With the declining number of wild fish caught in lakes and rivers, fish farming is becoming an important alternative in many countries across the world.
In Malawi and other African countries, however, there are challenges to raising fish, with unreliable markets being the most significant. As we see in our Script of the week, one problem is that small-scale fish farmers cannot meet the demand of established and reliable markets such as supermarkets and hotels.
If you choose to use this script as inspiration for creating your own programs, you could talk to fish farmers and others, and ask the following questions:
• Do many farmers raise fish in your country?
• How do farmers in your country market their fish? Fresh or processed? What do consumers prefer?
• What species of fish are liked by consumers and raised by farmers?
• What roles do the government and NGOs play in ensuring that farmers have markets for their fish?
• Do fish farmers sell their produce as a group or as individuals?
• What other challenges do fish farmers face in marketing their produce?
As well as speaking directly to fish farmers and other key players in the local agricultural sector, you could use these questions as the basis for a phone-in or text-in program.