The Department of Agriculture of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) in the Effia-Kwesimintsim Municipality of the Western Region has begun training women fish processors to link catfish farmers and catfish processors along the value chain, especially fish smokers. This is part of the department’s efforts to improve post-harvest handling and processing skills for women fish processors along the catfish value chain in the area.
The first batch of 15 participants was schooled on market strategies including smoking, selling, packaging in transparent boxes, and good labeling.
The Municipal Director of Agriculture, Mr. John K. Gyimah mentioned that the training was to increase the knowledge of participants on catfish processing and also to create market linkages. This, he added, would promote value addition and also increase overall income after sales, reduce dust contamination and flies, and that innovations would ultimately improve the standards of living of fish processors.
“The Department of Agriculture sees a lot of prospects along the catfish value chain and continues to encourage more youth to venture into tarpaulin catfish farming and subsequent fish processing, let’s change our way of marketing to attract more customers,” Mr. Gyimah advocated.
He further urged fishmongers in the Western Region to add new marketing strategies to boost their market, adding that, the assembly was doing its best to develop some innovations to improve the living condition of every market woman.
This innovation was to reduce the scarcity of fish products during closed seasons for marine fishers, he said, stressing that “we don’t want a situation whereby after catfish production, there are no buyers or processors, indeed, we need to expand the frontiers of the catfish value chain.”
The participants expressed their appreciation to the agric department for the renewed efforts to add value to catfish production and urged other fish processors to participate in the training programs so that they could increase prospects, and improve their businesses and incomes.
