Thriving in the Male-Dominated World of Aquaculture

In the heart of Butembe village, where the ripples of Lake Victoria meet the shores of ambition, Catherine Nalukwago is making waves in aquaculture in Uganda. As Yalelo Uganda’s Hatchery Manager, this 27-year-old is leading the charge in a sector traditionally dominated by men. But unlike the fish she oversees, Nalukwago is not just swimming along with the current—she is flipping the script, ensuring that women have a place in Uganda’s rapidly growing aquaculture industry.

In Butembe Village, Nyenga Division, Njeru Municipality, Buikwe District, we arrive at the gates of Yalelo Uganda’s Production Facility. Established in 2019, this facility has quickly become a leader in sustainable food production in Uganda, specialising in tilapia farming in the open waters of Lake Victoria.

At the security checkpoint, we undergo rigorous biosecurity protocols. Handwashing is mandatory and must be repeated at every farm entry point. Additionally, we step into foot baths filled with chemical disinfectants and are informed that only closed shoes are allowed to maintain strict sanitation standards. We are then escorted to meet our interviewee, Catherine Nalukwago, Yalelo Uganda’s Hatchery Manager.

Her warm and engaging demeanour immediately puts us at ease. She introduces us to a colleague who guides us through the health and safety measures to follow during our visit. Aquaculture in Uganda is a rapidly expanding sector, driven by the growing demand for fish as a vital source of protein.

This growth is also a response to the depletion of wild fish stocks in natural water bodies, such as Lake Victoria, where the fish population has declined significantly over the past twenty years. This sector plays a crucial role in enhancing food security, creating employment opportunities, and generating income. The primary species cultivated are Nile tilapia and African catfish, with other species produced on a smaller scale.

Yalelo is a pioneer in African aquaculture, combining local resources with world-class practices. The name ‘Yalelo,’ derived from a Bantu word meaning ‘for today,’ serves as a reminder that the company supplies fresh fish daily. When Yalelo started, it aimed to address the region’s animal protein shortage.

As the company grew, it drew valuable insights from its sister company in Zambia, which has over a decade of experience in production and processing technologies. Yalelo ensures that their fish receive only the highest-quality feed, which provides a carefully balanced diet that promotes health and delivers a great taste. The feed formulation includes soy, maize, and wheat.

Unexpected Path

Nalukwago, born and raised in Kampala, Uganda, works with Yalelo Uganda in Buikwe District, where she relocated after her university education. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Fisheries and Aquaculture from Makerere University—a field she never imagined pursuing. Sceptical about the potential rewards of aquaculture, she once doubted its viability, and her friends would jokingly refer to her future as that of a fishmonger.

‘Due to the significant knowledge gap in Uganda, the potential of aquaculture is often overlooked by those who do not believe fisheries is a subject worthy of formal study,’ she explains. In January 2020, she began her journey with Yalelo Uganda as a graduate trainee, undertaking a six-month training programme that she describes as the start of an exciting adventure.

Her keen interest in learning about new technologies in the sector is what led her to Yalelo, a company she found uniquely committed to investing in Uganda’s aquaculture industry. Her research revealed that the company’s founders were Dutch—renowned for their agricultural expertise—which further piqued her interest. Intrigued and inspired, Nalukwago accepted the trainee position and has never looked back.

She vividly remembers her first day, arriving to find a bushy, undeveloped site. The founders painted a vision of the future: a landscape transformed with ponds and infrastructure. At the time, it seemed like mere imagination to the trainees, but that vision would soon become a remarkable reality.

During her training, Nalukwago gained hands-on experience in aquaculture practices. She learned how technology was integrated into operations through advanced systems like Aqua Manager and weather stations to predict climatic conditions. She absorbed knowledge about efficient management techniques and technological tools shaping modern aquaculture.

Out of a cohort of 100 graduate trainees, only ten were hired—Nalukwago among them, and notably the only woman in a predominantly male sector. Six months later, she secured a full-time role as a Hatchery Supervisor. In this position, she oversaw critical operations, including fry collection, feeding, transferring fish between units and into the lake, and managing feeding logistics.

Her first day on the job taught her a quick lesson about the practical nature of her new career. Dressed in office pants, she quickly realised that farm work demanded more rugged attire—and promptly invested in suitable farming gear. In addition to overseeing operations, she managed recruitment, human resources, health and safety, and scheduling, often juggling responsibilities in a still-developing, less-structured environment.

Their biggest initial challenge was setting up the hatchery. With the fish not yet accustomed to their new surroundings, the team had to maintain a natural environment while managing disease, temperature control, and minimising stress for the fish. Fortunately, Eric Smet, a mentor and trainer, was brought in to assist with the hatchery setup.

Learning Curve

By 2021, their efforts paid off—survival rates, which had initially been low, soared to between eighty and ninety percent, marking significant progress in the department. With the hatchery operations stabilised, the next step was implementing strict biosecurity protocols to safeguard the fish from potential health risks. These measures were essential to ensure the fish remained fit for the market and were protected at all costs.

Key protocols included foot baths and handwashing at every entry point within the premises. Visitors who had recently visited other farms were denied entry to avoid any risk to the fish’s health. Restricted areas within the hatchery were carefully managed to prevent accidents, and swimming lessons were introduced for all employees.

