A Summary Document of Kick-Off and Mobilization Meetings

Abstract

FishFirst! Zambia aims to increase quality/quantity of fish benefitting nutrition and food security in Zambia, especially for women of reproductive age (WRA; ages 15-49 years) and children in the first 1,000 days of life (<2 years). The objectives of FishFirst! Zambia are to:1) Assess current state of small pelagic fish harvesting, processing, and trading activities from point of catch through processing to local and distant markets for sale in rural and urban areas; 2) Identify social and gender barriers to entry and/or participation in these value chain activities for the different actors, particularly women and youth; 3)Assess how small pelagic fish are accessed by different consumer groups and consumed within households; 4) Explore potential of upgrading the small pelagic fish value chain via improving processing, storage, and trading methods to reduce post-harvest losses and improve food safety;5) Develop and test nutrient-enhanced Complementary Food for Africa + dried fish powder (ComFA+Fish) products/recipes for enhanced nutrition particularly benefiting WRA and children <2 years in vulnerable households and 6)Explore options to scale the production and dissemination of the ComFA+Fish products/recipes with private and public sector actors, particularly women and youth entrepreneurs.