Prior to the CultiAF Expanding Business Opportunities Project interventions, most business in the fish value chain in the Barotse Flood Plain of Western Zambia was largely informal (AEH Mapping Field Report, March 2016). Eight projects: Marana Cooperatives; Tambalala Cooperatives; Zambezi Cooperatives; Lingh General Dealers; Liyoyelo- Zambezi; Liyoyelo-Lyambai; Mbeta Island Integrated Farming and Wayama Cooperatives were selected and supported through entrepreneurship training and mentorship.
Twenty seven business projects participated in the CultiAF business proposal competition. 8 projects were selected and promoters trained in entrepreneurship in mentorship alongside the mentors. Out of the 8 projects, four won investment grant awards to a total value of USD15,000.
Wayama Cooperatives.
Wayama Cooperative of Senanga district is involved in fish processing and marketing. The Cooperative constructed one 10metres by 4m and one 5 metres by 4 m solar tents at Matula fishing camp to provide fish drying services to fishers, Fig.1. Matula fishing camp is one of the fishing camps with high fish catches. Unfortunately, due to the high water levels during the 1917-1918 rain-season, the solar tents got partially submerged in water making them unusable. The water level is only expected to subside by end of August 2018. Until then the solar tents cannot be used. As a consequence, only K600 was realised from solar tent drying services by the cooperative after investing ZMW15,000.
Zambezi Cooperatives- Mongu Delicatessen
Zambezi cooperative registered a business partnership called Mongu Delicatessens with ten members of the cooperative representing the cooperative as partners. Mongu Delicatessens ventured into salting, smoking and packaging of fish.
Mongu Delicatessens appeared to have had some serious organisational challenges, even though it is a partnership. According to Mr Albert Mulanda, the mentor for this group, Mr Sichali the team leader never involved other partners in the operations of the company. Mr Sichali has been gone to Chipata in Eastern province to buy groundnuts. Its not clear when he will return to Mongu and doesn’t answer phones. Like in the case of Wayama Fisheries, there is no information on the amount of fish processed, packaged
Mbeta Island Integrated Farming.
Mbeta Island Integrated Farming is located on Mbeta Island in Sioma district. The project has introduced two eleven thousand capacity fish cages into the Malengaula Lagoon for fish farming. Twenty-two thousand fingerlings were bought from Lusaka and introduced into the cages in February 2018. Two thousand of the fingerlings died. The project had to wait for a long time to acquire fingerlings. The project will be harvesting the fish about end of August 2018. Outcomes from this project will be clearer after the fish being farmed is harvested and sold.
Lingh General Dealers.
Lingh General Dealers initially had two fish ponds. The company now has three fish ponds within Mongu. The fish ponds were due to be stocked with fingerlings in July 2017 but could not due to challenges in the supply of fingerlings. Fingerlings were only supplied in May 2018 from the Kaoma hatchery of the Fisheries department. The ponds were stocked with 6,700 fingerlings of which about 600 died as a result of a fungal disease, apparently due to the cold. Harvesting will be done sometime in October 2018. According to Ms Lina Mahamba the proprietor, Lingh General Dealers has employed 7 people of which 6 are women.