For centuries, the majority of coastal villages in the Islands of Africa have depended largely on ocean farming for sustenance and the welfare of their lives. Zanzibar is the third country in the world to produce the best quality and largest quantity of seaweed, with 80% of about 25,000 seaweed farmers being women. Most of the harvested seaweed is exported out of Zanzibar and sold in its raw form. It is used for food, like pastries and smoothies, cosmetic products like body creams, soaps, oils, as well as in fertilizers.
Despite its growing popularity, seaweed farming has been facing various challenges that have greatly affected its production including climatic changes and diseases. The declining yields and unfavourable market prices are making it difficult to earn a decent living. Even with the government making an effort to provide entrepreneurial information to improve this, a lot still needs to be done.
In Bwejuu - South Eastern Unguja, a coastal community in Zanzibar, during every low tide women and girls set out to the ocean to prepare for seaweed farming. Beneath the water’s surface, ropes of seaweed that have been carefully placed lie in the warm ocean water, waiting for 2 months to be harvested and sorted. It is then placed in bags and carried out of the ocean for further processing. These women mostly harvest the Eucheuma denticulutum (spinossum) type of seaweed, because they do not have the right equipment to reach the deep water for the best and most edible type of seaweed which grows on Indigenous rocks.
On Saturday 8th, January 2022, in a team of four ZACADIA's group set out to Bwejuu Village to meet KAZI ZIPO BWEJUU - a women's group of seaweed farmers. The group was registered in 2013 and has 17 members. This is a group of middle aged to older women entrepreneurs, all coming from indigent families.
Zacadia's visit focused on rising challenges facing the farmers and discussing the possible means of reducing the climatic change effects on seaweed farming by introducing best farming practices which will eventually improve production.
The women expressed how it has become increasingly difficult to get good yields due to climatic stressors such as increased sea temperatures, high winds, variable rainfall and diseases. They also lack proper gear to use in their farming activities and inputs for processing seaweed products. Reduced seaweed growth and quality has led to unfavourable markets and low prices.
Many seaweed farmers have adopted untenable farming practices, accidentally degrading the aquatic resources upon which their livelihoods depend. Improper waste management and poor hygiene behaviour also affect the marine environment. Such untenable farming practices, diseases and other factors have greatly affected seaweed farming and are currently a major challenge in its production.
With proper training provided to farmers on how to best perform their activities while conserving the environment, and given the proper tools and gears, the women hope to benefit and become full-fledged entrepreneurs with solid means of income.
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