Burkina / Fish farming in floating cages: An aquaculture revolution in the heart of Ouagadougou
In the heart of Ouagadougou, the Tanghin dam is being transformed into an innovative fish farming center thanks to the installation of floating cages. This initiative, combining local know-how and modern techniques, offers new economic prospects for local fishermen and producers. Lefaso.net meets the players involved and explores this transformation. This report highlights the issues, challenges and hopes associated with this aquaculture revolution.
Located in the political capital of Burkina Faso, the Tanghin dam is an essential hydraulic infrastructure, subdivided into three sections, named Barrage n°1, Barrage n°2 and Barrage n°3. Dams n°2 and n°3, which regularly hold a good quantity of water, are particularly well-suited to fish farming and market gardening, attracting many producers and fishermen. Along their banks and in the surrounding area, merchants set up shop under the shade of mango trees. The coolness of the area makes it an ideal place to relax for local residents, who flock there at every opportunity, especially during hot spells. It's not uncommon to see children bathing there, particularly in dam no. 3.
Since the beginning of 2025, an extraordinary fish-farming activity has been taking place in Tanghin's Barrage n°3. This is fish farming using floating cages. It's Saturday, March 15, 2025. On this morning, one of the floating cage promoters is harvesting his fish. It's 10:30 a.m. when the boat arrives to take the promoter and his staff to the floating cage for harvesting. It was supposed to arrive at 9am.
Everyone puts on their life jackets, and we do the same in the hot sun. We head for the boat to settle in. Everyone is on their feet. But the driver asks us to divide up equally on either side to avoid any imbalance. Once the instructions have been followed, we're ready to converge on our destination. During our journey, we spot several floating cages in Barrage n°3. Some of the fishermen with whom the promoters collaborate are busy feeding the fry. They load the food into a pirogue, then sail to the cage in question to feed the fry.
After a fifteen-minute journey, we arrive at our harvesting destination. The time is 10:43. About ten of us, the promoter and his collaborators, get out of the boat and set about surrounding the cage. The net, which covers the entire length of the cage and prevents the fish from escaping from the surface, is untied on all sides. On one side, a team tilts the net used to contain the fish in the cage, bringing them en masse to the other side. The fish slide down and converge on the second team. The second team welcomes them with landing nets, before introducing them into the traps. A total of ten traps were filled.
From the bank of the dam, the harvested fish are sold directly to fresh fish sellers, while others buy them for their own consumption. To preserve the fish better, some customers have brought coolers to the site.
Safiata Sawadogo is a fresh fish seller. She's an old hand in the trade. This is the first time she's come to buy fish from the floating cages at dam no. 3, and she thinks the cost is high. "We were invited to come and buy the fish. And that's why I'm here. I often buy fish from the dam. But the fish in the floating cages we're offered today are expensive. If we buy them at that price, we won't be able to resell them," she says with an embarrassed look on her face.
Safiata Sawadogo suggests selling them a kilogram of fish at 1,500 francs. This would enable them to put it on the market for 2,000 francs.
Fry feed accounts for over 60% of costs
Moustapha Tassembédo, Director General of Fishery Resources, who was exceptionally present that day, judged the cost per kilogram to be reasonable. "In the organic production process, when we refer to the quality-price ratio, we cannot consider the cost to be high. But we are working so that, in the years to come, we can produce quality food at national level. This will consequently reduce feed imports, a key factor for fish farming", he asserted, full of conviction.
Moustapha Tassembédo points out that feed imports account for 60 to 65% of a producer's budget. This explains, he continues, why the cost price is relatively high for fish produced under natural conditions in Burkina Faso.
A floating cage can hold thousands of fry
Among the owners of floating cages is Adjara Ouédraogo née Nacro. This is her very first experience of this new form of fish farming.
"I own three floating cages on Barrage n°3 de Tanghin. It's a great experience for me. Although there's no shortage of difficulties. But you learn as you go along. The number of fish a cage can produce depends on its capacity. The people who made me these cages told me that I could accommodate 7,000 fry in my first four-by-four-meter cage. And that after four months, the harvest could be done", she informs us, all motivated.
On the subject of her motivation, Adjara Ouédraogo stresses that it stems from her desire to be part of the agrosilvopastoral and fisheries offensive launched by the country's authorities. However, she admits that her lack of experience is the reason why she still hasn't harvested any fish after six months of farming. The lesson for her is that her cage, which can house 7,000 fry as indicated, should have received less than that quantity. So, she says, she had to ensure that the fry were well fed, both in terms of quantity and regularity. Despite this setback, Adjara remains determined.
