The President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, inaugurated a $12 million state-of-the-art national aquaculture center and commercial farm at Amrahia, in the Greater Accra region.

The project is part of the government's efforts to the growth of the fisheries and aquaculture sectors. Ghana’s fisheries and aquaculture sector employs three million people representing 20% of the nation’s workforce along the entire value chain, and contributes to 60% of the nation’s protein needs and 11% of GDP on agriculture.

The center aims to train local fish farmers, with emphasis on graduates from universities, and produce fish in high quantities to generate sufficient income to sustain the center and increase the total fish production in the country. It will complement the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development's program on Aquaculture for Food and Jobs.

“As water bodies dry up and become polluted due to human activities and the pressure on land acquisition increases, modernization of aquaculture must involve the utilization of less space and water, but increase productivity at the same time,” the president said.

“One such modern technology that has these attributes is RAS which is being employed by the center. Not only does this system offer minimum maintenance cost and relatively low to moderate energy consumption but it also guarantees the production of healthy and export-ready products. It will thus ensure the production of 25 metric tonnes of tilapia, 25 metric tonnes of catfish, and 4 metric tonnes of prawns annually. This will ultimately mean an increase in fish production, a reduction in fish imports, and the enrichment of local capacity and technical know-how through the training of youth at the center,” he explained.