Botswana must develop the entire aquaculture value chain rather than focus solely on fish production if the sector is to become a meaningful driver of economic diversification.

Chobe Aqua Farms manager, Mr Ketane Phiri, said aquaculture had the potential to generate income, employment, investment and enterprises while creating value beyond traditional economic activities.

Speaking during the inaugural Botswana Aquaculture Connect 2026 seminar held at BA ISAGO University on Wednesday in Maun, Mr Phiri said government, farmers, researchers and other stakeholders needed to move from discussing the potential of aquaculture to building systems that would enable the industry to grow sustainably.

He said Botswana needed to move from individual farms to an industry, from production alone to value chain development and from import dependence to stronger local capabilities.

Mr Phiri also called for a shift from assumptions to data, short-term projects to sustainable businesses and isolated efforts to greater collaboration among stakeholders.

He said all stakeholders must play a role and provide practical action to make the aquaculture value chain more resilient in order for the industry to grow.

Mr Phiri said getting aquaculture right would create opportunities beyond fish farming, including equipment manufacturing, skills development, fish processing and branding, as well as opportunities for young entrepreneurs.

“If we get aquaculture right, we will not simply produce more fish, we will build businesses around fish, create jobs around fish, manufacture equipment for fish, develop skills around fish, process and brand fish, as well as create opportunities for young entrepreneurs and eventually build a sector capable of contributing meaningfully to Botswana’s economy,” he said.

Mr Phiri said investment in aquaculture should be viewed as investment in an ecosystem of businesses, making the sector a natural fit for Botswana’s economic diversification agenda.

He stressed that the industry was bigger than fish production, noting that a fish farm represented only one component of the wider aquaculture economy.

“This opportunity is not simply to increase tonnes of fish, it is to build the systems that allow production to grow sustainably and commercially. This country does not simply need more fish farms but needs a resilient aquaculture industry,” he said.

He said the success of Botswana’s aquaculture sector should therefore not be measured only by tonnes of fish produced, but by the economic value created across the entire value chain.

Also, he said Botswana could produce its own fish, develop profitable commercial farms, strengthen fingerling supplies, establish local input industries, process and add value to fish products, and develop reliable domestic and regional markets only if the entire value chain was developed simultaneously.

Mr Phiri further noted that the sector required people with both technical and business skills to operate successfully, saying a resilient value chain began with production but did not end at the farm gate.

Kgosi Rodgers Marumo of Thito Ward, one of the first fishermen in the Ngamiland region, said the seminar came at an opportune time as the country grappled with economic challenges.

He said developing a strong aquaculture sector was essential as it could stimulate economic activity while contributing to food security and economic growth.

However, Kgosi Marumo expressed concern over overfishing, saying it disrupted the natural fish life cycle by removing breeding fish before they could reproduce.

He called for smart and sustainable fishing practices to protect declining fish populations.

He observed that only large fish were now commonly spotted in the Chobe and Okavango areas, while fishermen in the North West region were increasingly catching smaller fish.

Meanwhile, BA ISAGO University managing director, Mr Odirile Gabasiane, said Ngamiland had the history, water resources, suitable ecosystem and generations of fishing knowledge needed to drive the aquaculture conversation.

Mr Gabasiane said communities in Ngamiland already possessed deep expertise, as fishing was embedded in their history and livelihoods.

He saidi what is needed now is to enhance that knowledge with modern tools, sound business practice, and structured training, so that this region does not simply participate in the industry, but leads it, becoming the national training hub it is envisioned to be. ENDS