By Millicent Kgeledi

We left our hotel early on Wednesday, 10 November, for a site visit to a seaweed farming project led by the Furahia Wanawake (all Women-led Seaweed Farming Association) in Paje, Zanzibar.

The anticipation was high amongst us, as participants attending the FishGov 2 Media Training Workshop were briefed the day before about the Furahia Wanawake project. We learned that the Paje women derive their livelihood from farming seaweed and post-harvest value addition. However,  these women face challenges, particularly the worsening climate change impacting seaweed quality and overall productivity in the Paje area.

Ms Mwanaisha, Secretary of Furahia Wanawake ( loosely translated as ‘Be Happy as a Woman’), welcomed participants to the office of the Paje women group. She briefed us on the value chain that starts from seaweed farming and selling products, including oils, soaps and other beauty products.

These women have grouped themselves to form this ‘consortium’ which operates under the Zanzibar Seaweed Cluster  which has benefitted them through capacity development programmes offered by the Cluster, including manufacturing training and business management skills training. The consortium currently comprises 34 local women contributing economically to their households and community because of this formation.

The  Zanzibar Seaweed Cluster initiative represents a typical example of a women empowerment programme. The FishGov-2 Project participants were delighted to learn about the work of the Paje women as their Secretary showcased the office, including the machinery they use in the manufacturing process. She introduced on-duty team members.

It was all exciting until she took us for a walk down to their seaweed farms in the ocean and then started to speak about Climate Change and the impact it has had on their business, the way they operate and overall livelihood issues.

“ We have had to resort to cultivating a different kind of seaweed which is of a different quality to what we have farmed before. As you can feel ( while we were standing in the water), the ocean water is warmer. Consequently, we are forced to locate our seaweed farms in the deeper depths, where the water is relatively colder because cultivating our seaweed requires cooler waters. Some of us cannot swim, so we are forced to hire and pay fishermen to plant and fetch our seaweed produce which is now further in the sea. Climate Change has forced us to change the way we do business slowly, and it is impacting on our productivity and profit.”, said Ms Mwanaisha.

She also highlighted that they could no longer export their product because of the higher standard of quality expected in global trade. In contrast, the quality of the seaweed they have been cultivating has been of low quality since the climate change effects have been drastic. This situation has also meant that they cannot produce other seaweed products.

“It has not been easy for us, but we continue to do what we love to do, and because we work as a group, we can sell our products in higher quantities.”, she said.

When she spoke about the effect of climate change, it was a sombre moment for all of us because we realize that the threat of climate change in this continent is more significant than we understand. It is felt more by those whose livelihoods depend on favourable climatic conditions to support their businesses.

We left their office after purchasing some of the products that the women produced. We can only hope that the world act to address the prevailing climate injustice. Our first-hand witness of the devasting impacts of a warming climate on ordinary people, particularly vulnerable groups of women and youth, need climate justice to attain their aspirations enshrined in the global agenda on Sustainable Development Goals and AU Agenda 2063.

Following the visit to Paje,  I attended the session of Fisheries experts and media practitioners, listening with keen interest as they discussed the issue of climate change and what should be done to curb the effects of climate change.  The polluter pays principle, nationally determined contributions (NDCs) by nations must be materialized to support vulnerable communities, worst hit by climate change, to cope and adapt to a new world that requires a different approach to fisheries and aquaculture productivity. After all, Africa must adapt, will adapt if frameworks, such as the Blue Economy Strategy and the Policy Framework and Reform Strategy for Fisheries and Aquaculture in Africa are effectively implemented.