Players in the aquaculture sector say lack of funding is affecting their growth as low supply of fingerlings and fish feed continues to restrict fish production.
The situation, according to Innovative Fish Farmers Network Trust chairperson Lucky Penemulungu, threatens the survival of the sector, which is only producing 14 000 metric tonnes (MT) of fish against the demand pegged at 100 000 MT.
He said although the country has technical capacity in both production of fingerlings (artificial breeding of fish) and fish feed, lack of capital is a huge constraint.
Penemulungu, who is a fish hatchery operator, described the sector’s main challenges fingerlings, fish-feed and financing while highlighting the latter as key to unlocking investments in feed and fingering production for import substitution and increased fish output.
He said: “Currently, as a nation we are producing six million fingerlings, but the demand is at 14 million. As an umbrella body for fish farmers, we know how to produce fingerlings and we have producers of feed.
“All we need now is organisations such as Agriculture Commercialisation [Agcom] to give us finance. Once we get the finance, we are going to produce more fingerlings and feed.”
Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries Department deputy director Chris Nyasa said in an interview on Wednesday that the concerns are valid, adding that the department is working with partners such as Commercial Agriculture for Smallholders and Agribusiness to increase aquaculture inputs such as feed and fingerlings through local production.
He said: “Fish production is low at the moment compared to our population.
“We are currently relying more on imports of feed from countries such as Zambia, which is expensive.”
Nyasa said promoting aquaculture is critical and is one of the objectives under the Malawi 2063, the country’s long-term development plan, to contribute towards pillar number one on agriculture productivity and commercialisation.
Agriculture for Smallholders and Agribusiness country manager Innocent Thindwa said in an interview on Wednesday that they have partnered a number of organisations to understand growth constraints and what should be done to unlock the sector’s potential.
He said the programme is being run under the market systems approach, which seeks to understand what is happening in the fish value chain.
Said Thindwa: “We will understand who are the actors in aquaculture and understand what are the growth constraints and also understand who are the drivers for change.
“Using that, we will devise strategies and interventions to support the action.”
In his 2025/26 National Budget Winding up Statement, Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs Simplex Chithyola Banda said an additional K1 billion has been allocated to fisheries department for aquaculture growth promotion.
According to Malawi Government Annual Economic Report 2025, the fingerling production estimate for the year 2024 has declined by 42.5 percent to six million while aquaculture production stood at 14 300MT, which is way below the demand.
“In terms of aquaculture fish production, about 14 301MT are estimated for the year 2024, which is an increase of 53 percent from 9 321 metric tonnes produced from fish ponds and cages in 2023,” reads the report in part.
The fisheries sector comprises capture fisheries, aquaculture and aquarium trade sub-sectors, according to the report, adding that the sector provides employment to most of the fishing and fish farming households in the lakeshore fishing and fish farming districts.
The sector indirectly employs over half a million people engaged in ancillary activities such as fish processing, fish marketing boat building, fishing nets mending and engine repair, with the entire fish value chain supports about 1.6 million people.
