NaijaAgroNet:
This report identifies the need to
encourage partnerships for the African fishery industry by African governments
and alongside global agencies, especially if the continent must take advantage
of the potentials global fish explosion by 2030, writes REMMY NWEKE.
Preamble:
Recently, a joint research
by the World Bank, Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), and the
International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPI) predicted that fish farms
sub-sector will produce two-third of the global food fish supply by 2030,
reports NaijaAgroNet.
With this, NaijaAgroNet also reports that
there are prospects for fisheries and aquaculture globally. But the fish farming, according to the tripod report
has potential to provide close to two thirds of global food fish consumption by
2030 as catches from wild capture fisheries level-off and demand from an
emerging global middle class, especially in China, substantially increases.
Global Trade in
Sea Food:
NaijaAgroNet gathered that the
report highlighted the
extent of global trade in seafood which tends to flow heavily from developing
to developed countries, which may have ignited the recent Nigeria’s acquisition
of a 10.1 million Euro fishery
vessel.
Also, NaijaAgroNet learnt from FAO
that presently 38 per cent of all fish produced in the world is exported and in
value terms, over two thirds of fishery exports by developing countries are
directed to developed countries.
Further, the "Fish to 2030" report
revealed toNaijaAgroNet that a major and growing market for fish is
coming from China which is projected to account for 38 per cent of global
consumption of food fish by 2030.
NaijaAgroNet notes that China and several other nations
like Nigeria are daily increasing their investments in aquaculture to help meet
these growing demands. Just as the Asian tigers which includes South Asia,
South-East Asia, China and Japan has been projected to make up 70 per cent of
global fish consumption by 2030.
Population
versus consumption:
In Sub-Saharan Africa, NaijaAgroNet findings showed an anticipated per capita
fish consumption decline of 1 per cent per year from 2010 to 2030, but due to
rapid population growth of 2.3 per cent in the same period, the region's total
fish consumption will likely grow by 30 per cent generally.
Additionally, the joint report forecasted 62
per cent of food fish to come from aquaculture by 2030 with the fastest supply
growth likely to come from tilapia, carp, and catfish. Global tilapia
production, NaijaAgroNet reports is expected to almost double from 4.3
million tonnes to 7.3 million tonnes a year between 2010 and 2030.
Experts at an
online encyclopedia, Wikipedia, defined aquaculture as the farming of aquatic organisms such
as fish, shellfish and even plants. Yet other experts say aquaculture is the
breeding and harvesting of plants and animals in water, which could take place
in natural water-bodies such as ponds, lakes, marsh-land or brackish water to
name a few.
Siwa Msangi of IFPRI, disclosed to NaijaAgroNet that the fast-moving nature of aquaculture
made this a particularly challenging sector to model and at the same time,
embodies the most exciting aspect of it in terms of future outlooks for
transformation and technological change.
"Comparing this study to a similar study
we did in 2003, we can see that growth in aquaculture production has been
stronger than what we thought," Msangi told NaijaAgroNet.
10.1m
Euro vessel, a boost to fish production:
Probably, these future outlooks for transformation
and technology change in aquaculture motivated the Federal Ministry of
Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) to acquire the 10.1Million Euro,
about N 2,162,177,947 trillion research vessel for
the Nigerian Institute of Oceanography and Marine Research (NIOMR).
For the minister, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina, the
approval for the purchase of the 10.1 Million Euros deep vessel by President Goodluck
Jonathan became imperative in view of the need to properly monitor and manage
the diversity of the country’s resources.
Adesina insisted in a chat with NaijaAgroNet that Nigeria has no business importing fish, but stressed
that Nigeria has abundance of water. Noting “We are blessed with numerous
lakes, rivers, reservoirs, dams and flood plains, spanning about 13 million
hectares which can support artisanal fisheries and aquaculture.”
Nigerian shrimps, he revealed to NaijaAgroNet, are considered one of the best in the world and
presently generates foreign exchange worth $65 million annually. Even as work
has started on unlocking of Nigeria’s fisheries potential with the launch of a
nationwide provision of subsidized fisheries inputs last year.
He pointed out that “Fish farmers were
registered under the e-wallet scheme and provided with juveniles and subsidized
fish feed. Artisanal fishermen were provided with nets, ropes, sinkers, floats
and insulated boxes free of charge and canoes at 50 per cent subsidy.”
Adesina equally said, the Federal Government
has commenced a coordinated inter-agency effort to curb incidents of piracy and
armed robbery at sea, emphasizing that Nigeria will not tolerate illegal
fishing in its territorial waters and will work with international agencies to
enforce compliance.
First Lady
Commendation:
Performing the commissioning on behalf of the
Federal Government of Nigeria in Poland, recently, Dame Patience Goodluck
Jonathan, the Nigerian first lady, remarked that the acquisition of the vessel
would boost Nigeria’s local fish supply and successfully help in achieving the
policy of the government towards self-sufficiency in fish production in the
near future.
Similarly, NaijaAgroNet
reports that Dame Patience Jonathan said penultimate Wednesday, 13
August, 2014 in Gdanski, Poland, that the vessel christened “RV Bayagbona”
would boost the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) created to promote
strategies for ensuring sustainable fish stocks, integrated fisheries
management, aquaculture and improving trade through established global best
practices in overall fisheries management.
