Women and youth engaged in cross-border fish trade have raised the alarm over persistent and unfair trade barriers that limit access to regional markets, particularly in the Democratic Republic of Congo, their largest export destination.
Speaking during a national stakeholder engagement in Jinja, traders from Uganda and Kenya called on the governments of Kenya, Uganda, and the DRC to harmonise policies to ensure fair, safe, and inclusive cross-border trade.
The meeting brought together officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, the Ministry of Trade, civil society organisations, and women- and youth-led business associations.
Cleopas Ndorere, Commissioner for External Trade at Uganda’s Ministry of Trade, said irresponsible fishing practices have had severe economic consequences, including the collapse of most fish processing factories.
“We used to have about 20 fish processing factories, but currently we have less than five. The main cause was poor fishing practices that led to a drastic decline in fish stocks,” Ndorere said.
He added that the ministry has imposed a moratorium on harmful fishing nets, particularly twine nets, which indiscriminately catch immature fish and threaten lake sustainability.
Despite these regulations, women and youth traders say restrictive policies and insecurity at border points such as Mpondwe are stifling their livelihoods.
Fish consignments are often impounded for days, causing heavy financial losses due to the perishable nature of the product.
Veronica Auma Makhoha, a Kenyan youth fish trader, said legal and administrative hurdles are hurting young entrepreneurs.
“We are asked to offload all our fish from the trucks and spend days before we are cleared. It is very hard to pass through Uganda to sell fish in DR Congo, which is our biggest market,” she said. She added that youth face high entry costs because multiple licences are required for both trading and transporting fish.
Similarly, Susan Natocho of the Busia Women Cross Border Traders Cooperative said delays and impoundments at Mpondwe have made the business increasingly unpredictable.
“Fish is perishable. When we spend days at the border because of impoundment, we incur huge losses,” she explained.
Regulators, however, insist that strict enforcement is necessary to protect fish stocks in Lake Victoria. Daisy Olyer Aciro, Commissioner for Fisheries Resources Management and Development, noted that Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania have agreed to crack down on the trade in immature tilapia and Nile perch.
“The law cuts across borders. If you attempt to deal in immature fish, we will impound it because the law does not allow the trade,” she emphasized.
To address some of these bottlenecks, stakeholders have launched the Women and Youth Economic Empowerment in Fisheries Through Inclusive Market Access (WYEEFIMA) project, led by Kilimo Trust.
The initiative seeks to strengthen market access, improve working conditions, and reduce information gaps within the fisheries value chain.
Birungi Korutaro, CEO of Kilimo Trust, highlighted information gaps as a key challenge.
“One of the challenges in the fishing sector is lack of information, but Kilimo Trust has tried to mitigate this by conducting research and disseminating findings,” he said.
WYEEFIMA Project Coordinator Reacheal Ajambo said research conducted in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, DRC, Zambia, and other African countries has revealed structural barriers affecting women and youth in fisheries.
“We are holding stakeholder engagements to identify solutions, including restrictive legal regimes, transport difficulties, and inadequate storage facilities,” she said.
Stakeholders are calling on East African Community member states to invest in modern fish storage facilities at landing sites and major border points to reduce post-harvest losses and increase profitability.
They remain hopeful that coordinated reforms can make the fisheries sector safer, more inclusive, and economically empowering for women and youth across the region.