DAKHLA, MOROCCO — Ghana is positioning itself at the forefront of Africa’s aquaculture transformation, delivering a strong call to action at the Seafood4Africa 2026 Conference to accelerate the growth of a profitable, resilient, and investment-ready aquaculture sector across the continent. Addressing African ministers, industry leaders, researchers, and global development partners, Mr. Jacob Adzikah, Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Aquaculture (COA), emphasized that Africa’s aquaculture journey has entered a decisive phase.
“The question is no longer whether aquaculture can grow,” he stated. “It is how quickly we can scale it into a trusted and profitable food system.” Mr. Adzikah highlighted key structural challenges facing the sector, including high feed costs, disease risks, limited access to finance, limited aquaculture insurance, and market volatility pointing out that feed alone accounts for 60–70 percent of production costs. He noted that Ghana has responded with targeted reforms aimed at reducing risk and unlocking investment, including tax exemptions on critical inputs imported, the introduction of aquaculture insurance, improved diagnostic laboratories, and partnerships with institutions such as the Ghana Incentive-Based Risk-Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (GIRSAL) to de-risk lending.
Technology and innovation featured prominently in Ghana’s strategy. Drawing from successful African examples, Mr. Adzikah referenced digital farm management tools produced in Ghana by Aquamet, a start-up business in Ghana and the Smarthatch project in partnership with Future Fish and MultiFish as some of the innovative solutions introduced by COA to make small-scale hatchery operators more efficient.
He also spotlighted the Blue Food Innovation Hub (BFIH) a collaborative initiative involving COA, the World Economic Forum, AUDA-NEPAD, and Ghana’s Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture designed to unlock knowledge, innovation, market and finance for private players in the blue food sector.
Reinforcing the need for self-sufficiency, Mr. Adzikah stressed that Africa must build strong local value chains to sustain growth. He cited Egypt’s success in local feed and hatchery development.
The CEO further called for strengthened Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) to unlock land access and innovative financing, including Special Purpose Vehicles to scale production in strategic areas such as the Volta Lake. He also underscored the importance of standards and traceability, noting that Ghana’s Aquaculture Stewardship Council-aligned Code of Good Practices is opening pathways for African fish to access premium international markets.
Stakeholders, including representatives of FENIP, World Aquaculture Society African Chapter; the World Economic Forum; and industry leaders from Morocco. Discussions focused on sustaining the Blue Food Innovation Hub and mobilizing African businesses for major trade platforms such as Aquaculture Ghana.
“Our engagements in Dakhla reaffirm Ghana’s role as a driver of continental aquaculture dialogue,” Mr. Adzikah said. “We are moving from policy to practice building partnerships that attract investment, integrate technology, and ensure aquaculture delivers food security and economic growth for Africa.”