“Nigeria is blessed with abundant aquatic
resources with a coastline of 853 kilometres, also rich in fish and shrimps,”
she said, citing for instance that Niger Delta of region in Nigeria, is reputed
as the second largest salt-water habitat in the world and has shrimps that are
most highly valued resource after crude oil.
The First Lady went on to commend the
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development and his team for the successful
acquisition of the vessel, which she said, would help to increase Nigeria’s
capacity in marine and oceanographic research for sustainable management of the
nation’s vast deep-sea resources.
NaijaAgroNet recalls that the vessel constructed by
Remomtowa Holdings was named after the first Executive Director of the Nigerian
Institute of Oceanography and Marine Research (NIOMR).
Enhancing management, conservation of tuna
fisheries
On
related circumstance, the Global Environment
Facility (GEF)-funded and Food Agriculture Organisation (FAO)
project, joined efforts at improving fisheries management in the common oceans
The
chief executive officer at GEF, Naoko Ishii told NaijaAgroNet that they approved a project coordinated by
the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to improve the health and
sustainability of tuna fisheries worldwide by reducing illegal catch and
supporting related marine ecosystems and species.
NaijaAgroNet notes
that GEF, an international institution uniting 183 countries to address global
environmental issues and support sustainable development, approved funding for
the implementation phase of the multi-partner project coordinated by FAO which
aims to improve management of tuna fisheries on the high seas and conserve
biodiversity of related marine ecosystems and species. It will reduce illegal
catches of the far-ranging, highly-prized and globally consumed fish.
As
said by Ishii, the latest decision sets the stage for action on a global scale
that will address both an economic and environmental threat to one of the
world's most important commercial fish species.
"I
am pleased that we are able to bring together both public and private partners
in this project, which give us a fighting chance to work on a scale sufficient
to reverse negative trends threatening the global tuna fishery and the ocean
environment that sustains it," Ishii said.
Till
date, according to NaijaAgroNet investigations, an estimated $30 million in
GEF grants has leveraged over $150 million of co-financing in support of the
project, which forms part of a broader multi-stakeholder initiative working to
ensure that these precious resources are harvested in a sustainable way.
Attaining MDG via NEPAD, FAO
fisheries’ project:
In realisation of the need to
structure partnership for African fisheries, the NEPAD Agency and Food and
Agriculture Organisation (FAO) recently commenced the implementation of a joint
project aimed at boosting fisheries development in Africa and improving the
standard of living of fishers on the continent.
This collaboration, NaijaAgroNet reports was undertaken with the objective of supporting
regional efforts to attain the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) with
expected long-term impact by significantly enhancing contributions of fisheries
and aquaculture to poverty alleviation, food security and economic growth
through improved and sustainable management of the fishery and aquaculture
sectors.
This partnership, NaijaAgroNet gathered, focuses on the environmental sustainability of
ecosystems in both marine and inland fisheries and aquaculture. An approach,
industry observers have the Ecosystem Approaches to Fisheries and Aquaculture
(EAF/EAA) with second focus being on Climate Change Adaption (CCA); whereas other
elements will deal with sustainable development of aquaculture businesses,
post-harvest value chain and Disaster Risk Management (DRM).
Dr. Sloans Chimatiro, NEPAD
Agency’s Fisheries Advisor and leader of Partnership for African Fisheries
(PAF) said the implementation of this programme was long awaited, and now it’s
time to deliver for the benefit of the African people continent-wide.
Co-ordiantor, NEPAD-FAO Fish
Programme (NFFP) Ms. Gunilla Greig was optimistic the
programme would make a significant contribution to NEPAD’s fisheries agenda and
further promote long-term NEPAD-FAO co-operation, for the benefit of several
people who depend on fisheries and aquaculture in Africa.
Further speaking, Dr. Chimatiro
said PAF was created
with the vision and aims working to improve the sustainability of
Africa's fisheries and improve the returns provided by this sector by way of supporting
and assisting in implementing the African fisheries instruments-targeted
reform.
These, he said, include the Abuja Declaration (NEPAD,
2005); the NEPAD Action Plan (2005); and the regional economic integration
policies of the Regional Economic Commissions (RECs) such as the SADC Protocol
on Fisheries (2001) and PAF has been incorporated into CAADP programme, with
five (5) key policy thrust namely good governance, illegal fishing, trade and
access to markets, aquaculture, finance and investment in Fisheries as well as
aquaculture
So far, Chimatiro confirmed to NaijaAgroNet that the Comprehensive African Fisheries Reform Strategy
(CAFRS) through the Think Tank Unit of PAF is partnering the World Bank’s
PROFISH on an initiative tagged “Currents of Change” programme to work and
define CAFRS. Hence this programme has four stages of work which have been
consolidated into a World Bank publication providing guidance on future fisheries
reform and investment.
Partnership that works:
With the aforementioned, there is
no doubt that Africans have grown some programmes and instrument towards
improving the fishery sector across the continent, hence it was not surprising
that Nigeria’s 10.1m Euro vessel is yearning for exploration through
international agencies collaboration among the African states, just as
indicated in the Comprehensive African Fisheries Reform Strategy.
Also by strengthening the
existing partnerships among World Bank, Food and
Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the International Food Policy Research
Institute (IFPI), GEF, CAFRS to name a few. And the
earlier African member states begin to take this advantage, the better for the
continent and fishery sector particularly.
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