow from subsistence farming to semi commercial ponds.

Fish farming in Sierra Leone started 30 years ago with the establishment of two fish farming stations at Makali and Bo, but the practice is still at the rudimentary stage even though there are 1,500 fishing ponds in the country, said Karmour Dabo, the National Coordinator of Agriculture.