Through its headquarters in Zambia, WorldFish attended the 95th Agriculture and Commercial Show, which took place in Lusaka from August 2–7, 2023. The event, which annually draws more than 200,000 people from all segments of the supply chain, including farmers, agribusinesses, investors, and regulators, gave the center an excellent chance to present its work and interact with a range of stakeholders.
The exhibition’s topic for this year was “Inclusive economic transformation.” The development and scaling of sustainable feed for resilient aquatic food systems in Sub-Saharan Africa (FASA) project, financed by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, was primarily highlighted by WorldFish while showcasing its numerous programs.
The innovations and technologies under the project, applied across Kenya, Nigeria, and Zambia, were greatly welcomed by the local fish farmers and prospective fish farmers who visited the booth, especially given the rising cost of fish feed. The president had urged stakeholders to turn the agriculture industry and its connected ecosystem into successful economic operations that would especially assist smallholder farmers and everyone else along the value chain. The inventions echoed his demand.
Anna Songolo, the permanent secretary for Zambia’s Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, was one of the notable visitors to the booth. She showed a strong desire to comprehend the idea of creating fish feed with cutting-edge regional components. She also emphasized the necessity for fish powder and indicated interest in using it to promote fish consumption.
In addition to interacting with stand visitors, WorldFish spoke about the FASA project and its importance on the radio, on television while the show was being covered, on Facebook Live, and during a special appearance on live television on Farmer’s Day on the final day of the show. Arthertone Jere, Victoria Nkole, and Lizzy Muzungaire, scientists and experts with WorldFish, met with the media on Prime Television and Joy FM radio.
The presentation presented by WorldFish illustrated how to use research to build a robust aquatic food system for inclusive economic development. Visitors to the booth included Mbamwai Mbewe, director of fisheries and livestock, as well as fish farmers, university students, and academics.
The visitors showed interest in the research being conducted by WorldFish to alter aquatic food systems and gained knowledge about the FASA project’s feed formulation, the Aquaculture Enterprise Development Project’s genetic improvement research, and the projects FishFirst! and Nutrient-rich Small Fish Production, Processing, and Marketing in Myanmar and Zambia (SPM) that focus on the nutrition aspect of the aquaculture value chain.