Netting success from fishery scheme |
Members of Kampasule Fish Farming Club are benefiting on the double from their innovative fish breeding programme.
For the 14 strong group, who each have small fish ponds on their farms at Kampasule village in the Kalembo project area in Southern Malawi are reaping the dividends not just from the sale of tilapia to a local fish processing company, they have also started to harvest tomatoes, leaf vegetables, bananas and sugar cane from horticultural activities being undertaken in the vicinity of their ponds.
The project, initiated back in 2004 by four enterprising local farmers had struggled for a number of years, and members ponds were in poor repair when they linked up with Self Help Africa, and in turn with the state Fisheries Department and a local arm of the World Fish Centre, three years later.
Group membership, which was increased to 14, received training and technical backing from the projects, and while each of the members was assisted with the construction of new ponds,they were also encouraged to participate in a sustainable wetland management course.
The first fruits of their revived and expanded endeavour were seen in late 2008 when the sale of more than 4,000 fish stock yielded over €250 for the Kampasule Fish Farming Club. This was bettered in each of the first and second harvest in 2009,and at the beginning of 2010 the 14 members shared a dividend of more than €750 when they sold in excess of 12,000 fish to the Maldeco Fisheries Company.
And a further benefit has been seen from the enterprise in the harvesting by members of guava, banana, mango, sugar cane and assorted horticultural crops that they planted in the vicinity of their ponds, three years ago.
With the added income that the farmers are now earning, two of the members have bought goats, one has used his money to build a new home, while a fourth has purchased an additional quarter-acre, to expand his land. |
