Master’s Thesis 2018 30 ECTS Faculty of Landscape and Society Supervised by Gry Synnevåg, PhD. Between the sun and fish are people: A socio-economic study of solar dryers for fish processing in Malawi Fundi Wandisunga Kayamba-Phiri MSc in International Development Studies Faculty of Landscape and Society (LANDSAM) i Between the Sun and Fish are People: A Socio- Economic Study of Solar Dryers for Fish Processing in Malawi Fundi Wandisunga Kayamba-Phiri Norwegian University of Life Sciences Ås, Norway Master’s Degree in International Development Studies Department of International Environmental and Development Studies, Noragric May, 2018 ii iii The Department of International Environment and Development Studies, Noragric, is the international gateway for the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU). Eight departments, associated research institutions and the Norwegian College of Veterinary Medicine in Oslo. Established in 1986, Noragric’s contribution to international development lies in the interface between research, education (Bachelor, Master and PhD programmes) and assignments. The Noragric Master theses are the final theses submitted by students in order to fulfil the requirements under the Noragric Master programme “International Environmental Studies”, “International Development Studies” and “International Relations”. The findings in this thesis do not necessarily reflect the views of Noragric. Extracts from this publication may only be reproduced after prior consultation with the author and on condition that the source is indicated. For rights of reproduction or translation contact Noragric. © Fundi Wandisunga Kayamba-Phiri, May 2018 [email protected] Noragric Department of International Environment and Development Studies P.O. Box 5003 N-1432 Ås Norway Tel. +47 64 96 52 00 Fax: +47 64 96 52 01 Website: http://www.nmbu.no/noragric iv v Table of Contents Abstract .................................................................................................................................................. x Declaration ........................................................................................................................................... xii Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................. xvi Abbreviations .................................................................................................................................... xviii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Background ............................................................................................................................. 2 1.3 Problem statement ................................................................................................................... 3 1.4 Objectives and Research Questions ........................................................................................ 4 1.4.1 Main Objective and Research Question .......................................................................... 4 1.4.2 Specific Objectives .......................................................................................................... 4 CHAPTER 2: CONTEXTUAL BACKGROUND AND LITERATURE REVIEW ....................... 6 2.1 A Profile of Nkhotakota District .............................................................................................. 6 2.2 Fish drying in Malawi ............................................................................................................. 7 2.3 Solar tent drying methods ........................................................................................................ 8 2.4 Value chain analysis .............................................................................................................. 10 2.5 Deforestation, climate change and fish processing ............................................................... 12 2.6 Sustainable livelihoods .......................................................................................................... 13 2.7 Diversification ....................................................................................................................... 14 2.8 Governance ........................................................................................................................... 14 2.9 Co-management of natural resources in Malawi .................................................................. 15 2.10 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 18 CHAPTER 3: THE SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS APPROACH ............................................ 19 3.1 Sustainable development ....................................................................................................... 19 3.2 Intentional Development ....................................................................................................... 19 3.3 Contextualising Sustainable Livelihoods Framework ........................................................... 20 3.4 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 23 CHAPTER 4: METHODS .................................................................................................................. 24 4.1 Research Design .................................................................................................................... 24 4.2 Mixed Methods ...................................................................................................................... 24 Sequential exploratory design ....................................................................................................... 25 Strengths and weaknesses of the research design ......................................................................... 25 4.2.1 Implementing the research design ................................................................................. 25 vi 4.2.2 Choice of study area ...................................................................................................... 26 4.2.3 Key characteristics of participants ................................................................................. 27 4.3 Sampling procedure .............................................................................................................. 28 4.3.1 Implementing phase one ................................................................................................ 28 Focus group discussions ............................................................................................................... 28 Observations .................................................................................................................................. 29 Sampling strategy of the qualitative data ...................................................................................... 29 Phase one data analysis ................................................................................................................ 30 Follow up interviews ..................................................................................................................... 30 4.3.2 Implementing phase two ........................................................................................................ 30 Sampling strategy of the household survey ................................................................................... 31 Phase two data analysis ................................................................................................................ 31 4.4 Secondary sources ................................................................................................................. 34 4.5 Ethical considerations ........................................................................................................... 34 4.6 Limitations of the study ......................................................................................................... 35 4.7 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 35 CHAPTER 5: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ................................................................................ 37 5.1 Socio-Economic characterisation ........................................................................................... 37 Age and participation ........................................................................................................................ 37 Household education level ................................................................................................................ 41 Ethnicity of fish processors ............................................................................................................... 41 Income and poverty amongst fisherfolk ............................................................................................. 41 Diversification of income sources ..................................................................................................... 43 5.2 Improvements of fish processing with solar dryers .............................................................. 45 Fish processing