KATALYST AND NAAFCO AGROVET CREATE NEW INCOME-OPPORTUNITIES FOR SMALL FISH FARMERS (2015)

http://katalyst.com.bd/katalyst-and-naafco-agrovet-create-new-income-opportunities-for-small-fish-farmers/ Katalyst Innovation Fund provides co-funding and technical support to NAAFCO.

Successful cultivation of Pangus, Tilapia, and Koi can change the lives of poor fish farmers. Due to their high productivity and profitability, these high value fish species offer fish farmers the opportunity to increase their income and improve their livelihoods. However, small fish farmers often lack access to information on effective culturing techniques, which keeps them in a cycle of poverty. That is why Katalyst, through its Katalyst Innovation Fund (KIF) initiative, is working together with NAAFCO Agrovet Ltd., an agro-input company that provides essential inputs such as fish feed and aqua-chemicals to its customers. As input companies and their products usually do not target small farmers, KIF is providing co-funding and technical support to NAAFCO in order to encourage innovation in Bangladesh’s agri-business sector by creating new opportunities and customer markets: Under the KIF initiative, NAAFCO will conduct various promotional activities and training sessions that help small fish farmers to successfully culture Pangus, Tilapia, and Koi as well as small indigenous species. The input company will educate their dealers, retailers and technical personnel on low cost and suitable cultivation methods and distribute this knowledge accordingly to small farmers. The result is a win-win situation: Poor farmers can lift themselves out of poverty and input companies such as NAAFCO can increase their market share and profits by providing the vast customer market of small fish farmers with essential information and quality inputs for the cultivation of high value fish species.