NGO pledges support to Mzimba fish farmers
Evangelical Lutheran Development Service (Elds) has pledged to construct 20 fish ponds in Kamanda and Mpandanyali in Inkosi Jalavikuba’s area in Mzimba District.
Speaking on Monday during a meeting with traditional leaders and community members at Kamanda in Enukweni, Elds project officer Gazeli Phiri said the intervention will be in phases.
“After demonstrating on procedures of pond construction, households or cluster are expected to start digging the fish ponds,” he said.
Group village head Kampeya Chiumia asked his subjects to work hard to dig the ponds.
“We want to achieve integrated farming to improve income generation at household level,” he said.
Jalavikuba agriculture extension coordinator Violet Chavula said she was optimistic that the community’s interest in the initiative will lead to the construction of more than 20 fish ponds.
Elds, a development arm of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, is implementing Climate Resilience and Sustainable Food Security Project in Mzimba.
The organisation has identified fish farming as rural food security intervention.
The fish farming component will be implemented in close partnership with fisheries and agriculture technical personnel for compliance to quality and standards.
Findings from a recent Mwapata study established that reasonable profit margins are achievable from individual owned fish ponds constructed to a minimum size of 400 square meters.
