The country’s major fish source, Lake Malawi, extends to Karonga District, but not all areas in the district access fish from the lake. This is because some areas are distant from the country’s biggest water body.

Group Village Head Mwandosha area where Mkungwi Fish farmers have their fish ponds in Traditional Authority Kyungu is one such place which is about 15 to 20 kilometres west of the central business district. The fish project began when some community members in the area decided to beat this fish access disadvantage by establishing fish ponds so that they have the fish on  their door step.

“We wanted to know how to raise fish, so we started the project with one fish pond,” says Mkungwi Fish Farmers Secretary, Leston Mwandosha.

“With the K10, 000 that we contributed, we bought 330 fingerlings,” he explains.

Mwandosha says through MASAF 4 Public Works Programme, two fish ponds were dug with 80 people involved in the work. They were receiving K7200 each in a 24 day work cycle.

Another fish pond was added in 2017. The fish harvest is done every six months and that each harvest earns the farmers about over K100, 000 per a fish pond.

“We use the money from the fish proceeds for buying feed for the fish, the other part is shared among individual farmers in the project, while the other part is invested in the village bank,” he says,‘what we want now is direct market. That would be a game changer’.

The aim of having a village bank (which others call Bank Mkhonde), is to let the money grow by borrowing it to members on interest. “Pond fisheries is cheap, as lake fishing favours boat owners because with the dwindling fish population in the lake, one has to go deep away from mainland to find fish,” explains Karonga District Fisheries Technical Assistant, Richard Kamanga.

He says it is exciting that Mkungwi Fish farmers are planning to have their third fish pond completed with money from sale of their fish.