Images in this post are illustrations, not photographs of the programme or its participants.
In four small villages on Madagascar’s north-west coast, 93 women did something quietly radical: they stopped selling their fish alone, at whatever price the day offered, and started selling it together — dried, salted and smoked to a standard buyers trust. The result, reported by the women themselves, was estimated profit gains of more than 10 percent. No new harbour was built. No big investor arrived. The change came from training, shared equipment, and the unglamorous power of a collective trader card.
That story, told by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and picked up by World Fishing in October 2026, is worth reading closely in India — not because Madagascar and India are the same, but because the bottlenecks are strikingly familiar: fish that spoils before it reaches a market, women who do most of the processing work but hold the least bargaining power, and transport that costs more than the catch is worth.
Scheme at a Glance
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Programme | Madagascar’s National Plan of Action for Small-Scale Fisheries (NPOA-SSF) 2024–2028, implemented with FAO and RENAFEP |
| Where | Boeny region, north-western Madagascar — the bays of Mahajamba and Bombetoka |
| Villages in this training round | Amboanio, Ambalatany, Morahariva and Antsaregy |
| Who trained | 93 women, between June and July 2025 |
| What they learned | Fish drying, salting and hot smoking; business management; marketing; quality control; running an association |
| Reported result | Estimated profit gains of over 10 percent, reported by participants |
| Market work | A RENAFEP market study identified 14 potential market outlets |
| Collective tools | Collective fish trader cards, shared transport, Village Savings and Loan Associations |
| Status on 29 October 2026 | No application window is advertised for this training round — it is a completed programme round, not an open call. Do not treat it as a scheme you can apply to today. |
Who these women are — and why their work was invisible
In the Boeny bays, livelihoods largely depend on artisanal fishing, and women play what FAO calls a key — yet often overlooked — role in processing and marketing aquatic products. That pattern is global, not Malagasy. Across small-scale fisheries, women dominate post-harvest work — drying, smoking, salting, trading — while decisions about landing sites, prices and policy are often made elsewhere.
FAO’s wider Madagascar figures put the scale in context: in 2022, an estimated 242,000 people were directly involved in the country’s small-scale fisheries sub-sector across about 2,500 registered fishing villages, with reported production of around 90,000 tons. Women accounted for 57 percent of those involved in post-harvest activities and 21 percent in harvesting itself (FAO, 2024). In other words, remove women from the value chain and there is barely a value chain left — yet their businesses were, until recently, the least supported part of it.
The training was therefore not just about fish. Practical sessions on drying, salting and hot smoking taught the women how to improve quality and shelf life — each processed fish, FAO notes, a step closer to greater economic autonomy. But the sessions went further: the women learned to collectively manage newly created associations, plan activities, organise work, and strengthen governance inside those associations — who decides, who keeps the books, who speaks for the group.
What actually changed: four practical wins
1. Better processing, longer shelf life. With improved knowledge and access to better equipment — coolers, drying racks and storage facilities — the women could manage processing more efficiently and transparently. Fish that once had to be sold in a rush, before it spoiled, could now be dried or smoked and sold when the price was right. That single change attacks post-harvest loss at its root.
2. A market map, not guesswork. A market study by the National Network of Women in Fisheries (RENAFEP) identified 14 potential market outlets, helping the women understand customer expectations and adapt their products accordingly. Too many small producers are told to “find markets” without anyone mapping them. Here, the mapping came first.
3. Collective trader cards. Women’s associations began acquiring collective fish trader cards, which allow traders to sell products in different villages or markets. Because obtaining such a card requires paying a ministerial fee, collective ownership lets women share the cost and sell together through the association. One card, many sellers, lower cost per person — and a formal identity in markets where informal traders are easily pushed aside.
4. Shared transport and shared savings. Shared transport arrangements cut the cost of getting fish to market, and Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLA/AVEC), backed by financial management training, gave women a framework for savings and mutual support — coping with unexpected expenses, securing incomes, and gradually mobilising resources to invest. Regular guidance on record keeping, planning and profit calculation, FAO says, further strengthened economic autonomy and household resilience.
Soanamoro, a training participant from Ambalatany, summed it up in FAO’s account: “Now we know how to process our fish so they sell better, and we manage our association together. It changes everything for us and our families.”
The honest caveats — because this is not a fairy tale
FAO is candid about what did not work perfectly, and that candour is part of why the story is credible. Access to certain villages — particularly around Mahajamba Bay — can be difficult, especially during the rainy season, when transportation becomes nearly impossible. That limits the regular supply of materials, product transportation and monitoring of activities. Equipment, World Fishing adds, remains insufficient for all those involved, even after the training.
Initial participation of women in associations was also sometimes limited. The response was awareness-raising and mobilisation: explaining the benefits of collective organisation, encouraging membership in existing associations and networks, promoting women’s leadership, and spelling out the roles and responsibilities of different positions inside associations. In short, the collective did not assemble itself — it had to be built, deliberately.
Elsewhere in Madagascar, the same NPOA-SSF framework has produced complementary fixes that show the model is not one-size-fits-all: World Fishing reports a fish-drying oven in Manombo helping women preserve catches when flooding disrupts transport, and an ice-making machine in Tulear enabling traders to keep aquatic foods fresh and reach more remote villages. Different villages, different bottleneck, different tool — same principle: match the equipment to the actual constraint.
