Production of small indigenous fish

for nutrition and gender outcomes

Rumana Akter, Manika Saha, Shakuntala Haraksingh

Thilsted

Bangladesh has made great strides in

aquaculture in the past 25 years

Focus on:

• Production and productivity

• Large fish

• Men in aquaculture

• Household income

FTF Aqua Component:

Household Pond Aquaculture

Production Technology:

• Polyculture of Carps (large fish)

and Nutrient-rich Small Fish,

carried out by both men and

women

Focus on:

• Partial Frequent Harvesting of

Small Amounts of Small Fish

• Household Consumption,

especially in Women and Young

Children

• Sale of Carps for Household

Income

Small Fish

• Irreplaceable Animal-source

Food

• Rich Source of Multiple Nutrients

• Animal Protein

• Essential Fat

• Minerals and Vitamins

• Improves Diet Diversity (cooked

with Veg, oil, and spices)

• Enhances Mineral Bioavailability

from Foods in the Meal

• Adding Nutrients and Growth-

promoting Substances

• Processed (dried), Stored -

Prolonging Duration of

Consumption, Reaching Non-fish

Producing Areas

Aquaculture - Nutrition Linkages Approach

in FTF Aquaculture

Components:

• Pond polyculture of carps and small fish

• Vegetable production in homestead garden and on pond dykes

• Promotion of micronutrient-rich small fish and vegetables, especially in women, adolescent girls and young children

• Behaviour change communication (Essential Nutrition Actions (ENA), Essential Hygiene Actions (EHA);

• Gender norms, attitudes and practices

• Monitoring and evaluation

Promotion of Orange Sweet Potato (OSP)

• Suitable for small areas -

homestead gardens and dykes

• Requires minimal labour,

fertilizer and pesticides; grows

well in marginal soils

• Leaves and roots are

consumed

• Valuable in times of food

scarcity and natural disasters

• Vines are easily preserved by

households for planting in

subsequent season

Gender and OSP

• Women in charge of

production and harvesting

• Work is in the homestead

• Women have easy access to a

well-liked, nutrient-rich food

• Root is suitable for

complementary food

• Potential for income

generation through sale of

leaves, roots and vines

• Income in the hands of women

Gender, Nutrition Awareness and

Decision Making

Imparting ENA and EHA to Decision Makers

Addressing Norms, Attitudes and Practices

• Engagement of all community and household members

• Men - responsible for food shopping

• Mothers-in-law - in charge of kitchen and food distribution among household members

Gender and Work Load

1331

40

61

53

43

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Husband Wife Mother-in-law

Is it embarrassing for a man to help with household work?

Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Helen Keller International (HKI) 2012

Moving Forward

• Female friendly technologies for

agricultural production and food

processing

• Work load sharing among

household members

• Aquaculture staff to be interested in

nutrition and gender

• Partnerships - untraditional

• Scaling up and out

• Sustainability of processes and

activities by communities

Experience sharing from some other projects of WF

Quotations from “Lead farmers”

from Focus Group Discussions

• “Before the project, we never went out from our house and I never spoke

with other people, but after the project started, we learnt many things and

spoke with many other people and are now going out from our houses”.

Female Lead Farmer, Sunamganj

• “Whenever we have a meeting, there are always people who are not part of

the project who like to attend and they come and receive information, and

sometimes other people come and ask us for information - for health too”.

Female Lead Farmer, Dinajpur

• “ (the) Development of society is not just for the project members, we

should give advice to all”. Female Lead Farmer, Sunamganj

• “If we go outside of our village, we also try to provide advice to other people

about young children and women” . Female Lead Farmer, Sunamganj

Behaviour change in mothers-in-law

through nutrition counselling

• Many mothers-in-law lamented how things have changed since the

were young;

• “Things are different now, in my time, we had to work all the

time when we were pregnant”.

• Knowledge about women’s nutrition during pregnancy and lactation –

about importance of nutrient-rich foods: small fish, egg, meat

• Women taking rest during pregnancy

• How to prepare food for young children

• Improved sanitation and hygiene

• Child care – mothers giving more time

• Grandmothers taking care of children and feeding them

Behaviour of some mothers-in-law

• In some instances, women did not have a good understanding of the

messages delivered by the lead farmers:

• Mothers-in-law had attended but not shared the information

• Did not let daughter-in-law attend training session

• Women not sharing information with mothers-in-law

Behaviour changes in husbands

through nutrition counseling

• Men consulting wives regarding which foods to buy

• Men assisting wives by buying seeds from the market for homestead

gardens and buying chicks and ducklings

• Husbands becoming aware of women’s need for nutrition and care

during pregnancy

• Becoming aware of child’s diet

Nutritional challenges in the 1,000 days

Woman’s diet:

• Low dietary diversity

• Little animal-source foods

Complementary foods:

• Predominantly plant-based diet

low in micronutrients, high in

antinutrients

• Do not provide adequate

energy and micronutrients

• Thin rice/wheat porrigde

• Limited time to prepare

• Safe storage needed

Nutritious Fish-based Products

Developed by WorldFish

• Fish chutney for pregnant and lactating women

• Fish-based complementary food for infants and young children

• Fish powder to be added to family foods

Fish chutney for pregnant and lactating women

• Rich in

micronutrients

(especially iron)

• Animal protein

• Essential fats

• Energy

• Ingredients: 37% dried small fish, 15% oil, 37% onion,

• 7% garlic and 4% red chili

Fish chutney for pregnant and lactating women

Protein, Fe, Zn, Ca

Energy density, EFA

Texture and flavor

Taste enhancer

Fish-based complementary food

• Made from local

ingredients

• High content of MN

(iron, zinc, vit A,

calcium)

• High energy density

• Low content of anti-

nutrients

• Include Animal Source

Food

• Culturally acceptable

• Acceptable taste and

texture

• Easy to prepare

• Hygenically safe

Mix in specified proportions

Oven-dry

Grind

Package

15 % Fish 45% Rice flour30% OSP flour 10% Soybean oil

Fish powder to be added to family foods

Fish powder to be added to family foods

preparation of Fish Powder

Nutrient composition per 100 gm Fish powder

Energy Protein Fat Iron Zinc Calciu

m

317 kcal 19 g 22 g 22 g 4.5 mg 1669

mg

Fish powder added to different types of family foods

Income Generating through Fish Products

• Community small-scale business

• Rural sales programmes

• Commercial sale

Multiple Benefits from Fish-based Products

• Improve nutrition and health of women

• Improve nutrition and health of children

• Better decision making regarding nutrition by all family members

• Income generation

• Capital improvement of communities and nation

DRAW ATTENTION TO THAT YOU CAN TASTE

THE PRODUCTS AT THE TABLE BY THE DOOR

1. Fish chutney for pregnant and lactating women

2. Fish-based CF product for infants and young children

3. Fish powder to be added to family foods

Thank you