The President of the Republic of Guinea, Professor
Alpha Conde, has urged for improved fisheries governance on the continent of
Africa, reiterating African Union (AU) commitment to conducive environment,
reports NaijaAgroNet.
Conde in a keynote address at the 32nd Session of
the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Committee on Fisheries (COFI) held
recently in Rome, declared that his initiatives as champion will reinforce the
efforts already undertaken by the African Union in creating an environment
conducive to dialogue on African development issues.
Conde who also doubles as the NEPAD Agency’s
Fisheries and Aquaculture Champion, implored African Ambassadors and Permanent
Representatives to the United Nations agencies based in Rome to drum support
for continuous improvement in the governance of the fisheries sector in Africa.
President Conde further committed himself to support
the implementation of reforms in the fisheries sector for effective governance
of this important sector towards Africa’s development.
The contribution of fisheries to national economies
in Africa is quite significant. Revenues
amount to nearly $24 billion per year, representing 1.26 per cent of the
continent’s GDP and 6.02 per cent of its agricultural GDP. Moreover, the sector provides more than 12
million people with direct employment. Women account for a quarter of the
workforce in the sector and are also active in fish processing.
FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva, in his
remarks, emphasised that fisheries and aquaculture are not only important for
eradication of poverty and hunger, but are also key to improving nutrition.
Challenges, he said, exist in the fisheries and
aquaculture sectors that require urgent action, stressing that among them are
the over-exploitation of fishery resources, the growing expansion of
international demand for fish to which is added the lack of capacity of African
institutions for adequate management of fisheries resources on the
continent.
Mr. Jose further said that the result of this is
that Africa generally has the lowest fish consumption, estimated at 9 kg per
capita, which represents less than half of the world average of 21 kg. The per capita consumption is expected to
decline further due to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.
NaijaAgroNet, to counter the challenges of fishing
on the continent, African Heads of State and Government adopted a policy
framework and a fisheries and aquaculture reform strategy in July 2014 in
Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, with the aim of improving governance of the sector
for the benefit of its people.
In addition African countries including Benin,
Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa and Sudan are party to
FAO’s international accord aimed at stamping out illegal fishing which came
into effect in June 2016. The Agreement
on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and
Unregulated Fishing (PSMA) is the world's first illegal fishing treaty.
Mr. Jose Graziano da Silva encouraged other
countries to also be party to this agreement as soon as possible. “The
agreement must be used with other tools in order to attain sustainable and
legal fisheries. Generations to come will recognise the importance of this
achievement,” he said.
Isaac Oyimah/GEE
... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology
