Global Workshop on Nutrition-sensitive Fish Agri-food Systems 5-8 December 2017, Siem Reap, Cambodia

1. Women, Waste and Nutrition: the fish
value chain (Case of Lake Victoria)
Richard Abila, Senior Technical Specialist
Fisheries and Aquaculture, IFAD

2. Presentation
Brief about IFAD Fisheries & Aquaculture (3 mins)
Women, Waste and Nutrition in the fish value
chain (in Lake Victoria)
 Historical context
Present situation
Gaps
Key issues

3. • UN & IFI
• Instruments
Financial – Loans & grants
Non-financial - Technical, Knowledge, Policy
• Commitments
 Country ownership - Priorities, implementation
 Rural, small holders
 Targeting - Poverty, gender, youth
 Food & Nutrition focus**
 Sustainability – Economic & financial; Environ. & climate

4. IFAD Fisheries & Aquaculture Programmes
F&A Loan Projects = 35; Average cost = 15.5 M
• 20 Partners
Grants: • WorldFish - 5 projects;
*10 countries
• WFF/WFFP/ICSF
- 8 countries
Loan Programmes

5. 30%
8%
57%
• Why Lake Victoria?
 People
 Lake Basin - 35 m
 Fishers - 210,000
 Post-harvest - 1 m
 Fisheries
 Production - 1 m MT
 Value - $ 850 m
 Export - $ 300 m
Women &
Nutrition*****
*
**

6. 1990s
Peak of Nile perch fishing & exports
 50% of children around lake had
iron and Vit A deficiency
 Nile perch wastes & omena (80%)
for fishmeal
 Innovations by women on Nile
perch by-products
 Role of fish for nutrition??
2003 – Proposal on omena nutrition
project

7. What has changed?
 Fish catch composition
- Dagaa vs Nile perch
 Some innovations in value chain
- higher value products for supermarkets
- Simple solar technologies e.g. racks
 Aquaculture & imports
 Women participation & incomes?

8. Hardly changed..
Technologies - fishing, handling, processing
Post-harvest losses (40%) ??
- Technology
- Infrastructure
- Market access
- Practices
Fish utilization
- Use for fishmeal (70%)??
- Socio-cultural biases
“Poor people’s food”

9. Gaps
 Nutritional values - Nutrient analysis and
contribution to household protein intake
- processed (dried, fried etc.); Fresh fish?
 Quantifying post harvest losses – How much, how
and where?
 Food safety risks - Microbial, parasites and
contamination – What? Where? Controls?
 Technology – for handling, storage, processing and
value addition (e.g. solar- based)
 Socio-cultural practices/ biases??

10. Aquaculture vs Capture fisheries?
– Fish for fishmeal?
Post-harvest losses
- Technology, infrastructure & market access
Fish import or technology transfer?
Dr. David Little: “Is it time to end the Mola
madness in Asia??”
“Is it time to transfer the Mola
madness technology and culture to
Africa??”
Key issues for Women & Nutrition