Gender Inclusive Financing for Scaling up Improved Fish Processing Technologies in Malawi

Abstract

The “Gender Inclusive Financing for Scaling up Improved Fish Processing Technologies in Malawi” project was formulated around promoting wider use of improved fish processing technologies namely: Solar tent dryer and Improved smoking kiln (fish smoker). The need to scale up and out of these technologies follows the designing and piloting of these technologies through phase 1 of this project, “Improved Processing and Marketing of Healthy Fish Products in Inland Fisheries in Malawi”. Evidence from the project has shown that improved fish smoking kilns and solar tent dryers are environmentally friendly, effective and economically viable fish processing technologies that require scaling. This strategy provides an array of approaches and methods to overcome various constraints (especially financial capacities and information) that will result in increase of numbers of actors in the value chain and volume of processed fish. Apart from promoting the adoption of the improved technologies, this strategy outlines an innovative communication system that will be a vehicle for disseminating information for adoption. The communication messages will be created utilizing gender-transformative approaches to transform the underlying power inequalities, and social norms with the aim of ensuring increased participation of women and youths. It also looks further on providing best practices for measuring the impact of the scaling approaches especially for women and youth that have for a long time been neglected on accessing new technologies and controlling their own or household incomes