Fishermen get business training in Jinja

FISHING|BUSINESS|FISHERMEN

JINJA - A total of 42 people from fishing communities around Lake Victoria in Uganda have undergone five days of training in business skills and sustainable use of water resources.

The group selected from 347 applicants for the Responsible Fisheries Business Chains Project (RFBCP), was also awarded over €12.4m (about sh50m) in form of technical and material support.

"The competition has helped us identify and stimulate small and medium businesses in the fisheries sector," Joseph Bimuka, the trainer said at the closure of the training at C'Sand Hotel in Jinja city on Saturday (November 28, 2020).

Adolf Gerstl, the project leader explained that the RFBCP is meant to identify and award innovative and profitable fisheries businesses in Ugandan districts around Lake Victoria.

The competition targeted people in six categories; boat builders, boat owners, local fish processors, fish by-product processors, fish traders, and fish cooperatives/associations, he said.

There were 18 winners, the best three from each category with the best in each receiving sh5m, second sh3m, and the third sh1m.

Winnie Nkalubo, a scientist from the National Fisheries Resources Research Institute (NaFIRRI) commended organizers of the competition, saying it adds value to the sector. 

Nkalubo challenged the participants to utilize skills gained to lift themselves out of poverty.

Leah Nekesa, one of the participants from Masaka noted that the competition encourages improvement in quality and industry growth and requested that it is done annually.

RFBCP is the brainchild of the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), supported by the German Government's ministry of economic cooperation and development.

According to Gerstl, RFBCP is partly meant to help fishing communities adopt best fishing practices to curtail depletion of the lake which could occasion losses in the sector.

He noted that for a long time, fish stocks and catches of Nile Perch on Lake Victoria decreased and factories accepted immature fish, which made Uganda Fish Processors and Exporters Association (UFPEA) launch inspections to ensure compliance.

"As a result, undersized fish processed in factories reduced thus improving the value of fish exported from Uganda. It rose by more than 29% from $120.7m in 2016 to $155.99m in 2019," Gerstl said.

The project started in October 2016 and will run up to March 2023. It operates on Lake Victoria, mainly in Uganda, with regional outreaches in Kenya and Tanzania.