Beyond the tide but who gains the least in Zanzibar’s seaweed farming » Capital News

KISII, Kenya, Apr 17 – Taking advantage of low tiding, Pili Halili and her two fellow seaweed farmers, both dressed in long, blue dresses with hats covering their heads are busy harvesting seaweed in Paje, Zanzibar on a Thursday morning.

41-year-old Pili looks optimistic of harvesting an extra kilogram of seaweed than yesterday’s harvest before the sunsets before going home to look after her family.

Pili narrates that she relocated to Paje with her sister to make a living through seaweed farming about ten years ago. Since then, she has been practicing seaweed farming which she describes as a sweet bitter source of income with much work and little payment.

Left with no choice she must work to support  her family and also for her financial independence rather than sitting at home and waiting for her husband to provide for them.

“I am able to get food and afford to educate my children using the little money I get from seaweed farming,” says Pili. 

Who benefits the least?

As seaweed farming becomes an important activity in Zanzibar island, the benefits of the supply chain in the export of this product is not equally shared leaving many farmers exploited.

Women in seaweed farming are always excluded from decision making when determining the price of seaweed since they do not own means of production, while those who buy and export become key players in controlling seaweed.

However, seaweed farmers earn very little despite working a lot in very harsh conditions of climate change and pollution.

Access to the market

C-sea weed corporation general manager Hamil Sound said the government of Zanzibar benefits more when it comes to importation of this seaweed overseas, the biggest challenge they face as importers is that the government own larger companies which easily access to international markets.

“The government companies buy seaweed from local farmers at a very low prices and sells it higher at high price in the international market and this gives the government more bargaining power compared to us with small companies,” Hamil states.

Hamil says, lack of defined market structures in seaweed farming led to unfair pricing and exploitation of middlemen and they end up getting very little profit.

Navigating seafood supply chains is difficult for small-scale businesses because cash flow constraints is a problem since we receive the lower economic benefits due to greater market power of processors and retails.

Hamil said they are now working with value addition to seaweed and export processed products to increase income.

Zanzibar is among the top biggest export of seaweed, they export this product to United States, China and Europe and it end up in the manufacturing of products such as toothpaste, food additives cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.

The golden harvest

Mirko Dunner, a project coordinator at the UNTCAD says the seaweed market is expanding exponentially due to value addition and innovation in the seaweed industry.

“We have about 25,000 seaweed farmers on this island and 80 per cent of these farmers are women, this is an indication that women are part of the economic inclusion conversation while providing income,” Mirko says.

Mirko says with global demand, seaweed is now exported for the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals, food and cosmetics and biofertilizers supporting national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and foreign exchange.

The island has embraced local processing of seaweed through value addition and they are making products such as soap, cosmetics, fertilizer and animal feed, while boosting the economy sector.

The blue economy equation

The principal secretary of the ministry of blue economy and fisheries, captain Hamad Hamad said the communities in this island are deeply connected to the sea with economic activities such as tourism fisheries and aquaculture.

Hamad noted, tourism and fisheries are the backbone of Zanzibar’s socioeconomic development, supporting the livelihoods of around two-thirds of the population. Fisheries contribute 4-8% to GDP, while tourism accounts for over 29%. More than 95% of Zanzibar’s fisheries are nearshore, directly employing 60,000 people, with an additional 100,000 individuals working in the value chain, 17% of whom are women.

“The aquaculture sector, dominated by seaweed farming, provides employment for 15,559 people, 80% of whom are women. Other aquaculture activities, such as mud crab farming, sea cucumber, and finfish (milkfish), also play vital roles.

The PS says, in 2024, seaweed production alone reached approximately 19,000 tons. Additionally, 99% of Zanzibar’s international trade is seaborne.