Fish vendors pictured at the Katima Mulilo Open Market in Zambezi region during a field observation by FAO and MFMR officials. ©FAO

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in collaboration with the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources (MFMR) conducted a field mission and hosted a capacity training workshop targeting small-scale fishers from various communities in Zambezi region.

The workshop and field mission formed part of a series of regional workshops hosted by MFMR with technical support from FAO to complement the ongoing implementation of the National Plan of Action for Small Scale Fisheries 2022-2026 (NPOA-SSF), a first of its kind for Namibia.

The regional field missions and training workshops fall under two FAO projects namely “Implementing SSF Guidelines for gender equitable and climate resilient food and livelihoods” and “Implementing the NPOA-SSF - supporting and strengthening Small-Scale Fisheries Organizations (SSFO) & Capacity development”.

These projects are geared towards improving the organization of small-scale fishing communities at the local level, improving small-scale fishers’ post-harvest processes and supporting gender equitable and climate resilient food systems and livelihoods in the //Karas, Oshana, Zambezi and Kavango West regions.

In Zambezi region in particular, local communities depend mainly on fish for their survival and dried and fresh fish forms an integral part of their basic diet. Fish and fisheries also form an integral part of the culture and economy of many of the rural people with an estimated 5 000 metric tonnes of fish harvested in the region annually according to MFMR.

Inhabitants’ therefore depend on small-scale fisheries for income, socio-economic benefits, food, and nutrition security as well as self, seasonal and paid employment to sustain their livelihoods.

Noting the valuable role that small-scale fisheries play in the lives of the local inhabitants, the workshop’s objectives included improving understanding of co-planning and designing small-scale fisheries structures at the local level to ensure the co-management of small-scale fisheries by fishers and fisheries communities.

The workshop also sought to enhance awareness of the NPOA-SSF amongst small-scale fishers and provided a gender transformative approaches training to ensure that gender mainstreaming approaches are a core part of all future engagements.

Other objectives of the workshop included strengthening links and collaboration with small-scale fishers (both men and women), discussing related initiatives for the development of small-scale sub-sectors and understanding the two voluntary small-scale community fishing committees in Zambezi (i.e. Muyako and Lusu) and how they can be used as good example to form similar committees in other regions.

The field mission was rounded off by a field observation of the Katima Mulilo Open Market (in particular where the vendors sell and trade fish) which sought to assess and identify the small-scale equipment and infrastructure needs of fish vendors to improve their trading conditions.

Over 33 local small-scale fishers (21 females and 12 males) participated in the 3-day workshop.