The development and marketing of food products enhanced with dried small fish offers a novel solution to address major nutritional problems that affect young children and women in many developing countries.  Small fish are a nutritional powerhouse rich in vitamins and minerals that are important for growth and cognition. When added to food products, it increases micronutrient intake among the most vulnerable groups.

The project aims to significantly expand and scale up the availability of nutritious aquatic products, and some of the accompanying systems that make them possible. Focused on Zambia and Myanmar, two markets with significant potential for uptake and impact, the project will work with a range of partners, including private companies and government ministries in Zambia to manufacture and distribute affordable and highly nourishing fish-based solutions (dried small fish powders, noodles, snacks, and complementary foods) for poor households, especially women and children. The project utilizes innovative models (e.g. polyculture systems of fish production) at each step, from how the products are developed, to the methods for their distribution. 

This project therefore expands the set of solutions available for addressing the growing problem of malnutrition globally, by further utilizing aquatic foods, especially small indigenous fish species, which are a significantly underutilized yet transformative solution.