GENDER STUDY IN THE VALUE CHAIN DISCLOSES THREATS AND OPPORTUNITIES

📌 JASMINE SHAMWEPU

GENDER constraints and opportunity study in Lake Tanganyika fisheries Value Chain has explored the root causes of the constraints and identified opportunities and solutions to address them. The study built on the findings from the value chain report as well as other past studies and information. Our fishery feature correspondent attended a 2-day long validation workshop in Kigoma highlights the findings and the focus on the social hotspots identified in this value chain analysis, namely low level of women’s economic involvement in the value chain, unequal division of roles between men and women, and women’s limited access to land.

The aim of the study was to identify a list of measures and solutions that Value Chain actors and other stakeholders can take to improve gender equity in the Value Chain.

The study completed, then the project planned validation meeting held between April 12 and 13, 2023 in Kigoma, Tanzania.  The meeting offered the opportunity to reach a broad network of stakeholders for engagement, capacity building, and communication exchange as well as validate information provided by stakeholders during the study.

The workshop cited lack of reliable market and high poverty level among women around the Lake Tanganyika as the major gender constraints that should be addressed during the implementation phase of the Gender strategy of the Fishing project (FISH4ACP).  

Prof Anna Sikira, the national project consultant and researcher noted more identified constraints including poor road connectivity to fishing villages, lack of modern processing equipment and high poverty level leading to lack of capacity to own resources.

Prof Sikira said high fish prices and low fish catch caused by negative impact of climate change as well as lack of formal financial institutions to provide soft loans to fishers and processors, were among the constraints.

In Tanzania, the implementation of the upgrading strategy project conducted gender study in the Value Chain to feed the gape of the needed information related to gender which was somewhat missing in the analysis.

The study explored the root causes of the constraints and identify opportunities and solutions to address them. The study built on the findings from this value chain report as well as other past studies/information. 

Specifically, the study focused on the social hotspots identifying in this value chain analysis, namely low level of women’s economic involvement in the value chain, unequal division of roles between men and women, and women’s limited access to land. The aim of the study was to identify a list of measures and solutions that value chain actors and other stakeholders can take to improve gender equity in the value chain.

Objectives

During this validation workshop organized as part of the implementation phase of FISH4ACP started in 2022 the research results and findings were presented on the gender constraints and opportunities in Lake Tanganyika fisheries Value Chain to stakeholders to who discussed, validated and received the feedback.  One out of the validation workshop objectives was to initiate the development of a shared vision and core strategic options for the reduction of Gender constraints and unlock their related opportunities in Value Chain on fishery industry.

According to FAO – Tanzania Project (FISH4ACP), the workshop also identified potential communication and awareness activities to be used during the implementation phase of the Gender strategy of the FISH4ACP project.

 Target participants

The workshop attracted over 60 target participants from around the country with particular stakeholders of the Lake Tanganyika sprat, sardine and perch Value Chain in Tanzania, including both from the private and public sectors. These comprise the core Value Chain actors such as fishers, processors, wholesalers, exporters, retailers as well as the providers of inputs and support services for the Value Chain (for example, food, nets, gears, fuel, firewood, ice, water, packaging materials, loans and extension officers), as well as other stakeholders from police gender desk, government organizations, regional fisheries organizations and projects whose work concerns the development of the Value Chain.

 Meeting format

According to Hashim Muumin, the NationaL FAO facilitator, the meeting format was hybrid, with a strong in-person component, where local participants were gathered physically in Kigoma, but providing for virtual participation (via Zoom) by the international team and other stakeholders from outside of Tanzania. “The workshop required strong facilitation at the local level, with the National Consultant (Prof. Anna Sikira from the Sokoine University of Agriculture, Katavi Region Branch, chairing the meeting and the National Project Officer (FAO) providing facilitation support. The Gender Team (FAO - Headquarters) and National consultant delivered the presentations and co-facilitated discussions.

Validation Workshop

The workshop which took place for two days from April 12 to 13, 2023 was held at the WALLET conference facility in Kigoma with an agenda on Unlocking the potential of sustainable fisheries and aquaculture in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific.

