CSA-CIS MSD workshop report focusing on aquaculture

Abstract

WorldFish, in collaboration with the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), hosted a multistakeholder dialogue (MSD) platform at a workshop held in Mansa, Luapula Province, on April 28, 2022. A total of 78 participants, 31% of whom were women, attended the workshop. The Accelerating the Impact of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA Zambia) project launched an MSD in February 2022 to share ideas on how to scale climate-smart aquaculture (CSA) and climate information services (CIS). The workshop in Mansa was one in a series of meetings planned for the AICCRA Zambia CSA-CIS MSD platform. This particular MSD workshop focused on aquaculture, especially issues related to (i) financing for smallholder farmers and small- and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) in the face of climate change, (ii) benchmarking and credit worthiness of a smallholder fish farmers, and (iii) sharing practical experiences from integrated fish farms, the Aquaculture Development Association of Zambia (ADAZ) and banks. In addition, participants also made a field visit to an integrated fish farm in Samfya District, Luapula Province.

The theme of the MSD was aquaculture markets (input and output) and financial access and inclusion. Representatives from the following institutions attended the workshop: ADAZ, Mpeni Farm, Luapula provincial fisheries officer, NATSAVE, and Agribit. They all made presentations on various topics related to the aquaculture value chain, sharing their ideas and experiences along the value chain and regarding access to fish markets and farmed fish productivity and profitability. The presentations generated a lot of discussion among the participants.

Mpeni shared lessons and experiences on integrated aquaculture-agriculture (IAA). The farm has eight fishponds with an average size of 800 m2 each, a banana plantation of 8 acres, and other crops and livestock, including dairy cattle, goats, sheep, poultry, pigs, assorted fruits and vegetables. The farm uses a solar plant as its primary source of power and stressed that this has significantly reduced the cost of production as it is off-grid and, at the same time, reduces the disruption of production resulting from power cuts from the national grid. Mpeni also emphasized the need to use green technologies, such as solar energy, and practice better management practices (BMPs), like using high-quality seed/fingerlings and feeds. The presentation generated discussion around fisheries standards to ensure that smallholder farmers are given access to high-quality and resilient fingerlings from hatchery operators. Other issues discussed included water licenses and fish species zoning.

SMEs said that the water management authority (WARMA) had introduced water rights, and the fees for getting the license were not clear for commercial and non-commercial users. Regarding fish species zoning, the farmer representatives wondered why the government continued not to allow farmers in the north to farm fish species such as Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus), which grow faster than longfin tilapia (O. macrochir) and Tanganyika tilapia (O. tanganicae). SMEs insisted that longfin tilapia and Tanganyika tilapia were neither good nor commercially viable. Participants said that Nile tilapia gave commercial players an upper hand in aquaculture markets, allowing them to lower the price of farmed fish at the peak of competition, which affects smallholders.