• Burkina Faso invested CFA1.5 billion ($2.6 million) in two fish-feed factories in Bobo-Dioulasso and Bagré.

• Each plant holds production capacity of 1.5–2 tonnes per hour, aimed at reducing aquaculture costs.

• The country currently exploits only about 1% of its estimated 110,000-tonne annual aquaculture potential.

Burkina Faso has taken a step to strengthen the acquaculture sector. Authorities officially commissioned two fish-feed production plants in Bobo-Dioulasso and Bagré on March 13. The Ministry of Agriculture mobilized CFA1.5 billion ($2.6 million) to finance the facilities. Each unit can produce between 1.5 and 2 tonnes of feed per hour.

According to a statement published on the ministry’s website, state-owned company Faso Guulgo will operate the Bobo-Dioulasso facility. The firm specializes in producing feed for poultry, livestock and fish. Meanwhile, state-owned Faso Agropole will manage the Bagré plant.

“The commissioning of this infrastructure will help secure the supply of essential inputs, improve the competitiveness of domestic production, and accelerate the development of the aquaculture sector. It will also contribute to the creation of direct and indirect jobs, particularly for young people,” the ministry said in the statement.

Feed costs represent the largest share of aquaculture production expenses. Therefore, stronger local supply should improve producers’ competitiveness and support the sector’s expansion.

In a report published in January, the World Economic Forum (WEF) said feed constraints push African aquaculture production costs 10% to 20% above global averages.

“These high costs are due to a reliance on conventional fish feed, which is imported because of limited local production capacity and consists of soybean meal [which is also essential for human consumption] and fishmeal [made from wild-caught fish],” the WEF explained.

Expansion of Fish Farming Projects

Burkina Faso has accelerated aquaculture initiatives in recent years. On February 4, the Ministry of Agriculture inaugurated a floating cage fish-farming project in Dori, located in the Liptako region. The site holds production potential of 200 tonnes of fish per year.

Earlier, authorities successfully tested floating cage aquaculture in April 2024 at the Samandéni dam in the Hauts-Bassins region under the Agropastoral and Fisheries Offensive program. The project initially installed 180 floating cages.

Authorities aimed to attract private investors and eventually produce 54,000 tonnes of fish annually at the Samandéni site. Following Samandéni’s success, the government launched another floating cage aquaculture project at the Bagré dam reservoir in the same year.

The “Dumu Ka Fa” project, supported by the national Food Sovereignty Fund, initially involved 44 private promoters and carries potential production capacity of 1,500 tonnes of fish per year.

Official data show that Burkina Faso holds theoretical aquaculture potential of 110,000 tonnes annually, yet producers currently exploit only about 1% of that capacity. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), aquaculture output in the country totaled just 1,127 tonnes in 2023.

This article was initially published in French by Stéphanas Assocle

Adapted in English by Ange J.A de Berry Quenum