Impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the aquaculture industry in Sunyani Municipality, Ghana

Abstract

The coronavirus pandemic has substantially influenced the aquaculture industry in Ghana, particularly the socioeconomic situation of fish producers. The primary goal of this study was to assess the influence of COVID-19 on pond aquaculture in the Sunyani municipality, Ghana. To address this, the study used purposive and random sampling techniques to administer a semi-structured questionnaire to fifty (50) fish farmers. According to the survey, most respondents reported that the COVID-19 pandemic impacted pond aquaculture productivity, products, and farm operations. According to the respondents, the impact on pond aquaculture production was caused by the high cost of fingerlings, fish feed, and table-sized farmed fishes, as well as a scarcity of fingerlings, fish feed, and pharmaceutical supplies like lime. To avoid the pandemic's long-term damage, it is recommended that fish farmers should purchase pond aquaculture materials in bulk, including feed and pharmaceuticals.

Keywords

• COVID-19 pandemic
• Aquaculture
• Socio-economic
• Fish farmers
• Ghana

References

1. Ahmed, N. & Azra, M. N. (2022). Aquaculture production and value chains in the COVID-19 pandemic. Current Environmental Health Reports, 9(3), 423–435. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40572-022-00364-6.
2. Alam, G. M. M., Sarker, N. I., Gatto, M., Bhandari, H., & Naziri, D. (2019). Impacts of COVID-19 on the fisheries and aquaculture sector in developing countries and ways forward. Sustainability, 14(3), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14031071
3. Alam, G. M. M., Sarker, N. I., Kamal, A. S., Khatun, M. N., & Bhandari, H. (2023). Impact of COVID-19 on Smallholder Aquaculture Farmers and Their Response Strategies: Empirical Evidence from Bangladesh. Sustainability, 15(3), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15032638
4. Alhassan, E. H., & Akongyuure, D. N. (2020). Fisheries & Aquaculture in Northern Ghana: Challenges and Risks in the Era of COVID-19. Impact of COVID-19 on Food Production, Nutrition Security & Hospitality in Northern Ghana: Mitigation Actions against the Pandemic, 65.
5. Amenyogbe, E., Gang, C., Wang, Z., De Lin, M., Lu, X., Atujona, D., & Abarike, E. D. (2018). A review of Ghana's aquaculture industry. Journal of Aquaculture Research and Development, 09(08), 1-11.
6. Araujo, G. S., Silva, J. W. A. D., Cotas, J., & Pereira, L. (2022). Fish Farming Techniques: Current Situation and Trends. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, 10(11), 1-8.
7. Asiedu, B., Failler, P., & Beyens, Y. (2015). Enhancing aquaculture development: mapping the tilapia aquaculture value chain in Ghana. Reviews in Aquaculture, 8(4), 394–402. https://doi.org/10.1111/raq.12103
8. Beveridge, M., Phillips, M., Dugan, P., Brummett, R. 2010. Barriers to aquaculture development as a pathway to poverty alleviation and food security: policy coherence and the roles and responsibilities of development agencies, in Advancing the aquaculture agenda. Proceedings of a workshop, Paris, 15–16 April 2010. Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, Paris. pp. 199–209.

