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Innovative modes of delivery

The campaigns need to be specifically tailored for the respective target group to make the content more relevant and engaging. It is important to use multimedia and varied communication formats such as videos, comics, and radio shows, posters, comic books, wall murals, and competitions. These formats help presenting information in an easily understandable and appealing way.

Additionally, training in sustainable fisheries and aquaculture needs to include both practical skills and theoretical knowledge, with a strong emphasis on flexible teaching methods and hands-on learning. Practical training often takes place on demo farms or participants’ own farms, where group mentoring and on-site technical input from trainers and experts occur. This hands-on training covers essential topics such as site selection, pond excavation, stocking, feed and pond management, fish health monitoring, water quality management, and fish processing. By engaging in real-life situations, participants gain the skills needed to independently apply the training content in their own operations. This experiential learning enhances their ability to manage pond aquaculture and fishing throughout the season. While field demonstrations offer practical, hands-on learning, classroom-based training provides theoretical knowledge.

Depending on the context, it may be important to develop training that can be delivered without relying on technology or electricity -especially in remote and rural areas.

Influenced by the restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some countries adopted innovative methods to deliver training content and reach a broader audience. In Mauritania, for example, the training content was disseminated via a mobile application, allowing target groups to access the information conveniently. Meetings, visits to fish landing sites, and training workshops in the field were restricted. Some projects developed specifically designed interactive radio shows for remote listeners or special training videos to spread their training content and sensitise about fish consumption and sustainable practices. These videos furthermore have the benefit of being re-watched, therefore guiding fish and aquaculture farmers even after the training cycle or assisting other farmers who couldn’t participate.

Implementation

Local

Selection and Training of Trainers (ToT)

The Training of Trainers (ToT) method is a widely used approach in capacity-building programmes to ensure the effective dissemination and anchoring of knowledge and skills in communities. Trainers are selected based on criteria such as experience, communication skills, and community engagement. They undergo a structured qualification programme that includes classroom sessions and hands-on learning to prepare them to conduct sessions aligned with adult learning principles and discovery-based approaches.
A Master Trainer model, as used in the Aquaculture Business School in Malawi and the Community Resource Person model in India, plays a crucial role in ensuring consistent quality and calibration of training standards. Master Trainers not only lead the initial ToT programmes, but also support ongoing quality assurance by mentoring the trainers and monitoring the effectiveness of training delivery. The trainers act as intermediaries, translating technical concepts into practical solutions for farmers.

Trainer manuals should be created precisely and in detail to provide future trainers with clear guidance on how to deliver specific training content effectively. The development of these manuals should follow a participatory approach, incorporating continuous feedback loops from participants.

The establishment of a network of trainers within communities is essential to ensure the long-term availability of training and advisory services. By embedding this network locally, capacity-building efforts can better respond to the needs of the community.

Experience from India has shown that younger trainers, particularly those with up to five years of experience and graduate-level education, were rated highly by farmers. These trainers were found to be more relatable to the farmers’ learning levels, as they were not too distant in terms of educational understanding and could effectively bridge the knowledge gap.

Implementation

Local

Integration of local contexts and languages

Incorporating the local context – like environmental and cultural conditions in the regions and local languages – is essential when designing training manuals. This ensures accessibility and relevance of training content and alignment with the realities of the target audience’s environment. To ensure the sustainability and widespread adoption of the training materials, they need to be closely aligned with the needs and priorities of local institutions.

Enabling factors include involving local farmers and experts in developing materials, ensuring that training venues and tools are accessible, regularly collecting participant feedback to update content, and gaining support from community leaders to encourage attendance and trust.

In India, for instance, the modular training sessions were developed with a specific focus on the available time of farmers and their farming calendar. The developed approach allows the training to be broken down into short, 2-hour modules. This ensured that farmers, particularly women, can participate without disrupting their ongoing livelihood and household activities. The modular setup also enabled farmers to select sessions based on the season, such as pond preparation, stocking, or cultivation periods, maximising the relevance and timing of the information provided. Adding fitting illustrations, especially of local commodities and practices, to the training materials enhanced comprehension by grounding the content in familiar visuals.

Inception phase

Implementation

Local

Collaborative and participatory development

A collaborative and participatory approach is central to the development of training materials. To ensure relevance, practicability, and ownership, a task force is typically formed—comprising representatives from ministries, academia, fish farmers, value chain actors, and researchers. Iterative processes, validation workshops, and stakeholder consultations are employed to refine the materials and ensure they reflect local needs.

Training should address not only the 'how' but also the 'why'. By explaining the rationale behind specific practices—such as reducing environmental impacts or promoting food and nutrition security—farmers gain a deeper understanding and are empowered to make informed decisions that align with sustainability goals. This goes beyond simply following instructions; it fosters critical thinking and adaptive problem-solving.

To build resilient and thriving enterprises, training should also incorporate elements such as business education, innovations along the value chain, and the use of decentralized renewable energy technologies. These components enable fish farmers to enhance their financial literacy, respond to market and environmental challenges, and implement innovative solutions for increased productivity and sustainability.

If necessary, consultants can be incorporated to harmonise the outcomes and accelerate the process, but a variety of relevant stakeholders of the sector and value chain should always be involved in reviewing the content.

Materials should be closely aligned with the needs and priorities of local institutions and collaboratively integrated into national curricula and technical training colleges, ensuring both relevance and local ownership.

In India, the development of aquaculture training materials involved multiple workshops and participatory feedback from local fish farmers, government agencies, NGOs, and researchers. This collaborative process was vital in creating modular training sessions suited to the seasonal constraints of fish farming, particularly for women and small-scale farmers. The materials were continuously tested and revised to ensure their relevance, written in local languages, and tailored for field-based learning without the need for technology. This inclusive approach enabled farmers to take ownership of the training content and ensured its effectiveness in the long term.

Needs assessment and gap analysis to decide training content and formats

The initial step is conducting a thorough needs assessment and gap analysis by experienced technical team members from the project and partners. This process involves screening existing materials, consulting with stakeholders and actors in the fish value chain and identifying gaps in knowledge and practice. A field survey can be conducted to collect data on the needs of the beneficiaries and necessary framework requirements for training, e.g. technology availability, training duration, and intervals.

Basic factors for the assessments include a skilled technical team and effective collaboration among partners. They should have access to existing materials to ensure informed screening. Participatory field surveys that consider gender, youth, and marginalized groups help accurately identify needs. Financial resources and logistical support enable thorough data collection and analysis.

The main topics of the different training programmes, as well as the formats used, can vary greatly. For example, while the needs assessment in Zambia identified gaps in existing aquaculture training manuals that could be addressed through hands-on training, the survey in Uganda led to the development of a fisheries business. In Mauritania, the identification of weak points highlighted the need for hygiene and quality training in the fish value chain. In response to climate risks, the project in Malawi recognized the importance of intermittent harvest methods and developed a fish trap manual.

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