Malawi will this month host the International Conference of the Pan-African Fish and Fisheries Association (PAFFA).

This conference is expected to boost fish production in the country. Chairperson of the local organizing committee, Emmanuel Kaunda, said the five-day summit will have 250 delegates from 40 countries. It will run from 24 to 28 September in Mangochi. Kaunda said that Malawi has failed to scale up fish production despite its population growing over the years. He said: “scientists and business persons from across the world will attend this conference. We expect to learn a lot from these experts on how we can boost fish production.

Director of Investment and Promotion for Malawi Investment and Trade Centre, Mr. Joshua Nthakomwa said that they look up to fisheries as a key industry to boost the economy. “We are excited about the summit because we are determined that fisheries has a potential to help develop the economy. Fish is a food item that is on high demand globally and if we can exploit the industry, our economy can benefit a lot,” he said.

Nthakomwa said rough calculations MITC conducted jointly with the Department of Fisheries showed that fisheries can replace tobacco as a key forex earner. He said: through the calculations we established that fisheries can actually equal or even triple the income that we get from tobacco which is in decline because of anti-smoking lobby by the World Health Organization”, he said.

The conference will be held under the theme Diversity Conservation, Sustainable Management and Development. According to Food and Agriculture Organization, the annual catch from Malawi’s major fisheries is in the region of between 40 and 60,000 tonnes.