With the support of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the President of the Republic of Mozambique has launched the PRODAPE project in Chitima, Tete Province. It aims at the reduction of poverty and financial boost of more than 88,000 rural small-scale fish farmers.
IORA member, Mozambique is home to a wide variety of fish to be farmed and helps to address the country’s nutritional challenge. However, aquaculture development in the country has been challenging due to the lack of access to fish feed, seeds, and financial services.
Regional Director for East and Southern Africa Division of IFAD, Mbago-Bhunu says, “Fisheries and aquaculture are key elements of the Blue Economy and Agenda 2030. The sector contributes to food security, nutrition and employs 60 million people. This US$49 million project aims to support the transition of the aquaculture sector from subsistence to commercial production, underpinned by the involvement of small-scale farmers, particularly women and unemployed young people ready to embrace aquapreneurship”.
PRODAPE will create jobs and income-generating opportunities for rural people in 23 districts in seven provinces and promote a range of sustainable fish production technologies such as earthen ponds, use of solar and wind-generated energy along the cold chain, fishponds integrated with livestock and crops, and cage culture in large inland water and modern aquaponics systems.
This new project will play a crucial role in integrating small-scale fish farmers into the aquaculture value chain and facilitate access to low-cost financial services through the ongoing IFAD-supported Rural Enterprise Finance Project in Mozambique.
Source: New business Ethiopia