AfDB project boosts Malawi fish farming
The Sustainable Fisheries Aquaculture Development and Watershed Management Project strengthens Malawi's fish farming sector with advanced infrastructure and training.
MZUZU, MALAWI — The African Development Bank (AfDB)-funded Sustainable Fisheries Aquaculture Development and Watershed Management (SFAD-WM) Project has made it possible for the Mzuzu Aquaculture Centre (MAC) to source an appropriate genetic pool from fish founder populations on Lake Malawi, writes Charles Mkoka.
The support will be used to source an appropriate genetic pool from fish founder populations on Lake Malawi and to install a new state-of-the-art fish feed mill at the Luwinga Industrial Site.
The MAC conducts research and training in fish farming, and the new support will help to improve the quality of the centre's research and training programmes.
David Mbamba, Officer-In-Charge of the MAC, said that the support from the AfDB is "a game changer" for the fish farming industry in Malawi.
He said, “The new support will help to increase the production of quality fingerlings, reduce post-harvest losses, and facilitate market-oriented intensification along the fisheries value chain."
The AfDB support is part of the Sustainable Fisheries Aquaculture Development and Watershed Management (SFAD-WM) Project, which is a five-year project that commenced in 2020 and is scheduled to end in 2024.
The project's goals include improved fisheries and aquaculture productivity, reduction of post-harvest losses, and facilitating market-oriented intensification along the fisheries value chain.
The SFAD-WM Project is a significant investment in Malawi's fish farming industry, and it has the potential to transform the sector.
The project is already having a positive impact on fish farmers, and it is expected to have a much larger impact in the years to come.
With the feed mill up and running, Malawi will save on foreign exchange. Previously, the fish feed was imported from neighbouring Zambia.
This will result in increased productivity of fish farming in Malawi.
Comparative advantage would suggest Malawi should be a large fish producer including in exports. The lake and large rivers should be well managed and fish ponds also. This investment should be an enabler of the same. Reduction of post harvest losses seems to be easy pickings to begin with. Hopefully there is a monitoring system which evaluates the success of this investment, or not.