Learn how feed and survival drive the economics. Before you ever run a cage, learn to calculate feed conversion and cost per kilogram of fish grown, because feed makes up about three-quarters of the cost and drives most of the profit. Build the model above on a spreadsheet and test it. Cut survival by a fifth, raise the feed price by a fifth, and see how far the return falls. The exercise shows how much each change cuts the return, and it is a useful skill for a first job or a first cage.
Costs and prices move with the wider economy, in both directions. Ghana’s inflation fell from 23.5 percent in January 2025 to 3.2 percent in March 2026, the lowest since the 2021 rebase, and stood at 5.0 percent in August 2026, with food inflation at 3.0 percent.141516 The Bank of Ghana held its policy rate at 14 percent in July 2026, and the average bank lending rate was about 15.9 percent in August.1711 The cedi, which strengthened through 2025, lost about 9.5 percent against the US dollar in the year to 17 July 2026.17
Feed is the imported part of a fish farm’s bill. Some finished feed is imported, and local mills buy fishmeal, soya meal and premix priced in dollars. So far, 2026 prices have favoured the farmer. De Heus cut its tilapia grower prices, with the 4 mm grower in Kumasi falling from GH¢226 a bag in January to GH¢210 in September, while the Chamber’s farm-gate price for gutted 300 to 400 gram tilapia rose about 16 percent over the same months.184199 This could reverse, so re-cost feed and fingerlings before every stocking, keep a cash buffer against both a price fall and a cost rise, and prefer supply and offtake contracts that fix the price or tie it to costs.










