U/W: Crocodiles threatening tilapia farms, 25 killed

Farmers sorting the tilapia after harvest[/caption] A total of seven crocodiles have been killed in an attempt to break into tilapia farms at Nabrunye in the Lawra District of the Upper West Region to eat the fishes. About 17 of the crocodiles were killed in the first year of the farms in 2015, the farmers told TV3, nothing the crocodiles have become a major threat to their tilapia farms. The crocodiles are believed to be gods to some of the natives in the community hence it becomes a taboo to kill them intentionally. The nets protecting the fish in the water killed the crocodiles, according to the farmers, who are beneficiaries of Resilience and Sustainable Livelihood Transformation Project (RESULT) in Northern Ghana. This has caused the implementers of the project to fence all the cages with predator nets to prevent further destruction on the cages and more crocodiles from dying. The 19 million-dollar project was put together by ACDEP from Global Affairs Canada and seeks to diversify and increase incomes of smallholder farmers to contribute to food security. It aims to train about 21,000 farmers directly and many more indirectly. Residents take charge of feeding the first, harvesting, processing and marketing with assistance from RESULT. The project is an integrated project that seeks to contribute to small ruminant production, crop production, marketing and incomes generating activities and Aquaculture. Implementation of the Aquaculture project started in 2015 with Nabrunye leading two other communities – Tanchera, Nambeg Secretary in charge of the fish farming at Nabrunye, Zuuri Gaeten, said the project has brought employment to many residents in the community He said the major challenge facing them is the destruction nets by the crocodiles. The project also organizes a food fair to train residents how to prepare the fish for market and store it when there is no market It also promote the locally produce tilapia against the imported ones. Upper West Regional coordinator of the project, B. Kasimu Wumbla, said the project seeks to diversify and increase incomes of smallholder farmers to contribute to food security. He said they have acquired predator nets to scare the crocodiles from further attacks.Aquaculture specialist on the RESULT project, Peter Kwame Akpaglo, has called on communities in northern Ghana to demand for the “one village one dam project” from government to enable them use them for Aquaculture and dry season gardening due to the single farming season in the North. By Yakubu Abdul-Gafur|3news.com|Ghana]]>