Eco-friendly kilns help Malawi’s fish curers cut losses

Closing his eyes as he battled smoke wafting from fish-smoking kilns in entrance of him, Issah Amin put extra wooden into one among seven ovens at Chikombe seashore, a fish-landing web site on Lake Malawi.

“This is one of the hardest parts of this work,” Amin mentioned, his eyes teary as he poked the firewood to stoke the flames and remedy the fishlaid out on wire mesh on a platform created from bricks.

“But if I don’t do it, I won’t take the fish to Lilongwe (Malawi’s capital),” he mentioned as he sat again to look at the flames. “It will be rotten and my business and my livelihood will be dead.”

On seashores alongside Lake Malawi, the nation’s largest fishing floor, and different fishing websites throughout Malawi, this laborious and smoky curing technique is the norm.

However the strategy will not be solely back-breaking and unsafe to well being, additionally it is wasteful. Excessive firewood consumption and important post-harvest losses plague the business.

A study assessing the financial affect of post-harvest fisheries losses discovered staggering wastage: 43% on the seashore, 54% throughout processing, and 69% throughout advertising.

Whereas the economic losses could also be comparatively modest, the research warned of excessive potential for health risks and lack of dietary worth.

Researchers launched a undertaking in 2024 to cut back these losses and enhance the livelihoods of processors.

They developed fashionable fish-smoking kilns, that are clear, enclosed techniques that retain warmth, eat much less firewood, and are straightforward to function.

James Banda, principal investigator on the undertaking, mentioned the kilns are environment friendly at eradicating moisture and considerably cut back smoking time.

“The kilns can process 100 kg of fish in two hours,” he mentioned.

Banda mentioned the kiln was designed to gather fish oil that drips out throughout smoking—an added by-product that processors can promote or use, rising the worth of their work.

The kiln controls warmth and smoke distribution and ensures the fish are evenly smoked, leading to higher style, texture, and an extended shelf life, in keeping with Banda, who can be a principal analysis officer within the Ministry of Agriculture.

“We designed the new kilns with better hygiene standards, reducing contamination risks and ensuring safer fish products,” he added.

“These advancements make the modern fish smoking kiln a valuable upgrade for improving productivity, quality, and sustainability in fish processing in Malawi.”

Poverty discount

In line with Malawi’s 2021 Annual Economic Reportfish contributes over 70% of dietary animal protein for Malawians and 40% of complete protein provide.

In 2020, greater than 65,000 folks had been employed as fishers, whereas one other half one million folks had been not directly employed within the business, via actions akin to fish processing, fish advertising, and boat constructing, the report says.

Banda believes the sector holds actual potential for poverty discount.

“Improved fish processing methods will help value chain actors, such as women and youth, to mitigate their vulnerability and adapt to extreme shocks and fish losses, boost their productivity and improve their livelihoods,” he mentioned.

The undertaking is working to succeed in 500 direct beneficiaries in Mangochi, one among Malawi’s key fishing districts, aiming to chop post-harvest losses by 15% and enhance kiln adoption by 15% by 2026.

Ellack Dyton, an extension employee on the undertaking, has been coaching fish processors on kiln development, use, and fish dealing with from touchdown websites to markets.

“So far, the response has been impressive,” Dyton mentioned. “What has endeared the technology to the processors is reduced firewood and less labor because now they can put fish in the kilns and engage in other activities.”

Hee admits {that a} “change of mindset” remains to be wanted, including: “When innovations like this come up, some will always hesitate to adopt. But there is significant interest to adopt this technology and that encourages us.”

Scaling up

Environmentalist Charles Mkoka, who has labored on fish-processing initiatives in Malawi, says the know-how provides enormous market potential.

“The process assures food safety standards for local and regional markets,” mentioned Mkoka, who’s the manager director of the Co-ordination Unit for Rehabilitation of the Surroundings, or CURE, a neighborhood environmental group.

He says it means processors can faucet into export alternatives throughout the Southern Africa Growth Neighborhood or Widespread Marketplace for Japanese and Southern Africa.

He added, “Such improved applied sciences cut back labor and well being burdens and create extra income-generating alternatives, particularly for female-led cooperatives and youth enterprises.

“What now remains is to build their capacity and support formation of women-led and youth-led cooperatives for knowledge sharing and economies of scale.”

The researchers say they now intention to unfold the know-how to extra touchdown websites throughout Malawi.

“Our aim is to share with other districts across the lakeshore to enhance quality and safety of smoked fish products while reducing losses,” mentioned Banda.

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