Established in 2011 and operating in Nkhotakota and Salima districts, Nkhotakota Steadfast for Youth (NS4Y) is a dynamic agricultural enterprise specializing in the processing and marketing of a diverse range of agricultural products grown by smallholder farmers. NS4Y currently processes fish, rice, and grain legumes, which it sells to institutional buyers in the country’s major towns and cities. Initially founded as a women’s cooperative and now fully owned and managed by young people, NS4Y has a strong commitment to gender equality, social inclusion, and sustainable development. The four owners are:

• James Chimbiya, Managing Director
• Thokozani Mwadzama, Finance and Administration Manager
• Naomi Phiri, Operations Manager
• Alson Manda, Field Officer

The company prides itself on fostering close relationships with its farmers, ensuring fair trade practices, and delivering premium produce to its clients. By supporting local aquaculture, NS4Y makes a positive impact on the lives of farmers and their families while taking pressure off local wild catch fisheries from Lake Malawi. Contact: Facebook NS4Y

Commercializing Aquaculture for Better Market Access by Smallholder Farmers    

NS4Y has partnered with CASA to pilot a fish aggregation and offtaking scheme combined with a Pay-As-You-Grow (PAYG) inputs financing arrangement for smallholder fish farmers in Nkhotakota and Salima districts located along Lake Malawi. This project will transition NS4Y’s fish sourcing from Lake Malawi fishermen to smallholder fish farmers in these two districts. With CASA’s support, NS4Y will strengthen smallholder fish farmers by providing them with input credits, which they will repay in installments over the growing period. This will enable the farmers to access high-quality inputs, increase their production volumes, and sell their yields to NS4Y at better prices. CASA will also enhance NS4Y’s capacity to offer ongoing extension services to smallholder farmers and will facilitate the certification of NS4Y’s production process by the Malawi Bureau of Standards, allowing them to market their processed fish products to a broader consumer base. This nine-month project – with £52,570 in CASA support – projects to reach 1,000 smallholder farmers, each of whom are anticipated to increase their annual incomes by £279.

NS4Y has a consistent demand for 24 MT of fish per month from hotels in Lilongwe city. Currently, the company is unable to meet this demand due to an unreliable and insufficient supply from fishermen on Lake Malawi. With support from CASA, NS4Y is launching a pilot program for a fish outgrowing and off-taking scheme. This initiative will enable the company to source fresh fish from smallholder farmers. NS4Y is investing over £5,000 to provide small input loans to these farmers, ensuring they can produce fish of the required quality and quantity. To handle the anticipated increase in fish volumes from the smallholder farmers and meet market demand, the company is seeking investment of £40,000 to build out cold chain infrastructure and enhanced fish processing facilities.