373
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
B. R. Singh et al. (eds.), Climate Impacts on Agricultural and Natural Resource
Sustainability in Africa, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-37537-9_22
Between the Sun and Fish Are People:
A Socio-economic Study of Solar Dryers
for Fish Processing in Malawi
Fundi Wandisunga Kayamba-Phiri, Gry Synnevåg, and Moses M. Limuwa
Abstract The study examined how the use of solar tent dryers has improved the
livelihoods of fish processors in Chipala and Vinthenga villages in Nkhotakota,
Malawi. The study used the sustainable livelihoods framework to analyse the findings. A mixed methods research design was employed in the study. To analyse the
qualitative data, a thematic analysis was used, and for the quantitative data, inferential and descriptive statistics were used such as logistic regression model and t-tests.
The findings showed that the solar tent dryers have improved fish processing; however, the impact of the dryers on livelihoods is minimal and not well accounted for.
Some key sustainability measures were lacking and therefore posed a threat to the
continued use of the method. As a result, the dryer was not in use in Chipala which
indicated no impact on livelihoods. The logistic regression model indicated the village of a fish processor as a determining factor for using the dryer, due to the difference in governance structures, which affected the management of the tent dryers.
Adoption was directly affected by poor governance: a top-down approach employed
by different stakeholders. Adoption increased in Vinthenga as the fish processors
appreciated the solar drying method as faster and less involving. However, small
holding capacity of the dryer in Vinthenga resulted in an average usage of 3 times a
week (n, 19). Profits from solar-dried fish were slightly insignificant at 20% during
peak season (P) and 11% during off-peak season (O), as compared to the traditional
methods of which the most profitable were the frying (25% (P) and 21% (O)) and
smoking (20% (P) and 19% (O)) methods. Women were involved in all activities in
the fisheries’ value chain except for catching fish, which is restricted to men. Gender
roles and perceptions affected the socio-economic status of fish processors, as gender equality was contextualised as a monetary responsibility shift to women who
were involved in fish processing and other enterprise. All factors considered, the
impact of solar tent dryers has been low on the livelihoods of fish processors.
F. W. Kayamba-Phiri (*) · G. Synnevåg · M. M. Limuwa
Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Faculty of Landscape and Society, Department of
International Environment and Development Studies (Noragric), Ås, Norway
e-mail: kayamba-phirif@ei-malawi.org
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
B. R. Singh et al. (eds.), Climate Impacts on Agricultural and Natural Resource
Sustainability in Africa, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-37537-9_22
Between the Sun and Fish Are People:
A Socio-economic Study of Solar Dryers
for Fish Processing in Malawi
Fundi Wandisunga Kayamba-Phiri, Gry Synnevåg, and Moses M. Limuwa
Abstract The study examined how the use of solar tent dryers has improved the
livelihoods of fish processors in Chipala and Vinthenga villages in Nkhotakota,
Malawi. The study used the sustainable livelihoods framework to analyse the findings. A mixed methods research design was employed in the study. To analyse the
qualitative data, a thematic analysis was used, and for the quantitative data, inferential and descriptive statistics were used such as logistic regression model and t-tests.
The findings showed that the solar tent dryers have improved fish processing; however, the impact of the dryers on livelihoods is minimal and not well accounted for.
Some key sustainability measures were lacking and therefore posed a threat to the
continued use of the method. As a result, the dryer was not in use in Chipala which
indicated no impact on livelihoods. The logistic regression model indicated the village of a fish processor as a determining factor for using the dryer, due to the difference in governance structures, which affected the management of the tent dryers.
Adoption was directly affected by poor governance: a top-down approach employed
by different stakeholders. Adoption increased in Vinthenga as the fish processors
appreciated the solar drying method as faster and less involving. However, small
holding capacity of the dryer in Vinthenga resulted in an average usage of 3 times a
week (n, 19). Profits from solar-dried fish were slightly insignificant at 20% during
peak season (P) and 11% during off-peak season (O), as compared to the traditional
methods of which the most profitable were the frying (25% (P) and 21% (O)) and
smoking (20% (P) and 19% (O)) methods. Women were involved in all activities in
the fisheries’ value chain except for catching fish, which is restricted to men. Gender
roles and perceptions affected the socio-economic status of fish processors, as gender equality was contextualised as a monetary responsibility shift to women who
were involved in fish processing and other enterprise. All factors considered, the
impact of solar tent dryers has been low on the livelihoods of fish processors.
F. W. Kayamba-Phiri (*) · G. Synnevåg · M. M. Limuwa
Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Faculty of Landscape and Society, Department of
International Environment and Development Studies (Noragric), Ås, Norway
e-mail: kayamba-phirif@ei-malawi.org