Why smallholder farmers are investing in a new kind of tilapia

Name: Why smallholder farmers are investing in a new kind of tilapia
Uploaded: 2024-11-18
Description: While smallholder farmers are facing an increasingly difficult climate, it’s crucial to have climate-resilient resources to improve nutrition and incomes. Learn how an improved tilapia is one example of climate-friendly food that can reduce malnutrition.

Tilapia is more than just a fish—it’s a lifeline. With smallholder farmers facing an increasingly difficult climate and global demand for farmed fish projected to increase by 40% by 2030, sustainable solutions like aquaculture are essential.

For over three decades, WorldFish’s Genetically-Improved Farmed Tilapia (GIFT) program has empowered smallholder farmers, with resilient, faster-growing tilapia strains, improving local incomes and diets in communities facing poverty and malnutrition.

Fish like GIFT tilapia provide vital vitamins, minerals, healthy fats, and protein—key nutrients for human health and crucial for brain development. Today, GIFT tilapia is being embraced by more than 17 countries as a sustainable, climate-friendly source of nutritious food.

Learn more about climate adaptation

Transcript

Twenty-eight years ago, scientists saw an opportunity to improve tilapia.

Tilapia has long been a global staple. But what if tilapia could be…even better?

Now in their 20th generation, Genetically Improved Farmed Tilapia, also known as GIFT fish, are changing the game for small-scale farmers.

Bred to grow bigger, 30% faster, and withstand variable water quality and disease, they thrive even in the toughest conditions—which are an increasing challenge for farmers, especially those in drought filled areas.

They’re a hit in local markets due to their affordability, nutritious value, and great taste—benefiting farmers, sellers, and consumers.

The biggest winners? Children under the age of 5. Fish like GIFT tilapia are a vital source of protein and rich in nutrients such as iron, zinc, and Vitamin A, which are critical for children's development and preventing diseases like childhood blindness. These nutrients are also important for healthy adults.

Already known as a climate-friendly fish due to their efficient conversion of feed into protein, the next generation of GIFT tilapia will be even better at adapting to their surroundings.

It is estimated that by 2030, we’ll need 40% more fish to feed the world. But the future of food isn’t just about feeding people, it’s about nourishing them.

GIFT tilapia is a vital part of that future, and its story is far from over.

Why smallholder farmers are investing in a new kind of tilapia

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