Seasonal loans and marketing training
lead to aquaculture success for
small-scale farmers in Sierra Leone

Finding markets for the first major tilapia harvest

Besides limited access to credit, most farmers who take up small-scale aquaculture have little knowledge about the best ways to market and sell their harvest.

From January to March 2018, just before harvest time, the 65 farmers worked with the SAP project to research different avenues to sell their fish, such as in guesthouses and local and district markets.

“We checked and analyzed prizes at different markets and did research to understand what buyers are demanding, which helped us to improve on our management practices for better fish growth” – Hawanatu Sankoh, woman farmer, Magbaft community

After carrying out the research, farmers helped develop advertisements and jingles for airing on local radio stations to promote their products.

Thanks to these efforts, the farmers were successful in finding markets for their tilapia harvests. The farmers capitalized on a niche for fresh tilapia in the local markets, which are traditionally dominated by smoked and dried marine fish. This was the first time that fresh tilapia was sold in these volumes in the local markets, providing a welcome income for the former subsistence farmers.

The success of the marketing efforts was also evidenced by 60 of the 65 farmers fully repaying their loans (a 92.3 percent repayment rate) and the remaining five making partial payments.

The farmers also produced enough fish to keep part of their tilapia harvests for home consumption, with amounts ranging from 8 to 26.3 kg per household.

For 37-year-old woman fish farmer Kumba Bangura, participating in the SAP project has been life changing.

“We have found a new way of life doing fish farming. At first, we thought it was difficult and risky since the practice is new, but now we know it is worth the risk and I’m happy to be part of the project,” says Kumba, who lives in Bumbuna community in the Kalansongoia chiefdom.