9. Buchanan, J. G. (2016). Aquaculture: management, challenges, and developments. Nova Science Publishers.
10. Dalgıç, A., Demir, M., & Ergen, F. D. (2021). The impacts of cognitive and affective risk perception of COVID-19 on life well-being: The mediating effect of understanding COVID-19. In Handbook of Research on the Impacts and Implications of COVID-19 on the Tourism Industry (pp. 664-682). IGI Global.
11. Demir, M., Demir, Ş. Ş., Ergen, F. D., & Dalgıç, A. (2021). Covid-19 sürecinde tüketicilerin otel seçimini etkileyen faktörler. International Journal of Social Sciences and Education Research, 7(1), 82-94.
12. Dorji, N., Yamazaki, S., & Thinley, P. (2023). How has the COVID-19 pandemic response impacted small-scale fish farmers in Bhutan? Aquaculture, 562, 1-11.
13. FAO. (2021). The impact of COVID-19 on fisheries and aquaculture food systems, possible responses: Information paper, November 2020. Rome. https://doi.org/10.4060/cb2537
14. Fiorella, K. J., Bageant, E., Mojica, L., Obuya, J. A., Ochieng, J., Olela, P., Otuo, P. W., Owiti, H., Aura, C. M., & Okronipa, H. (2021). Small-scale fishing households facing COVID-19: The case of Lake Victoria, Kenya. Fisheries Research, 237, 105856. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fishres.2020.105856
15. Ghana Statistical Service. (2013). 2010 population & housing census: National analytical report. Ghana Statistics Service.
16. Ghana Statistical Service. (2020). 2010 population & housing census: National analytical report. Ghana Statistics Service.
17. Giannakis, E., Hadjioannou, L., Jimenez, C., Papageorgiou, M., Karonias, A., & Petrou, A. (2020). Economic consequences of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on fisheries in the eastern Mediterranean (Cyprus). Sustainability, 12(22), 1-16.
18. Hoque, M. S., Bygvraa, D. A., Pike, K., Hasan, M. M., Rahman, M. A., Akter, S. & Holliday, E. (2021). Knowledge, practice, and economic impacts of COVID-19 on small-scale coastal fishing communities in Bangladesh: Policy recommendations for improved livelihoods. Marine Policy, 131, 1-17.
19. Kassam, L. (2013). Assessing the contribution of aquaculture to poverty reduction in Ghana (Doctoral dissertation, SOAS, University of London).
20. Khan, M. I., & Barman, A. (2021). Impact of novel coronavirus pandemic on aquaculture and fisheries in developing countries and sustainable recovery plans: Case of Bangladesh. Marine Policy, 131, 1-11.
21. Kimani-Murage, E. W., Osogo, D., Nyamasege, C. K., Igonya, E. K., Ngira, D. O., & Harrington, J. (2022). COVID-19 and human right to food: lived experiences of the urban poor in Kenya with the impacts of government’s response measures, a participatory qualitative study. BMC Public Health, 22(1), 1-15.
22. Krosnick, J. A. (2018). Questionnaire design The Palgrave handbook of survey research, Springer, 439-455.
23. Lambert H, Gupte J, Fletcher H, Hammond L, Lowe N, Pelling M., (2020). COVID-19 as a global challenge: towards an inclusive and sustainable future. The Lancet Planetary Health;4: e312–4.
24. Loison, S.A. & Shikuku, K.M. & Mohan, A.B.C. & Babu, R. & Belton, B., (2021). "Effects of COVID-19 on fish value chains: Descriptive Evidence from India," Monographs, The WorldFish Center, number 40953, April.
25. Love, D. C., Weltzien, L. M., Nussbaumer, E. M., Lyman, A. L., Belton, B., Anthonysamy, S. M. & Yusoff, N. M. (2023). Lessons learned from global surveys conducted in fisheries and aquaculture during the COVID-19 pandemic. FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Circular, (C1272), I-86.
26. Malhotra, N. K. (2006). Questionnaire design and scale development. The handbook of marketing research: Uses, misuses, and future advances, 83-94.
27. Mandal, S. C., Boidya, P., Haque, M. I., Hossain, A., Shams, Z., & Mamun, A. A. (2021). The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on fish consumption and household food security in Dhaka City, Bangladesh. Global Food Security, 29, 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gfs.2021.100526
28. Mangano, M. C., Berlino, M., Corbari, L., Milisenda, G., Lucchese, M., Terzo, S. & Sarà, G. (2022). The aquaculture supply chain in the time of COVID-19 pandemic: Vulnerability, resilience, solutions and priorities at the global scale. Environmental science & policy, 127, 98-110.
