MALAWI: Fish farms set up in rural communities as extra income for families and to provide a cheeper way for HIV positive people to boost nutrition

Record ID: 1547486

  • Title: MALAWI: Fish farms set up in rural communities as extra income for families and to provide a cheeper way for HIV positive people to boost nutrition
  • Date: 31st August 2007
  • Summary: VARIOUS OF A FARMER GRILLING FISH (2 SHOTS)
  • Embargoed: 15th September 2007 09:56
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Malawi
  • Country: Malawi
  • Topics: Health,Economic News
  • Reuters ID: LVACHBVFT7DHINS8LTACSKF6VDSF
  • Aspect Ratio: 4:3
  • Story Text: Fish farms are being set up in rural communities as extra income for families and as a cheaper way for HIV positive people to boost their nutrition.
    Fish has traditionally been a large part of most diets in Malawi, especially since the country is blessed with Lake Malawi and other bodies of water.
    But over-fishing has in recent years caused fish stocks to decline and many people have been forced either to switch to other sources of protein - if they could afford it - or go without. Now that HIV infections rates are at about 14 per cent and most people in Malawi live on less than a dollar a day, fish farms are becoming a popular source of income and nutrition.
    "The proceeds from here are helping the orphans and my own children," says Jama Mandisoni, a small scale fish farmer.
    A few years ago World Vision, the Malawian Department of Fisheries and WorldFish teamed up to promote aquaculture among small-scale farmers in Malawi. They encouraged farmers like Mandisoni to use low-cost technology and simple methods like feeding the fish with farm waste or filling the ponds with rain water.
    During a farm tour World Vision's Malawi Officer, Esau Mwendo Phiri, explained how the latter was helping to provide local people with fish.
    "this is the water that they use in their fish ponds and in their crops, irrigating their crops. And this has assisted them to have adequate water, no seepage because you see they have used plastic so there is no seepage at all."
    Records show that families engaged in fish farming consumed 150 per cent more fish, and that malnutrition in children under five dropped from 45 per cent to around 15 per cent over three years.
    Dr. Daniel Jamu, the WorldFish Director for Eastern and Southern Africa, revealed that fish farming was a good way for people looking after sick relatives to earn money. He said: "The cycle of HIV/AIDS has resulted in loss of labour on households and we wanted to increase incomes of HIV affected families by giving them the high value product which is fish.
    These families are either those that are supporting the chronically ill patients or are keeping orphans whose parents have died of HIV/AIDS."
    WorldFish also says that small-scale farmers can benefit from aquaculture by also using their ponds as water reservoirs from irrigating crops and get good fertilizer after cleaning the ponds.
    "We want to boost up aquaculture and that is exactly what is happening in the field," says Annie Nyirongo, a research officer with the government's Department Of Fisheries. "A lot of people are being engaged in aquaculture. So long at last it will be a lot number of people to benefit from this research."
    The major problem the government now faces is are how to spread the word more quickly and provide adequate support to the many small-scale farmers across the country who may now decide to start breeding fish as well.
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