Feed now subsidized by the State
In view of the difficulties encountered by cage promoters, Adjara confides that she has benefited from state support. "The biggest difficulty at the outset was food. Because food is very expensive. At first, we bought 20 kg bags at 20,000 CFA francs. But two months ago, the authorities made subsidized feed available to us in bags of 4,000 and 6,000 CFA francs. This has done us a lot of good. Thanks to this subsidy, we're now able to feed our fry properly", she tells us, expressing her gratitude to the authorities.
To achieve their objective, the promoters are supervised by technicians from the Ministry in charge of fisheries resources.
Well-supervised promoters
According to Aïcha Sana, Regional Director of Agriculture, Animal Resources and Fisheries for the Centre region, Burkina Faso imports thousands of fish for consumption. And fish production on the Tanghin dam is a response to the Head of State's call for an agro-sylvopastoral and fisheries offensive to achieve food self-sufficiency. For her, one of the ways to achieve this is to boost fish production in the country.
"Together with the Direction Générale des Ressources Halieutiques (DGRH), we are providing these promoters with a great deal of support for the technical aspects of production. This is really a first. In terms of good practice, we have to respect the carrying capacity," says the Regional Director of Agriculture, Animal Resources and Fisheries for the Centre region.
Only 50 promoters can operate the dam
Given the importance of this activity in terms of both food security and people's health, it's important to think about the dam's safety. And Mamadou Doumbia is in charge. As site manager, he is responsible for coordinating the installation of the cages and the activities carried out at the dam. "By way of example, from the outset we started by plotting the site. Then, we have, and continue to accompany the promoters for a good installation in the rules of the art until the fish stocking", he explains.
Mamadou Doumbia also acts as an intermediary between the promoters and the Direction Générale des Ressources Halieutiques. "Not everyone is allowed to come and install a floating cage in the dam. This is subject to conditions. Right from the start, there was a call for applications to occupy space on the dam. The Tanghin site was intended for 40 players. Given the enthusiasm, we later opened it up to a total of 50 players. The DGRH took into account the potential and limitations of the dam to keep to this number", he noted.
Mamadou Doumbia's concerns about the proper management and maintenance of the site include the water level, which tends to drop during the hot season in Burkina Faso. However, he is pleased that the water level is still at a good level for the time being, despite the fact that we are only a few days away from April, the hottest month in the country.
He also points out that some promoters have asked for the dam to be cleaned out to improve the depth of the hydraulic infrastructure. This would provide a sufficient quantity of water to ensure the long-term viability of the business, with production extending throughout the year. Mamadou Doumbia also points to the lack of a parking lot. This, he says, forces them to park on the road that will soon be paved.
"We had asked the regional management to provide us with a space for this purpose. This would enable us to park our vehicles, temporarily store the fish harvested for sale, and free up the road for traffic flow," pleads the manager of Tanghin's Barrage n°3. He concluded his complaints with a request. That of having a motorboat permanently at their disposal to facilitate their movements to the various cages.
The fishermen, regulars at the dam, are the same ones who help the promoters feed their fry. Grouped together in an association, Adama Congo is their main representative. He appreciates this innovative form of fish farming at Tanghin Dam no. 3, and hopes that God will support them in the success of their enterprise.
"I'm optimistic about the promising future of these floating cages. We are the ones who transport the feed to the various cages to feed the fry according to the instructions given. We also have teams to keep an eye on things," he explains. The president of the Kadiogo fishermen's association encourages young fishermen to work hard. Because success comes at the end of the effort, he reminds us.
This revolutionary initiative, fish farming using floating cages, aims to revitalize the potential of fish farming in Burkina Faso. It was born of the desire of the President of Faso to make food self-sufficiency a reality in the country. The project, financed by the Food Sovereignty Fund, is called "Dumu Ka Fa", which means "eat to your heart's content" in the Dioula language. The project was launched on Saturday July 20, 2024, on the site of the Bagré dam in central-eastern Burkina Faso, as part of the drive for food self-sufficiency.
As a reminder, the Nakambé Water Agency celebrated World Water Day on Saturday March 22, 2025. The theme was "Preservation of water resources, a guarantee of food security and climate resilience in Burkina Faso". On this occasion, the President of the Nakambé Water Agency, Boukaré Sabo, announced a project to clean up the Tanghin dam by 2026.
Source: lefaso.net/
