Moving Women Out of Poverty through Value Addition of Lake Chilwa Matemba

MOVING WOMEN OUT OF POVERTY THROUGH VALUE

ADDITION OF LAKE CHILWA MATEMBA

Background

Areas of Focus

Challenges

Next Steps

Reducing Poverty and Hunger by

Improving Fisheries and

Aquaculture

Moving Women Out of Poverty through Value Addition of Lake Chilwa Matemba

Fish normally referred to as “rich food for

poor people” contains proteins, vitamins,

micronutrients and essential fatty acids

that improve human development.

Nutritional value is especially high for

small fish which are eaten whole. It is

particularly important in low income food

-deficient countries like Malawi,

providing 20% of animal protein in a

typical diet.

Fish is continually becoming a scarce

commodity for most Malawians; with

per capita consumption declining,

currently at 4kg/person/year. However,

the production of small species such as

matemba, usipa and utaka has been

increasing. They are preserved through

drying and smoking in very unhygienic

conditions exposing the products to

BACKGROUND

microbial and insect infestation. None of these products are properly

packaged and therefore not accessible to consumers through non-

traditional outlets such as shops and kiosks. This gap is filled by Kapenta

which is imported from Mozambique, Zambia, Tanzania and Uganda. In

2011, Malawi imported 910.8mt of smoked and dried fish valued at

US$784,802. This was against 47.6mt (US$157,019) of exports of dried

fish (mainly usipa and matemba) in the same year.

It is evident that the country would potentially save on foreign exchange

by promoting domestic consumption of dried fish over imported dried

forms of fish. In this effort, the WorldFish Center through the Lake Chilwa

Basin Climate Change Adaptation Project (LCBCCAP) with funding from

the Royal Norwegian Embassy has embarked on building resilience of

local communities to climate change impacts. The WorldFish Center is

supporting women processors to adopt and implement fish value

addition activities in Lake Chilwa focused on fish quality and hygiene and

packaging. Value addition ensures availability of good quality Matemba

that can withstand market competition in non-traditional market outlets.

The fish is dried in hygienic environments such as solar tent driers and

smoked in energy saving kilns. It is packaged in attractive and labelled

plastic packets sold in urban markets at affordable prices substituting the

importation of Kapenta. Packaging not only promotes consumption of

health foods but also increases product shelf life. This ensures a stable

supply of health fish products which in turn result in stable incomes for

the women traders.

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Solar tent fish drier in the

Lake Chilwa Basin

Capacity Building of Producer Groups

The women processors are trained in hygienic handling of food products, qual-

ity control, grading, branding, labelling, and packaging of processed Matemba

to conform to MBS standards. The women also receive training in business

planning, pricing, marketing and group dynamics

The Ministry of Trade and Industry through the One Village One Product

(OVOP), Malawi Bureau of Standards (MBS) and the Department of Fisheries

through the Fisheries Research Unit are the key partners in this effort.

Promotion of Improved Fish Processing Technologies

WorldFish Centre is promoting solar-tent fish driers and fuel efficient fish

smoking kilns as technologies for processing small fish. Solar-tent fish driers

ensure that fish is sun-air dried in an environment of reduced microbial

contamination. On the other hand, improved fish smoking kilns, which use

about 53% less firewood as opposed to traditional methods of smoking fish,

ensures that women process fish at reduced costs to: (i) their personal health

(due to reduced exposure to smoke ingredients), (ii) businesses and (iii) the

environment.

Marketing

Value added Matemba from the women processors are now widely available

for sale in various retail stores in Zomba, Mulanje, Blantyre and Lilongwe.

There is evidence of increased sales revenues with value addition. There is

evidence of increased revenue of between 200 - 380% with value addition.

Moving Women Out of Poverty through Value Addition of Lake Chilwa Matemba

Women fish processors during

training the Lake Chilwa Basin

Customer buying the Value Added

Lake Chilwa Matemba

AREAS OF FOCUS

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There is increased demand for the packaged

Matemba; implying that women processors now

require high capital for purchases in order to meet

the demand.

Distribution is yet another challenge to ensure

wider market coverage. Wide distribution through-

out Malawi requires an experienced distributor.

Uneven playing field: Some shops are still selling

fish products that are not certified by MSB.

There is need for infrastructure development like

expansion of processing units to meet the growing

product demand, proper fishing gears and post

harvest loss management through icing.

CHALLENGES-ad an introductory state-

ment

For further details contact: Dr. Daniel JAMU

Email: d.jamu@cgiar.org

The WorldFish Center— Malawi Office P.O. Box 229, Zomba, MALAWI.

Phone (+265-1) 527 344/ 337/ 195

Fax: (+265-1) 527 344 Email: worldfish-malawi@cgiar.org Website: www.worldfishcenter.org

Moving Women Out of Poverty through Value Addition of Lake Chilwa Matemba

NEXT STEPS –add an introductoru state-

Linking women processing groups with financial

institutions. In the interim. a revolving fund has

been established to boost the women processors’

low capital.

Linking with entrepreneurs who can distribute the

product throughout the country.

Formation of ice making groups to reduce post

harvest losses thereby increasing supply of value

added Matemba on the market.