This presentation focuses on a proposed idea of a fish innovation platform for Zambia. The presentation covers the following topics: • What an innovation platform aims to achieve: that is to bring private, public actors and farmers together to determine efficient and sustainable strategies to reach smallholder farmers through the IBEMs and scale their investments. • An analysis that innovation platform members can decide themes and topics that suit them and arrangements that are appropriate for solving common problems identified by members of the platform or to take advantage of opportunities. • The benefits and constraints of an innovation platform.

1. Fish Innovation Platform
Presenter Netsayi Noris Mudege (Senior Scientist)
Stakeholders meeting, Zambia, (Zoom)
15 October 2020

2. What are innovation Platforms
Innovation platforms bring together different stakeholders in any
sector
• Identify solutions to common problems
• To achieve common goals
• To ensure that the interests of various groups and stakeholders
are taken into account

3. Innovation Platform for the project
• To bring private and public actors
together to determine efficient and
sustainable strategies to reach
smallholder farmers through the
IBEMs and scale their investments.

4. Who can be members of the innovation platform
• Level1: Aquaculture farmers roundtables to express their
interests, opportunities and constraints to guide activities that
are intended to benefit them (planning quarterly meetings)
• Level 2: Farmer representatives, private sector can benefit from
this innovation platform as it aims to boost the aquaculture
sector and make it a profitable area for investment

5. What can an innovation platform focus on
• Platform members can decide what the innovation platform
should focus on.
• Depends of problem what common problems have been
identified and need to be solved
• Innovation Platforms are dynamic

6. • Facilitate dialogue among
stakeholders (sharing needs
and requirements)
• Can identify bottlenecks and
develop solutions
• Facilitate sharing of ideas by
weaker actors on an equal
basis (women, smallholder
farmers)
Benefits of an
innovation Platform

7. Constraints
• Can be costly to facilitate (Quarterly meetings)
• Success depends on trust and willingness among members to
contribute
• Achieving outputs may take longer that the duration of the
project
• ‘Tangible outputs are needed to sustain the members’ interest
and commitment to the innovation process’ (Tui, et al., 2013)

8. Breakout groups
• Do you think in Zambia we need an innovation platform focusing on the fish
value chain? Explain your answers
• What should the innovation platform focus on?
• What themes are important to you/others in your position?
• Which actors should be members of the platform?
• How should smallholder farmers, private sector plays, government agencies be
included in the platform
• How can the innovation platform ensure the participation of women and young
people

9. Funding
The project is funded by the GIZ
Implementation Period: May
2019 to May 2022