29. Manlosa, A. O., Hornidge, A. K., & Schlüter, A. (2021). Aquaculture-capture fisheries nexus under COVID-19: impacts, diversity, and social-ecological resilience. Maritime Studies, 20, 75-85.
30. MoFAD (2020) Ministry of fisheries and aquaculture development. Republic of Ghana. https://www.mofad.gov.gh/ (1.5.2024)
31. N’Souvi, K., Sun, C., Zhang, H., Broohm, D. A., & Okey, M. K. N. (2021). Fisheries and aquaculture in Togo: Overview, performance, fisheries policy, challenges and comparative study with Ghana, Mali, Niger, and Senegal fisheries and aquaculture. Marine Policy, 132, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2021.104681
32. Omona, J. (2013). Sampling in qualitative research: Improving the quality of research outcomes in higher education. Makerere Journal of Higher Education, 4(2), 169-185.
33. Owusu, V., Boafo, Y. A., Adjei, M., & Boateng, R. (2022). The COVID-19 pandemic and coastal fishery livelihood systems: Socio-economic implications for small-scale fisherfolk in Winneba, Ghana. In COVID-19 and a World of Ad Hoc Geographies (pp. 1657-1678). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
34. Ragasa, C., Agyakwah, S. K., Asmah, R., Mensah, E. T. D., Amewu, S., & Oyih, M. (2022). Accelerating pond aquaculture development and resilience beyond COVID: Ensuring food and jobs in Ghana. Aquaculture, 547, 1-16.
35. Ragasa, C., Amewu, S., & Asante, S. (2021). Immediate impacts of COVID-19 on the aquaculture value chain in Ghana. Intl Food Policy Res Inst, 54-1-18.
36. Rahman, M., Ahmed, R., Moitra, M., Damschroder, L., Brownson, R., Chorpita, B., ... & Kumar, M. (2021). Mental distress and human rights violations during COVID-19: a rapid review of the evidence informing rights, mental health needs, and public policy around vulnerable populations. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 11, 1-15.
37. Rouille, M. L. M. (2022). ‘Beyond the border is where food is’-COVID-19, cross-border fish traders and food security around the Ghana-Togo border (Master's thesis, The University of Bergen).
38. Setufe, S. B., Amponsah, S. K. K., Henneh, S., & Acheampong, E. A. (2022). Pandemic risk, response, and resilience of fishermen in Ghana: a case study of fishing communities in Stratum VII, Volta Lake. In Pandemic Risk, Response, and Resilience (pp. 415-426). Elsevier.
39. Shamsuddin, M., Hossain, M. B., Rahman, M., Tazim, M. F., Ali, M. R., Kawla, M. S., Begum, T., Albeshr, M. F., & Arai, T. (2023). Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Fisheries Sector and Actions Taken to Cope with the Situation: A Case Study from a Top Fish- Producing Country. Sustainability, 15(4), 1-14.
40. Sivathanu, N. & Radhika, R. (2023). A conceptual study to identify the problems & challenges in current training systems in its industries. International Journal of Professional Business Review, 8(4), 1-12.
41. Sutcliffe, S., Lau, J. D., Barnes, M., Mbaru, E., Wade, E., Hungito, W. & Cinner, J. (2023). COVID-19 impacts on food systems in fisheries-dependent island communities. Ecology and Society, 28, 1-10.
42. Taherdoost, H (2022). Designing a Questionnaire for a Research Paper: A Comprehensive Guide to Design and Develop an Effective Questionnaire. Asian Journal of Managerial Science, 11, 8- 16.
43. Ukasha, B., Iddrisu, F. T., Akongyuure, D. N., Alhassan, E. H., Abarike, E. D., Abobi, S. M., & Atindana, S. (2022). Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Fish Sales in Aboabo Market, Tamale Metropolis. Journal of Food Technology, 20(1), 1-14.
44. World Health Organization (WHO). Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) situation reports. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2021.
45. Yaşar, E., Demir, M., & Taşdemir, T. (2023). Embedded big data in packaged foods: examining consumer sentiment during the purchasing process post-COVID-19. British Food Journal, 125(10), 3623-3639.
46. Yusoff, F. M., Abdullah, A. F., Aris, A. Z., & Umi, W. A. D. (2021). Impacts of COVID-19 on the aquatic environment and implications on aquatic food production. Sustainability, 13(20), 1-11.