What Indian fishing communities can copy — a 5-step playbook
Nothing in this story requires a Madagascar-sized budget. Here is how the same logic translates to an Indian coastal or inland fishing village:
Step 1: Process before you panic-sell. Drying, salting and smoking are low-tech, but only if quality is consistent. A shared drying rack and a standard smoking method beat ten households each improvising alone — buyers return when the product tastes the same every time.
Step 2: Map 10–15 buyers before investing. Copy RENAFEP’s market study at village scale: list local markets, town retailers, hotels, and self-help-group outlets, note what each wants (whole, filleted, dried, smoked), and price accordingly. Do not buy equipment until you know who will buy the output.
Step 3: Formalise as a group. A registered self-help group or cooperative can do what an individual trader cannot: share licence or card costs, negotiate transport rates, and open a bank account. The collective trader card in Madagascar is the same idea as a shared FSSAI licence or a group vendor registration in India — the cost is divided, the legitimacy is shared.
Step 4: Share transport, share the saving. One shared tempo or ice box on market days costs each member a fraction of hiring alone. Agree the rota and the cost split in writing before the first trip — most shared-transport schemes fail on trust, not on logistics.
Step 5: Start a savings circle alongside the business. A Village Savings and Loan Association is, in Indian terms, a disciplined SHG savings habit with a ledger: small weekly savings, a transparent record book, and loans for working capital (ice, packaging, transport) rather than emergency borrowing at high interest. Profit calculation — actually writing down costs and returns — is what turns “we earned more” into a number you can defend, like the 10 percent the Malagasy women reported.
The lesson for policymakers is equally plain: training without equipment, or equipment without market access, each fail on their own. Madagascar’s round worked because it combined all three — skills, tools and collective organisation — and then kept following up. FAO’s own recommendations for sustaining the gains are follow-up support for the new techniques, more women’s leadership to consolidate association governance, and equipment adapted to the evolving needs of women’s groups.
How this fits the bigger picture
Small-scale fisheries account for at least 40 percent of global fisheries catches and support nearly 500 million people, according to World Fishing’s summary of the sector — which is why a 93-woman training round in four villages matters beyond its size. It is a test of the Small-Scale Fisheries Guidelines in practice: secure the post-harvest livelihoods, and you secure food, nutrition and income for whole coastal communities.
For readers in India, the parallel stories on this site are worth comparing: Ghana’s academy reaching 20 fishing communities, South Africa’s fully funded skipper training for 20 small-scale fishers, and Kerala’s promise of a home for every homeless fisher family all wrestle with the same question — how does a fishing community move from surviving to deciding its own terms? Madagascar’s answer is the least glamorous and the most replicable: organise, process well, share costs, keep books.
That is also why this post claims no open application. There is no deadline to chase here and no form to fill. The opportunity is the model itself — and models, unlike grant windows, do not expire.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I apply to the Madagascar programme? No — the 93-woman training round ran in June–July 2025 and is reported as a completed programme round. This post does not list an application link because none is advertised for it. Treat it as a case study, not an open call.
Is the 10 percent profit gain guaranteed? No. It is an estimated gain reported by participants, not an audited figure. Individual results depend on species, season, market access and equipment — which is exactly why the post keeps the word “estimated” attached to it.
What is RENAFEP? Madagascar’s National Network of Women in Fisheries (Réseau National des Femmes dans la Pêche). It conducted the market study that identified 14 outlets and anchors the associations described above.
What is the NPOA-SSF? Madagascar’s National Plan of Action for Small-Scale Fisheries, 2024–2028, developed through a participatory process to implement the FAO Small-Scale Fisheries Guidelines and remove barriers to women’s entrepreneurship.
Where can I read the original sources? FAO’s account, “From the sea to the market: The essential role of women in Madagascar’s fisheries value chain”, and World Fishing’s 12 October 2026 report, “Madagascar empowers women in small-scale fisheries” — both linked below.
Official Links and Sources
- FAO — From the sea to the market: women in Madagascar’s fisheries value chain (93 women, June–July 2025, four villages, 14 market outlets, collective trader cards, VSLA, challenges; FAO page published 11/03/2026)
- World Fishing — Madagascar empowers women in small-scale fisheries (published 12 October 2026, updated 15 October 2026; NPOA-SSF 2024–2028, Manombo oven, Tulear ice machine)
- FAO — Women hook new livelihoods in Madagascar (associations, governance and bargaining power)
Related reading on Fisheries India: Ghana’s Fishers Seize Control: Academy to 20 Communities · Ghana Ministry Backs Women in Fisheries Science · South Africa Trains 20 Fishers to Skipper Their Future · Kerala Promises a Home to Every Homeless Fisher
Fact-check note, 29 October 2026: every date, figure and place name above was checked against the FAO and World Fishing sources listed. The training dates (June–July 2025), the 93-woman count, the four village names, the 14 outlets and the “over 10 percent” estimated profit gain all come from FAO’s own account. No deadline, grant amount or application window is claimed, because none is advertised for this round.