Scientists in Uganda have developed a new fish smoking kiln for fish preservation. The kit will potentially save hundreds of fish farmers from cancer-related traditional smoking methods.

Women, who are at the heart of smoked fish business in the East African country, will now get off inadequate local ovens and switch over to the new factory level kilns.

Unlike its 1970s cement predecessor, the new kiln is on an industrial scale, with a metal frame body. It has an iron handle that iterates the rate of fan revolution, which helps augment incoming air. Researchers think it could preserve fish for at least 60 days.

Scientists made this upgrade with the help of the Uganda National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO). 

John Yawe a scientist with the research body hailed the breakthrough with these words: “the polycryclic aromatic hydrocarbons..(from burning fine fuels are at the heart of) increased cancer cases.” 

The NARO kiln had its first run in March, 2023 after which developers begun to prepare it for commercialisation. In September, 2023, the dream has finally come true for many fish farmers in Uganda. 

Its history goes back to March 5, 2021 when the government commissioned it for private fish processing. Now, private fish processing industries can live the dream and increase revenue due to the kiln’s industrial qualities that traditional ovens lack. 

The World Health Organization puts the maximum safe parts per billion (ppb) for cancer-causing agents like wood smoke at 2ppb. With fish smoking ovens, however, these parts per notation are in the range of 40,000ppb. The new kiln brings new parity to the equation for it disburses as few as 0.88ppb. 

Though not all wood is harmful, some trees whose logs burn in traditional fish smoking routines maybe poisonous. 

In 2018, the United States placed a ban on smoked fish, especially catfish from Nigeria, among other African nations. One of the technical reasons for the ban was the traditional method of preservation that posed safety questions. 

The commercialisation of the industrial fish smoking kiln in Uganda could, therefore, be a game-changer. Export prices in the lucrative U.S. smoked fish market are usually higher than local ones. Fish meat in Uganda currently costs just 5000 UGX ($1.36) a kg in September, 2023. 

This means that the new fish smoking kiln will bring Ugandan women more revenue than they earn presently.

Uganda’s aquaculture authorities predict that freshwater fish production will in the near future hit 1.7 million tonnes per annum over the current 570,000 tonnes (2021 figures).