Can innovation empower? Reflections on introducing tubular nets to women seaweed farmers in Zanzibar

Abstract

In Zanzibar, seaweed farming is a small-scale but important livelihood activity carried out mainly by women. Women producers are, however, confronted with many challenges: inadequate technology, climatic variations, low yields, economic inefficiencies and social and cultural constraints. Tubular nets – an innovation piloted in the context of the Sea PoWer initiative, are showing promise over the traditional ‘off-bottom’ peg and rope technology to improve seaweed productivity and local ecosystem conditions. However, tubular nets are used in deeper waters, and thus, require swimming or boat handling skills that most women do not have. Our central argument is that innovations that do not change gender relations and result in women’s empowerment cannot be regarded as effective. Reflecting on one year of tubular net trials under the Sea PoWer initiative and on the implementation of its innovative ‘innovation-cum-empowerment’ approach, and using insights from the producers themselves elicited through an enquiry combining the Theory of Planned Behavior, innovation diffusion and gender analysis, we assess the transformative potential of the introduction of the tubular net innovation on women’s lives and status. We discuss the remaining challenges that need to be lifted and draw lessons of wider resonance to the technology adoption and gender transformative agendas.

Keywords:

• Empowerment
• innovation
• seaweed
• technology adoption
• tubular nets
• women

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the 24 women seaweed producers who took part in the Sea PoWer initiative and tubular net trials.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

Funding from Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) under grant 73115, and from Sweden’s SwedBio, a program of the Stockholm Resilience Center under grant SU481 6.1.1-0016-17, in support of the Sea PoWer initiative is gratefully acknowledged.

Notes on contributors

Cecile Brugere

Dr. Cecile Brugere is an independent researcher and consultant. With a background in agricultural and ecological economics, she has been studying the gender dimensions and social and economic impacts of aquaculture and promoting its sustainable and equitable development around the world for the last 20 years.

Flower E. Msuya

Dr. Flower E. Msuya is the chairperson and facilitator at the Zanzibar Seaweed Cluster Initiative (ZaSCI). Formerly a Senior Researcher in marine biology at the Institute of Marine Sciences of the University of Dar es Salaam based in Zanzibar, she works with seaweed farmers to bring innovation and value addition into the seaweed industry.

Narriman Jiddawi

Dr. Narriman Jiddawi is the Director of the newly established Institute of Fisheries Research Zanzibar. Formerly a Lecturer at the Institute of Marine Sciences of the University of Dar es Salaam based in Zanzibar, she has extensive experience working with women and coastal communities of Tanzania.

Betty Nyonje

Dr. Betty Nyonje is Assistant Director, Mariculture Department, Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute, and Head, Mariculture Division, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries of the Government of Kenya. Her work focuses on addressing mariculture issues at policy level, as well as fish seed production and seaweed farming.

Ritha Maly

Ms. Ritha Maly is Assistant Director of Aquaculture in the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries, Tanzania. She is an expert in seaweed culture. A member of Tanzania Women Leaders in Agriculture and Environment, she has extensive experience in providing extension services to fish and seaweed farmers across Tanzania.