In her presentation, Prof Anna Sakira, the National Consultant identified several Fish4ACP outputs including adoptaion of improved processing and cold chain techniques by Value Chain actors, adaptation of improved business models to supply high-value markets as well as increasing compliance with fisheries legislations and increasing women participation.

According to Profesa Sikira, a gender mainstreaming study aimed at coming up with gender-based constraints, their root causes, an implementation strategy to reduce challenges and identify  opportunities and solutions to address the challenges.

The study conducted in Rukwa, Katavi and Kigoma regions involved three to four villages selected from each region for primary data collection using focal group discussions, gender transformative approach, questionnaires and key informant interviews involving traders, fishers, processors, female and male boat owners.

In the preliminary findings, Prof Anna Sakira used gender analysis to identify gender based constraints, highlighted the norms and power relations that cause gender inequalities in the Value Chain.

She reveals that women suffer discriminations in resources ownership and all important decisions are made by men including land ownership, access to fishing equipment as well as restriction in fishing participation.

She said unpredictable weather condition due to climate variability and change affected women through flooding, strong wind, drought and rising of water level. The impact of climate change was visually experienced through low fish catch, destruction of fishers houses, drying racks, and processors buying firewood for processing fishes at a very high cost.

Gender Desk Coordinator from the ministry of livestock and fishery, Upendo Hamidu said the validation workshop reviewed the study report and contributed to the value chain in the Lake Tanganyika urging stakeholders to help address harmful traditional factors still hampering the full participation of women in the value chain around the Lake Tanganyika.

The local community believe on traditional and supernatural  power which impede women to involve in fishery activities as they consider them useful,” noted Upendo adding that lack of gender equality, and gender based violence remain as threats to their livelihood development initiatives.

In an effort to address the challenges, she said the ministry of livestock and fisheries in collaboration with stakeholders has developed a long term strategic plans in place to address the challenges impeding women.

She said the women in the fishery business experienced  myriad obstacles such as abusive languages, wife battery, early pregnancy, childhood marriages, rapping and transactional sex thus upsetting them to run their business smooth compared to men.

More challenges exposed during the study include lack of capital, lack of modern processing equipment due to high poverty level – lack of capacity to own resources and high fish prices caused by low fish catch being negative impact of climate change.

The regional chairperson of TAWFA, Prisca Stephen said women face more countless challenges citing  informal lending of money to fishers due to lack of formal financial institutions to provide soft loans to fishers and processors particularly the women as well as lack of reliable market leading to high poverty level among women as they lack opportunities to access for capitals such as soft loans.

She made clear that poor infrastructure including road connectivity to fishing villages hindered the fishery sector in connection to lack of electricity power, unreliable sources of ice supplies and cold storage facilities in their neighbourhood as well as   power to own land and other productive resources, lack of storage equipment, access to distant and international All these are caused by cultural norms and power relations that exclude women from land and resources ownership. “People still believe in traditions and superstition,” noted Prof Sikira.

Further threats include lack of formal education caused by cultural norms that exclude girls from education while early pregnancy and marriages among girls becoming alarming. The women suffer from much as they lack business skills including record keeping and lack of knowledge on value addition while the government imposing too much government taxes as compared to the size of business.

 Background

FISH4ACP is an initiative of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) contributing to food and nutrition security, economic prosperity and job creation by ensuring the economic, social and environmental sustainability of fisheries and aquaculture Value Chains in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific. It has been implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and partners with funding from the European Union (EU) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

FISH4ACP seeks to enhance the productivity and competitiveness of twelve fisheries and aquaculture Value Chains in twelve OACPS member countries, making sure that economic improvements go hand in hand with environmental sustainability and social inclusiveness.

Commenced in Tanzania in October 2020, FISH4ACP, focuses on the Lake Tanganyika sprat, sardine and perch Value Chain, as one of the twelve Value Chains competitively selected for programme implementation. Value Chain analysis report with upgrading strategy and a detailed project implementation plan were approved for implementation in 2022, with the main project phase to be implemented between 2022 and 2024. The Tanzania Fishery Research Institution (TAFIRI) is the project’s national partner for the Value Chain analysis and project designed in 2021.

The fish species covered in this Value Chain include: sprat and sardine, or dagaa (Stolothrissa tanganicae, Limnothrissa miodon), and perch (Lates stappersii).