As Africa’s aquaculture industry develops, the role of smallholder fish farmers is questioned. Smallholder development initiatives often fail to realise impact past the project end date, and development organisations are increasingly looking towards large-scale, international investment-driven businesses as the future of fish farming. Yet, smallholders play a critical role in aquaculture value chains and can provide significant livelihood benefits in rural areas. Service delivery models can provide structured opportunities for smallholders to be included in increasingly formalised supply chains through equitable access to inputs and clear routes to market and effective technical support.
This presentation will describe the results and impact of one such model: an innovative, award-winning approach that goes back to basics has been trialled in Rukungiri in western Uganda, with potential applicability across the African aquaculture industry where smallholders are critical to local supply chains. Unlike donor-driven models that dwindle post-project when funding is exhausted, the approach has been developed as a financially-viable business and supports the development of many other local small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This is a viable, investable business model that relies on understanding local opportunities and responding to the needs of the local market.
The model centres around a local hub that provides the essential inputs for a network of local farmers and, crucially, offers to buy the fish back from farmers and supply into local markets. Hub owners reinforce activity across the value-chain by developing local markets – by ensuring that fish is consistently supplied to markets, consumers gain confidence that fish will be available when they want it. The pilot hub in Rukungiri has been testing consumer preferences for different sizes of fish at different price points, enabling even the poorest consumers to access nutritious food.
Based on local needs, the hub can produce feed and fingerlings, or serve as an aggregation point for supplies from other local companies. The hub also produces its own fish to smooth out supplies to market. The pilot hub has brought innovation in cold chain technology, feed, and production approaches that stretch beyond the core business. Technical support is provided to ensure that farmers can succeed in their own production, which in turn further strengthens local supplies.
Due to the success of the pilot hub, the vision is to create a network of hubs that can support thousands of SMEs and provide millions of nutritious meals to rural African communities. The pilot Hub has demonstrated that this model is an effective, profitable business that is investable, scalable and adaptable to local conditions; and by responding directly to industry and market demands, has the potential change millions of livelihoods.