Title: Feasibility of aquaculture in Carmeroon: the case of the Noun division in the West region

The purpose of this project is to assess the feasibility of aquaculture in Cameroon. To achieve this, operations of small-scale polyculture fish farming of mixed-sex Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) with African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) in the Noun Division West Region of Cameroon are used. A production planning model and a profitability model were applied to analyse operations of production. This was made from the formulation of assumptions based on secondary data collected. 12 ponds of 0.5 hectares and 400 m2 each were used. 0.5 ha is the average water area a dedicated technical labourer can efficiently follow for the different aquaculture operation in this semi-intensive pond culture. To assess the feasibility of this project, all the cost needed for the production were estimated and projected for a ten year planning horizon. This time horizon was selected to allow adequate time to evaluate the indicators of the investment returns and to measure the risk. One major objective of this study was to determine if aquaculture in the Noun Division (Cameroon) is profitable as the result of the economies of scale through the cash flow generated by the business over the year. From the findings, it appears that aquaculture in the Noun Division is feasible given: the positive NPV and the IRR of 19% and 24% greater than the discounting rate of 15% (used in this study as the minimum rate) respectively for the NPV Total Capital invested and for equity. In addition, a payback period obtained is nine years. The Debt Service Coverage ratio is around 2 on average; this shows the ability of the investment to generate substantial cash flow and the repayment of debt at the time required. The impact analysis shows that aquaculture business is more sensitive to the sales price than costs.