The Department of Fisheries in collaboration with GIZ has started training communities in the fishing sector on fish processing and handling. Phase one of the training involved groups from Barra and Greater Banjul Area.
According to officials, over six hundred and fifty (650) people would benefit from these trainings from the selected communities. Participants were introduced to the overview of the fisheries sector of the Gambia, environmental sanitation, Personal Hygiene Requirements, Fishing Boats Hygiene Requirements, cross contamination of pathogens, Icing of fish, Fish Processing Practices, among other things. The trainees were mainly women and some men, engaging in fish trade, Processing.
This project, The Gambia Pilot-Technical Cooperation is jointly sponsored by the ECOWAS Commission and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ, Germany). The project is being implemented by GIZ and operating in the Greater Banjul Area, Lower River Region, and Upper River Region.
The project aims to prepare youth, women and returning migrants for a better future by improving income and working conditions in the Gambia. Beneficiaries aged 16 above in the targeted regions received agro-skills technical training, business development support services, and access to financial services and know-how for agribusiness start-ups in the horticulture, poultry and fishery/aquaculture value chains. The project also provides advocacy and awareness on irregular migration, youth life skills training, and psychosocial support for migrant returnees.