Family Alliance For Development And Cooperation, Tanzania

Working for sustainable development of the grassroots communities to alleviate poverty and improve standards of living.

THE FORGOTTEN RESOURCE: DAGAA (SARDINES)

One of the main natural resources to the people in Kagera Region is L. Victoria. This lake is habitat for numerous fishes. This would automatically mean good nutrition and food for the people, as well as household incomes for the fishermen and their wives. One needs to make a closer visit to the fishing sites and see how the fishing is carried out; and to the villages in the region, to assess how much fish is sold and eaten.

It is a common feature that the Nile perch is sold off to fish fillet factories in Mwanza and later exported. But what about the other types of fish and especially the small fish called sardine (or dagaa in kiswahili)? Sekiku Joseph (the Director of FADECO) made such impromptu visit between 2000-2001 and filed the following observations:

As you visit the fishing/landing sites along L. Victoria in Kagera region especially during September- December, one is be greeted by fishermen with catches of fatty sardines. This is a heavy catch time for dagaa. Correspondingly, you will find a lot of fish mongering business. As you go closer, you will find men and women involved in dagaa processing: drying it so that it is preserved and later sold to buyers who come from as far as Rwanda and Burundi. A closer look at the whole business forms my major concern.

I once visited the landing sites in Muleba, Nyamirembe and Chato. I was astounded and shocked to find the crude way of preserving the dagaa. What is basically done is to spread the dagaa on the sand along the lakeshore or on grass for several days. Then it is collected using rakes and packed in sacks. Thereafter it is sold off to any interested buyer(s). One sad but interesting thing is that, most fishermen keep dogs. So one will find herds of dogs sleeping on dagaa heaps.

What about the quality of the final product for sale or human consumption? It is full of dogs' fur, stones, sand, dirt and grass. The primitive way of drying, leaves the product smelling and sometimes full of maggots. A closer analysis of the problems and opportunities associated with dagaa fishing, is a propelling factor for investment in processing opportunities.

Some major problems surrounding dagaa fishing around L. Victoria:

Poor communication and roads infrastructure:

Most of the land sites are not accessible. Drying will crudely be done as mentioned above and dried fish in sacks transported by canoe to areas where vehicles can reach. Few researchers or investors bother to get involved because they cannot easily get to the sites. Despite L. Victoria harbouring large stocks of sardines (dagaa), there are three main problems associated with commercializing their sales into large scale.

1. Small scale artisan style of fishing:

The fisherman still use the traditional ways, using small wooden manual powered boats (some engine powered) with lanterns lights at night. Although their catches collectively could be termed enormous, the less developed fishing gears make them fish merely for subsistence only. After their catches, there are no cold rooms or refrigerators to store their catches.

As a result, they catch and sell them the same day or as soon as possible to other groups for sale. It implies therefore that, the fishing gears and equipment for preservation are primary hindrances to their breaking through the dagaa business. Worse still, the drying is dependent entirely on the sun, which is a God given resource. During the rainy season, drying is difficult and much of the catch, get rotten. Another serious problem is that the drying of sardines is done in a very traditional and primitive way, on the bare ground (sand) near the fishing villages along the lake shores where there are no sanitation facilities at all.

Washing of all sorts is done in the lake. None of the fishermen has thought to improve the drying process to produce products of better quality and correspondingly a better price. Some small-scale women group in Bukoba has opted to deep fry the dagaa and pack it in small sachets at a price of 200/- per about 100 grams. But this is for very small quantities and it is expensive to some extent.

2. Packaging problems:

The second problem is associated with packing of the catch after drying. It is crudely done in 50 - 60 Kg sisal sacks and transported to wherever they sell them. Again the issue of sanitation comes in. Few groups pack these dirty dagaa in polythene bags whereas others just sell them from the sisal bags. In the open markets, others just lay the dagaa on mats or plastic sheeting and sell to whoever wants in measures designated by the different containers (mostly plastic/ metallic bowls and cups). Again this is done on a very small scale.

3. Drying temperatures:

The third issue is the drying itself. Sardines have to be to be dried to a certain level of moisture content so that they stay longer otherwise they start to rot in 1-2 days. Ordinary sun drying does not produce sufficient drying temperatures. Smoking is another option but the lack of trees/ forests means that there is no fuel wood for the smoking of fish due to deforestation.

4. Market of sardines:

Market for sardines is another issue. This is compounded by the issues of quality and hygiene. During peak season, the local markets are saturated so prices go down. In the past few months, there has grown a high demand for sardines in neighbouring countries of Rwanda and Burundi and to the refugee camps of Ngara and Kigoma. The present market demands sardines of higher and better quality that the one currently produced.

Opportunities:

It goes without saying that, fish is very good for the food and nutrition security of our population in Kagera region. It is one potential industry to develop. It is not surprising though to see that, most local people who would buy fish, they get only heads (which are left overs after the fillet is removed). This could be one indication that people in the region are denied access to this important and nutritious resource. Three opportunities exist:

Establishment of home managed fish ponds

There exist initiatives by some individuals and organization to establish home-scale fish ponds. These however lack support. Some initiatives have been noted in Lukale village by one Philemon Byabachwezi but his labouring it all by himself. Such initiatives need to be supplemented and supported. These would be in position to substantiate the fish deficit in our region today.

Stocking of inland water sheds in various parts of the region

There are several inland watersheds scattered throughout the region. In Karagwe district alone, there are Rukuraijo, Kandegesho, Ruhita and Burigi. There are several others in Bukoba, Muleba, Biharamulo and Ngara. If these were stocked with fish, the population would have their food and nutrition security improved.

Post harvest processing technologies:

Several appropriate technologies for processing fish exist. Some of these technologies include improved smoking kilns, salting and drying. The important thing is that, it should be processed hygienically. Once fish is preserved in this way, it becomes marketable. Sardines are a high nutrient value product both for humans and for livestock. Dry sardines could be processed into human foods and animal feeds either by itself or mixed with other ingredients like maize flour, etc. It is a high protein food good for malnourished children, etc.

FADECO has designed special solar dryers specifically for drying fish including daga. Should you be interested in starting up a fish drying project, do not hesitate to contact us.