Additionally, all employees were required to hold at least a certificate or diploma in fisheries and aquaculture and possess foundational knowledge of fish. In 2021, under the mentorship of Esobel Jean, Nalukwago earned a promotion to Hatchery Team Lead. She embraced the new role with enthusiasm, overseeing the supervisors responsible for the most critical and challenging sections, such as fish feeding and water quality.

This role provided Nalukwago with the perfect opportunity to merge the knowledge she gained in school with the practical realities of the industry. She describes this period as one of trial and error, where she learned valuable lessons from her mistakes, a process she fondly refers to as the beauty of working at Yalelo. With time, she became adept at planning and understanding which seasons were optimal for specific activities.

Her leadership capabilities were quickly recognised, and she was promoted to Assistant Hatchery Manager. Shortly after, in 2024, she became the Hatchery Manager, making her the youngest manager among her peers. This new responsibility, overseeing all hatchery operations, initially left her uncertain about her ability to contribute to the facility’s objectives. However, her dedication and hard work soon proved invaluable.

Reflecting on her journey, Nalukwago is proud of her growth at Yalelo, a company that has allowed her to learn and evolve. She credits mentors like Marc Verkuijl, the technical director, who continually encouraged her to strive for improvement. Today, she can accurately predict fry collection, estimate the number of fish to be caught, and determine what is market-ready, among other activities.

Breaking Barriers

As a leader, Nalukwago has inspired many women to step forward and join Yalelo. Today, 25 percent of the workforce is female, excelling in various roles, particularly in the fry collection unit. Women’s gentleness, often attributed to their nurturing nature, proves advantageous when handling the young fish. Yalelo aims to increase female representation to thirty percent by the end of the year.

They believe female staff perform equally well, if not better, in certain areas, especially as engineers and on the lake. They are also of the opinion that a gender-balanced and diverse team performs better. This highlights the potential for women to thrive in male-dominated sectors, much like Nalukwago, who was elevated to a higher position within the company.

Increasing female participation in aquaculture holds significant potential for inclusivity, diversity, and sustainable entrepreneurship. It empowers women economically, generating income, reducing poverty, and creating entrepreneurial opportunities in fish processing, marketing, and value-added products.

The company has created numerous job opportunities and partnered with organisations like the Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU) to generate employment for young mothers and youth, helping them launch their businesses and benefit from Yalelo’s brand. Additionally, Yalelo has successfully reduced the cost of its fish, making it more accessible to consumers, especially since tilapia is widely consumed and a rich natural source of protein.

Yalelo is a prime example of entrepreneurial innovation, having built its vertically integrated aquaculture platform from scratch. Confronted with a lack of local infrastructure, the company developed each stage of the value chain independently. This included creating a genetics programme to address the absence of local breeding initiatives, establishing a hatchery to produce baby fish, and constructing a farm on Lake Victoria to grow them.

Every material was imported, and the entire farm was designed in-house. Yalelo also established a processing facility, enabling direct processing from the lake, and created a retail network with 25 outlets, allowing them to sell fish directly to end consumers. Yalelo sells approximately 800 tonnes of fish monthly, equating to over 1.5 million fish.

One-third of this supply is sold in Kampala, another third is exported to Kenya, and the rest is distributed across other regions in Uganda, including Fort Portal, Mbarara, Mbale, and Jinja. It even reaches the borders of Congo, where demand continues to grow. Uganda’s aquaculture sector has experienced remarkable growth over the past two decades, contributing significantly to the country’s economy and food security.

Blue Potential

Production in aquaculture in Uganda has increased from 2,360 tonnes in 2001 to 103,737 tonnes in 2018. By 2021, aquaculture production reached between 44,000 and 46,000 metric tonnes, accounting for up to 22 percent of Uganda’s total fish production, with the rest coming from capture fisheries. Yalelo employs around 700 staff members, of whom 695 are Ugandan, with the majority being young people from neighbouring communities.

Half of the employees are from the three nearby villages. The company also recruits from universities like Makerere University, offering a graduate trainee programme. This training is open to students graduating in aquaculture and anyone eager to learn and work. Yalelo further supports its employees by giving them unpaid study leave to European universities to pursue master’s degrees in aquaculture, with the option to return to their position once they have graduated.

The studies equip them with new knowledge to apply and enhance the company’s growth. According to Nalukwago, the future of Yalelo exceeds what she envisioned when she first joined as a graduate trainee, particularly with their ambitious expansion plans. ‘I am excited about how far we can go with our mission of providing affordable fish protein to all households and how Yalelo will become the biggest powerhouse in Africa for supplying fish protein,’ says Nalukwago.

Lastly, she encourages young people and women to join the aquaculture sector and remain focused, despite the challenges they may face. ‘Learning never stops. I am finally enjoying what I studied and love working here,’ she says.

Uganda holds immense potential to become a leader in aquaculture in Uganda, with its abundant water resources and growing demand for fish. However, realising this potential requires significant investments in research, infrastructure, and policy reforms. While banks have been hesitant to invest due to perceived risks, Yalelo’s success story proves aquaculture in Uganda can be both profitable and transformative.

Aquaculture in Uganda is not just about fish farming; aquaculture in Uganda is about creating jobs, ensuring food security, uplifting rural communities, and driving sustainable economic development. By scaling up efforts today, Uganda can secure a healthier, wealthier, and more resilient future for its people.

Edited by “Pius Okore”