13.01.2025
Higher yields and incomes, better nutrition
Aquaculture schemes can secure food and higher incomes. GIZ supports sustainable fish farming in Zambia.
More fish than ever before: in Zambia sustainable pond aquaculture is improving many people’s lives. It has helped 9,000 businesses to markedly increase their fish production, while 26,000 people have acquired fishing licences and almost 1,000 Zambians have doubled their income. In addition, the people there now also have a healthier diet. On behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH works with local partners to support sustainable fish production in Zambia.
Today, Theresa Oposhi (54), a single mother and grandmother from the village of Chitamba in northern Zambia, has eight ponds in which she produces around 20 kg of fish per month. ‘Fish farming enables me to meet my basic needs and those of my grandchildren,’ she says. The family members cook some of the fish for themselves. The rest is sold. Oposhi uses the income to buy fertiliser for her field of maize, fish food and food for the family – a self-supporting system.
She learned everything she needed for this in a training course lasting a few weeks. She learned how to farm and market healthy fish. This enabled her to expand her four ponds to eight and to make them particularly climate-resilient, so they will also stand up to extreme weather events such as droughts and rainstorms. They are now larger and deeper, their walls are more stable, and the water is distributed through pipes. Oposhi would like to produce even more in the future. She also encourages other villagers to start fish farming.
Sustainable aquaculture as a key to food security
Alongside fish farmers, GIZ and its partner organisations have trained local advisors and training providers. They support the fish farmers continuously. Furthermore, new local dam committees comprising representatives from the villages now ensure that everyone uses the water from small reservoirs equitably.
Progress has also been made on hygiene. GIZ has supported the Zambian Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock in developing and introducing new control standards. Fish products are now processed and stored in ways that improve their quality and storage lifetimes – which is important given the high temperatures in the country.
