The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Secretariat through the Programme for Improving Fisheries Governance and Blue Economy Trade Corridors in the SADC region (PROFISHBLUE Project) on 20th March 2025 handed over a refrigerated truck to Twiyule Fish Farmers’ Cooperative from the Republic of Malawi.
Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) from six SADC Member States, namely Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe were competitively selected for the award of the refrigerated trucks. This is one of the PROFISHBLUE Project’s interventions to support women and youth SMEs to improve the quality of the fish being distributed and reduce post-harvest losses in the fisheries sector.
The six SMEs that have been awarded a grant of refrigerated trucks are the National Network of Women in Fisheries in Madagascar (RENAFEP-MADA) from the Republic of Madagascar; Twiyule Fish Farmers’ Cooperative from the Republic of Malawi; Associaçǎo De Processadores de Peixe Fresco de Tebone (APPEFRET) from the Republic of Mozambique; Bukasiga Fishing Cooperative Society Limited from the United Republic of Tanzania; African Women Fish Processors and Traders Network (AWFISHNET), Zambia Chapter from the Republic of Zambia; and the Zimbabwe Fish Producers Association (ZFPA) from the Republic of Zimbabwe.
The handover ceremony which was held in Lilongwe, Malawi, was presided over by Minister of Natural Resources and Climate Change of the Republic of Malawi, Honourable Dr Owen Chomanika and the SADC Deputy Executive Secretary for Regional Integration, Ms. Angele Makombo N’Tumba. The ceremony was attended by Senior Government officials, representatives of beneficiary SMEs from the SADC Member States and officials from the SADC Secretariat which included the Director of Food Agriculture and Natural Resources at the SADC Secretariat, Mr. Domingos Gove.
In his remarks, Honourable Dr Chomanika hailed the PROFISHBLUE Project for the support of the refrigerated trucks to the selected SMEs in the fisheries sector and highlighted that the refrigerated trucks will, in addition to the supporting the optimal management of post-harvest losses of fish and fisheries products, contribute to the food and nutrition security, create employment and, ultimately, reduce poverty.
The Minister urged the recipient groups to make the most use of refrigerated trucks by ensuring that fish products reach markets in optimal condition and to use this opportunity to grow their businesses, contribute to food and nutrition security and sustainable development of their communities and the entire SADC region.
On her part, Ms. Angele Makombo N’Tumba congratulated the beneficiary SMEs which comprise about 93 percent women and 53 percent youth for successfully competing and qualifying for the award of the grant from PROFISHBLUE Project in the form of refrigerated trucks.
Ms. Makombo N’Tumba highlighted that the handover of the refrigerated trucks marks an important step in the SADC’s collective quest to reduce post-harvest losses in the fisheries sector which are estimated to be about 40 percent, a situation that undermines the fisheries management efforts and affect the level of utilisation of aquatic food products in the regional value chains.
The SADC Deputy Executive Secretary expressed optimism that the refrigerated trucks will help to reduce the post-harvest losses of aquatic foods, thereby increasing fish consumption and income, and ultimately, contributing to regional efforts of transforming and sustaining the food systems in the SADC region.
The PROFISHBLUE Project is a four-year project which commended in 2022 and will come to an end this year, 2025 and is funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB) to the tune of US$10.14 million with the aim of promoting sustainable management of fisheries resources within the blue economy context to improve food and nutritional security, create employment through value chain activities, facilitate intra-regional trade, and build adaptive capacity against climate change and other external shocks.
In implementing PROFISHBLUE initiatives, the SADC Secretariat works in partnership with the African Organisation for Standardisation (ARSO), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), WorldFish and Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF).
The six SMEs underwent training on governance, finance, asset management and post-harvest practices of fish and fishery products from 17th to 20th March 2025 to build their capacity in the management of their organisations and assets efficiently.
