WWW.WAS.ORG • WORLD AQUACULTURE • MARCH 2024 43 accompanied by rapidly declining natural fisheries stocks, which can thus be leveraged by increasing production from safely implemented small-holder fish farming (DoF 2020; Nkhoswe et al. 2023). The significant impact that accommodating women’s participation in the aquaculture value chain would have was justified by Sakala (2011) and CSO (2016), who stated that womenheaded households are among the poorest, with poor living conditions and a high prevalence of food insecurity. However, Krishnan and Peterburs (2017) lament that less than 10% of the workers in the agricultural and fisheries (agribusiness) value chains are women and young people. Land is one of the important aquaculture assets that rural women have limited access to or ownership over. Additionally, men typically possess other assets like shovels, hoes, and wheelbarrows that are used to build or maintain ponds. Given the limitation of access to land and water, particularly among young women, youth participation in fish farming in rural areas is still debatable (WorldFish 2014) due to the hardships involved in accessing capital. Additionally, few women and youths in Zambia manage to obtain loans for capital using land as collateral due to their lack of ownership (Byamugisha and Ansu 2017). Zambia, like most Sub-Saharan African nations, is struggling with high rates of unemployment among women and young people. Approximately 60% of Zambian youths are unemployed, thus posing a substantial challenge to the nation’s future productivity considering that more than half of its population is below 20 years of age (Mukosa et al. 2020). Genschick et al. (2018) suggest the utilization of fish farming as an entrepreneurship opportunity to offer employment to both youths and women in Zambia. With support from the African Development Bank, the Citizens Economic Empowerment Commission’s (CEEC) national program, known as the Zambia Aquaculture Enterprise Development Project (ZAEDP), is encouraging citizens, especially youths, to access loans for fish farming (DoF 2020). Although the sector already employs approximately 13,000 people along the value chains in diverse activities, there is still low youth participation in most of the provinces in Zambia. The majority of those who are engaged in fish farming are working in groups after accessing investment capital funds through the CEEC (Kakwasha 2021). Farmers with other sources of income, such as wage employment or businesses besides fish farming, are likely to better manage their fish farming activities than those without (Nkhoswe et al. 2023). In terms of participation, the majority of the fish farmers are over the age of 40, and are mostly retirees now taking up fish farming (Machina et al. 2018). Mwango et al. (2016) reported that males predominate in fish farm ownership. Only 22.2% of women are predicted to own fish farms in the present poll, compared to an estimated 48% national participation in agriculture. However, FAO (2016), points out that only 16% of fish farms in Africa are owned or run by women. This situation is not unique to Zambia but occurs in other SSA countries as well. Low participation by women in aquaculture can be linked to the high investment demands and labor-intensive nature, as reported in Tanzania (Luomba 2013). Women’s engagement in fish farming is adversely impacted by a lack of accessible technologies. Women are either too poor to be proprietors of a business, are too preoccupied with traditionally branded feminine household duties to venture into their businesses fully, or are simply not granted permission from their spouses (Machina et al. 2018). To some extent, studies have revealed most youths perceived fish farming and fishing as an unprofitable, dirty, and laborious career, confirming most of the literature on the subject (Gellner et al. 2019; Nkhoswe et al. 2023). The majority rarely see the sector beyond farming. As such, they have no interest in taking it up as a long-term career. Most young fish farmers were identified as those who were already engaged by default (family background) but were contemplating diversifying into different sectors should opportunities arise (Fischer and Qaim 2011; Machina et al. 2018). In addition to this, other developmental factors such as poor transport networks and infrastructure (storage and preservation) remain a problem in fish supply chains, in both Zambia and Malawi, hence, the population lacks ready access to fish (O’Meara et al. 2021). When fish reaches people from a distance (i.e., from the initial source, such as Lake Malawi), it is in the form of dry (CONTINUED ON PAGE 44) The main challenges include socio-cultural norms, the lack of access and opportunity, the gender gap, and the low recognition of their contribution. The main opportunities include the potential for expansion, food security and income generation, and the integration of the sector into development strategies.
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