Karonga Council wants people to eat more fish
Karonga Fisheries Department has drilled care groups in Senior Chief Kilupula in the district in making fish sausages to promote their fish consumption levels.
Speaking during the event on Saturday, Karonga district fisheries officer William Chirwa said the initiative seeks to teach community members different food recipes with fish as a main ingredient.
He said for a long time many people living along the lakeshore have failed to consume fish because their focus is on making money.
Said Chirwa: “This initiative ensures that infants, pregnant and breastfeeding mothers consume adequate amounts of fish.
“This is in line with the Fisheries Department policy of increasing fish per capita consumption to around 14 kilogramme (kg) per person by 2025.”
He said despite the country having many lakes and rivers with several species of fish, the level of fish consumption is still at 11.6 kg per capita, according to the 2017 survey conducted by Food and Agriculture Organisation.
Karonga agriculture, food and nutrition officer Keston Sinkhonde advised the care group members to utilise the skills to prepare fish meals for their families.
He said stunting among children in the country is a result of lack of knowledge on how to prepare nutritious food.
Lusibilo and Chimwemwe care groups promoter Gift Mvula welcomed the initiative, saying it will promote their farming in the area.
He said: “We missed such type of knowledge and skills to boost our farming.
“We catch a lot of fish, but we did know that we could make sausages, porridge and biscuits from the fish.”
The training was supported by Sustainable Fisheries, Aquaculture Development and Watershed Management Project and FAO’s small-scale fisheries project.
