Aquaculture in Africa: A Comparative Review of Egypt, Nigeria, and Uganda Vis-À-Vis South Africa

Abstract

This study reviews the development and conventional qualitative analysis of aquaculture in Africa, specifically by reviewing the aquaculture sector of key players (Egypt, Nigeria and Uganda) as a reference for South Africa; an aspiring key aquaculture player in Africa based on the launch of Operation Phakisa—South African version of the blue economy initiative. The key players were identified based on current annual production output and critical success factors, thus used as a benchmark for South Africa. Qualitative factors reviewed are critical success factors of the aquaculture sector of the selected countries that are widely germane to aquaculture development. These factors include production outputs (tons) and value ($); cultured species; prevalent aquaculture production systems; types of aquaculture, i.e., freshwater and mariculture; aquaculture development challenges related to fish seed, fish feed, land and water availability; aquaculture market and trade and provision of enabling environment through policies and frameworks. These factors were qualitatively reviewed and analyzed in ranking the aquaculture operations of the key players and South Africa to elucidate the critical success factors and challenges.