1. AQUACULTURE ENTERPRISE
Developing commercial aquaculture in Southern Malawi
YOUTH IN AGRICULTURE SUMMIT FOR SOUTHERN AFRICA
3RD - 6TH AUGUST 2015
By Abudala Napuru

2. Presentation Structure
Background
Objectives
Selection criteria of farmers
Project Activities
Monitoring program
Progress registered to date
Sustainability

3. Areas of Operation Blantyre Zomba Mulanje Chikwawa Thyolo Chiradzulu
Phalombe
Working in defined 120km radius – transport and operational costs clearly defined
3 year project running from May 2013 to April 2016

4. Background
AE one of the 15 projects funded by Scottish Gvt Malawi’s Development Programme.
Five partners:
Scotland Malawi Business – Coordination/Finanaces
Institute of Aquaculture Stirling University Technical
Microloan Foundation – Microcredit
Umodzi consulting group – Small business development.
Rationale is working with small numbers of carefully selected “serious” entrepreneurial fish farmers and new entrants
Strict criteria for selecting the fish farmers – ie must have 12 months water supply
Working with local feed manufacturers
Fingerlings supplied to target

5. Background continued Working with local fish feed manaufacturers
MLF loans are for good quality feed and fingerlings
Feed is key cost – 70% of running costs……….
This project gives nothing for free to any of our clients – only advise, support and training………..

6. Strict criteria for choosing farmers
“Doers not talkers”
Fish farmers with an entrepreneur spirit.
Fish farmers must have a 12 months supply of water gravity fed if possible - inlets and outlets in each pond
Farmers whose farm is free from flooding
A minimum of at least 200m2 pond surface
Close to lucrative periurban markets
Farmers who can pay for their fingerlings and feed through a loan if necessary.
Also farmers who are willing to invest some of their own money

7. Types of farmed fish Oreochromis shiranus (Makumba ) 1st Year cycle
Tilapia rendali (Chilunguni) 2nd Year Cycle
Clarias gariepinus Catfish (Mlamba)
Oreochromis karongae (Chambo)

8. Status of fingerlings availability
Working with fish farmers to develop small scale hatcheries

9. Project Planning – working with small number of fish farmers
Year 1 Plan : Work and Support 20 carefully selected fish farmers
Year 1 Actual : We worked with 13 FFs
End of Year 1: We choose 7 out of 13 to work with in Yr 2
Year 2 Actual: We work with 24 Year 2 FFs
and 7 Yr 1 FFs
Year 3 Plan : Select 20 further fish farmers
By end of Yr 3 we intend to work with between FFs

10. What do we want to achieve?
Make smaller scale Fish farming a profitable business
Hapa based production and distribution of higher quality fingerling in targeted districts to make profits.
Transfer technical abilities, skills and knowledge to at least 60 small scale commercial farmers client producers by the end of the project in April 2016.
Improve market linkages, transport and quality of farmed fish in markets - to look for premium prices

11. Project Objectives…… The Team
To develop an input supply and technical support team to manage project activities.
AEM has a team of 4:
1 Technical Manager - ex commercial fish and hatchery farm manager
3 Technical Officers – Background not originally from aquaculture
This team go out on daily basis visiting target fish farmers , monthly test weights, grading , advice on feed , pond fertilization, manuring and water quality

12. Monitoring of fish ponds
The fish are sampled test weighed every month till harvest
Records are kept on food used by each fish farmer
Then calculate FCR s - Important indicator !!!!
Manuring of ponds
Good pond management of fish ponds

13. Sampling ponds at Chilomoni

14. Trainings offered Fish farming as a business Marketing of fish
Internet Training - each ff gets an address and registers on SARNISSA

15. TrainingTarget Fish Farmers

16. Innovatativeness in our aquaculture extension

17. Progress to date harvest.......
Year 2 Out of the 24 fish farmers 8 have harvested – 5
of which can pay back loans and have made profit
Two had theft in their ponds
One could not manage to pay his loan
Remaining 16 will harvest in next 3 months
Harvest fish sold locally in Zomba Blantyre Mulanje –
Prices variable but our clients getting 1500 –2000MKW per kg
Example harvests - Rajab nr Zomba 117kg tilapia in 6mnths

19. Present Challenges……….
Introduction of O. Niloticus not allowed in Malawi though its neighbors are using it
Use of mixed sex fingerlings
Access to materials
Use of sinking fish feed
Access to tried tested and trusted extension services
High interest rates from micro finance
Less involvement of youth in fish farming

20. So…What do we do?

21. The Way to go…..after 3 years and beyond
Use of mono-sex tilapia seed
Access to aquaculture materials and equipments
Allow introduction of good commercial crop species
Increase access to markets
Strengthening and encouraging formation of association will make the fish farmers stronger
Emphasis on record keeping
Access to F F reading material in local language
Shift in the mind set

22. Project dissemination
Project information fliers, briefs, and market/value
chain leaflets project website
Six published case studies-two each year.
Two short project videos on progress of fish farmers
available in hard & DVD formats.
Online news via the project website & forum.
Aquaculture networks-SARNISSA & Aquaculture Hub.
Facebook page– Aquaculture Enterprise Malawi
Articles in national newspapers - Sunday Times

23. Zikomo!!! Thank you!!!