Stirling to aid Malawi fish farmers and budding entrepreneurs

A Scottish Government grant of £241,000 will help them move from subsistence aquaculture to viable economic activity by providing training and formal qualifications in business and technical skills. This new programme of “entrepreneurship in Aquaculture” will comprise focused short courses targeted at college and university graduates and progressive farmers. It will design and demonstrate serviceable fish culture systems and also provide networking opportunities, support, and advice on accessing markets. Stirling’s Dr Krishen Rana, an internationally recognised expert in the development of aquatic resources, explained: “There is an urgent need to commercialise small-holder aquaculture in Malawi, as subsistence farming cannot meet the demands of urban and regional markets, and offers little opportunity to generate surplus income that will improve the wellbeing of farmers. “This project aims to provide food security to vulnerable communities by tackling the bottlenecks that are preventing commercialisation in Malawi, and promoting small-holder aquaculture as an agribusiness to a wide range of people, irrespective of age, gender, ethnicity, religion and disability.” Working with the Bunda College of Agriculture, University of Malawi, Natural Recourse College and Malawi College of Fisheries, Dept of Agriculture, the project will develop their capacity to deliver targeted training in entrepreneurship for farmers and secondary producers. “We also anticipate that the staff at these tertiary institutions will benefit through an enhanced capacity to deliver new information,” Dr Rana added.