WISHH strategic partner, Rathada Farms Hatchery, has placed the first fish in Cambodia into an in-pond raceway aquaculture system, which is a channel for continuous flow of water to grow fish. Importantly, the raceway offers a more controlled environment to care for the fish, including feed them soy-based feeds like those manufactured by another WISHH strategic partner in Cambodia.

Missouri farmers’ soybean checkoff funds supported WISHH technical assistance in the planning and construction of the raceway aquaculture system at the Rathada Farms Hatchery. The family-owned business breeds tilapia and catfish. Rathada raises the fish through the “seed” and fry stages before selling fingerlings to fish producers in the region.

WISHH leveraged the Missouri soybean checkoff investment by integrating Rathada’s strengthened fish-production capacity into WISHH’s USDA-funded Commercialization of Aquaculture for Sustainable Trade (CAST) – Cambodia project. Rathada has an important role in educating farmers about this new production technology, along with cooperating with CAST. The hatchery and fish farm will host demonstrations for other farmers to learn improved fish management practices, including the value of soy protein and other nutritional benefits of floating fish feed.

Watch: See how water continuously flows to fish inside Cambodia’s first in-pond aquaculture raceway at Rathada Farms Hatchery that demonstrates the value of soy protein and other nutritional benefits of floating fish feed.