New Era Newspaper

New Era Epaper
Icon Collap
...
Home / A fish in every pot… Namibia Fish Consumption Promotion Trust plays its part

A fish in every pot… Namibia Fish Consumption Promotion Trust plays its part

2022-04-29  Eveline de Klerk

A fish in every pot… Namibia Fish Consumption Promotion Trust plays its part

The local fish trade not only promotes the consumption of fish in Namibia but it is an economical vehicle that addresses unemployment, entrepreneurship and food security in the country.

Hence, access to quality and affordable fish are key to many Namibians, who have become part of the supply chain in both urban and remote areas in Namibia.

The Namibia Fish Consumption Promotion Trust (NFCPT), for the past 21 years, has proven to be a critical link between consumers and entrepreneurs, thereby not only granting ordinary Namibians access to the county’s natural resources but also alleviating poverty and unemployment. 

Every day, hundreds of people all over the country visit NFCPT fish shops, where they buy various fish species in bulk for the purpose of reselling or simply to feed their families.

Unemployed Thomas Levi from Swakopmund says he buys horse mackerel in bulk, which he resells at his home shop in Mondesa.  

“I also send some to Ondangwa, where I have another fridge at a friend’s shop,” he said.

According to Levi, he buys his fish only from NFCPT because the prices are reasonably affordable.

Maria Shikongo, who also sells fish in Swakopmund, says most of her clients prefer horse mackerel and Reds. 

She also sources the fish from NFCPT. 

“I sell already prepared fish at construction sites and buy my fish from NFCT. I am grateful they have a shop here. It saves us a lot, as we don’t need to travel to Walvis to buy fish,” she said. 

Martha van Wyk from Walvis Bay says she normally scouts for hake, snoek and angelfish, sold at the NFCPT fish shops in Swakopmund and Walvis Bay for reselling. 

“I am unemployed and currently sustain my family from what I make by selling fish. It’s not a lot, but it allows me to restock and cover our basic needs,” she explained.

Van Wyk sells her fish in Rehoboth, and says she wants to sell other species too, but most of her clients prefer only hake and snoek.

NFCPT board chairperson Suzan Ndjaleka believes the significance of the fishing sector to the socio-economic development of the country cannot be overemphasised, as it addresses socio-economic issues, such as high youth employment, hunger and poverty, amongst others.

“Therefore, we need to consider optimising synergies and unlock the potential of achieving a thriving fishing sector. Consequently, we need to understand our presence is significant to the attainment of our governmental objective as informed by the Social Progression Pillar of the NDP5 & HPP II and the Blue Economy policy,” she said.

According to her, NFCPT, in terms of its mandate, has a flagship of 18 retail shops in all fourteen regions, and it has also established monthly regional educational and fish promotions to supplement its distribution networks.  

She then applauds the Namibian fishing industry for their continuous support by selling other fish species to the trust to diversify our product offering and ensure the community has access to more than horse mackerel, which is the flagship product. 

“As a result, we managed to offer high-quality by-catches at affordable prices, which complemented our strategic intent. We are looking forward to long and healthy relations as we take each other’s hands to address the prevailing socio-economic status quo and eliminate youth unemployment, hunger and poverty in our community,” she said.

“NFCPT needs the industry to help us grow small-medium enterprise (SME) development across the country, meaning to allow young upcoming entrepreneurs – youth and women in particular – to reduce the unemployment rate in Namibia.”


2022-04-29  Eveline de Klerk

Share on social media