Fish Farming and Mealworms Benefit Small Cooperatives
Not long ago the ANC led government approved the revised guidelines of South Africa's Aquaculture Development and Enhancement Programme to ensure that small and black entrepreneurs benefit from the programme, fostering broader participation and ensuring transformation in the sector. The guidelines were to assist the sector to grow by stimulating investments, increasing job creation, ensuring food security and improving the competitiveness of the sector.
The Ndlovu Family Farm Cooperative in Mogale City is one of several sites to benefit from fish farming and mealworm breeding. This was after the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform installed infrastructure for fish farming and mealworm breeding.
The programme is a collaboration between the department and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research looking at the feasibility of this type of farming. The family will be trained in fish farming and maintenance of the fish tanks. They will have more than three people working every day and gaining the necessary skills to sustain the operation of the system, beyond the pilot programme. The young people within the cooperative will also receive training on this type of farming. Other rural sites set to benefit from this project are in Driekop and Mphanama in Limpopo and Acornhoek in Mpumalanga.
