Mangochi Fish Farm
Update Fall 2011
Solace fish farm continues successful production.
Production of fingerlings at the Solace Mangochi Fish Farm has again met with success as Ayub Aziz has renewed yet another contract with the USAID-funded distributor C-Fish International has taken delivery of nearly 200,000 fingerlings. The project is now fully self sustaining. >> read more
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Due to years of mismanagement and lax fishing laws, fish stocks in Lake Malawi have reached the point of near collapse – threatening an important source of food for Malawi. Additional crisis of drought, malaria, and one of the highest rates of AIDS in Africa, are creating critical food instability for the 2nd poorest country in the world. In response, Solace has created a fish-breeding program to produce baby fish, or “fingerlings” to supply regional fish farmers with stock for “fattening” into fish for market.
In 2006 Ayub Azizi brought his family from Afghanistan to Malawi to manage this program. As in Afghanistan, Ayub proved a tireless and reliable manager. He has overseen the development of a fully functioning fish farm in a region where previous attempts funded with millions of dollars in foreign aid, have failed.
The ponds were finally completed in late 2007. In March of 2009, Solace negotiated a contract with the NGO C-Fish to supply 500,000 fingerlings for the fish farmers in the region. The amount was reached by calculating worker's salaries and other operating costs of the Mangochi Fish Farm for 15 months. This contract is worth $35,000.
Manager(s):
Ayub Azizi
Costs/Finances:
$30,000 initial investment in excavating ponds and designing irrigation channels, construction of pump house and water system, purchase of a vehicle and renovation of housing for the Azizi family.
Current state:
• Successful production of 100,000 fingerlings as of March 2009
• A thriving chicken farm which provides meat and eggs for local sale, and fertilizer for the fish
Projected benefits: A partnership agreement has been reached with C-fish, an NGO working in aquaculture development to supply 500,000 fingerlings for their projects. The agreed upon sum of $35,000 will fund all staff and operational costs between now and August of 2010.
Labor: 10 full-time employees
Challenges: There is currently a potentially hostile business climate surrounding fish farming development in Malawi. Tens of millions of dollars in aid have been poured into the industry in the last ten years – with very little to show for it. By succeeding with so little funding, where so many others have failed with so much, Solace could draw the ire of organizations with far more financial and political capital. Solace is therefore shouting quietly about Ayub’s success.
