Women are involved in several activities throughout the small-scale fisheries value chain in Uganda. They are often engaged in post -harvest handling, processing, branding, and marketing. However, limited access to and control of key assets such as capital, skills and technologies limit their engagement in formal fish-related businesses. This greatly restricts their ability to take advantage of new opportunities at regional and international fish markets . The Uganda National Women’s Fish Organization (UNWFO) with support from GIZ through the Responsible Fisheries Business Chain Project conducted practical training in environmentally friendly and innovative fish processing techniques and best practices in fish handling . A total of 1,455 trainees from 15 districts attended the business trainings. The business trainings were conducted in the 15 fishing districts on Lake Victoria namely: Bugiri , Buikwe , Busia, Buvuma , Jinja, Kalangala, Kalungu , Kampala, Masaka , Mayuge , Mpigi , Mukono, Namayingo , Kyotera, and Wakiso. The participants included boat owners, fishermen, fish traders, fish processors, and fish by-product processors. The training sessions were divided into theoretical sessions aimed at providing trainees with background knowledge on the personal hygiene, fish processing practices, record keeping, and transportation and marketing of fish products followed by practical sessions, aimed at equipping trainees with practical skills on fish value addition . It is anticipated that the training will reduce post-harvest losses hence making artisanal fish processing and trade more profitable for social-economic development of fisher communities.
Keywords : fish, fish processors, fish trade, training