UN Food and Agriculture agency co-hosts fishing conference in Nigeria
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is co-hosting a three-day conference in Abuja, Nigeria for African governments, development organizations and experts from around the world to discuss ways to boost production at the continent's fisheries where fish supply has declined during the past decade, bucking the global trend.
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is co-hosting a three-day conference in Abuja, Nigeria for African governments, development organizations and experts from around the world to discuss ways to boost production at the continent's fisheries where fish supply has declined during the past decade, bucking the global trend.
“During the past 10 years, Africa's fish production has stalled and per capita fish supply has diminished, dropping from 8.8 kilogrammes/per capita in 1990 to around 7.8 kilogrammes in 2001. Africa is the only continent where this is happening, and the dilemma it poses is that there are no affordable alternative sources of protein. For a continent where food security is so precarious, it's extremely worrying,” FAO said in a statement.
The conference, which started today, is a collaborative effort of the Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), chaired by Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, the international research organization Worldfish Centre and FAO.
Participants will attempt to chart out a shared strategy for strengthening fisheries and aquaculture development planning for Africa and for increasing investment in the sector to help eradicate hunger and poverty, FAO said.
It also said that the contribution of fisheries and aquaculture needs to go up significantly in Africa, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, if the UN Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of eradicating extreme hunger and poverty is to be met.
The MDGs are a set of eight targets drawn up at the UN Millennium Summit five years ago to slash a host of socio-economic ills by 2015, including halving extreme poverty and hunger, cutting child mortality rates by two-thirds, and achieving universal primary education and access to health services.
FAO said it is convinced the neglected inland capture fisheries of Africa still have great potential. Many small water bodies and rivers could be improved and used for a significantly higher fish production, provided the proper incentives and marketing support structures are put in place, it added.