Rakiraki Mothers Club members undergo specialised training

Members of Sai Mother’s Club in Mallau, Rakiraki took part in training conducted by the University of Fiji’s ‘Development of Entrepreneurial Skills Post COVID-19 Through Rural Aquaculture’ project team on May 11, 2022.

It was the first of a series of trainings.

The project, funded by the USAID Pacific American Fund (PAF) and implemented by the University of Fiji, aimed to upgrade existing aquaculture facilities to revive aquaculture farming of Tilapia.

Through the university’s community engagement initiatives, the Sai Mother’s Club was one of the two communities identified as beneficiaries under the project.

The second community identified was Vitawa Village, situated in the Ra Province.

The training module, delivered by project manager Rosabelle Hennings, focused on key aspects of pond preparation for the farming of Tilapia. Participants as well as project stakeholders from the Pacific Islands Development Forum Secretariat (PIDF) and Ministry of Fisheries (MoF) engaged in discussions about common barriers encountered during this initial phase as well as common best practices of proper pond preparation as a first step towards ensuring and sustaining high productivity.

Sai Mother’s Club president, Aleshmin Dharshan said members were extremely keen on Tilapia farming and other aquaculture ventures such as prawn culturing but lacked the technical knowledge required to independently prepare their pond.

“The unavailability of funds to revive the ponds after Tropical Cyclone Winston was another challenge that was faced,” Ms Dharshan said.