5.1 Government policy in the region
5.2 Government organization in the region
5.3 Aquaculture legislation
5.4 Trade and business associations
5.5 Information resources for management
5.6 Technical assistance projects in the sub-sector
In all the countries of the region, to varying degrees, agriculture (used in this sense to include crop and animal production, forestry, fisheries, and aquaculture), has been traditionally characterized as the "mainstay" of the national economy, with many assigned roles to perform in the course of the country's economic development.
Among the many roles conventionally ascribed to the agricultural sector in a growing economy are those of providing adequate food for an increasing population, supplying adequate raw materials to a growing industrial sector, constituting a major source of employment and foreign exchange, and providing a market for the products of the industrial sector.
Regarding government policy in some countries, one significant development has been the strong encouragement and policy statements during the last few years for fish culture development by certain governments but without any corresponding support (extension advice, availability of fingerlings, etc.). This action by governments may in fact set back aquaculture development in these countries as potential producers may be disappointed at their poor results following raised expectations.
The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), in collaboration with FAO, carried out an evaluation of the performance of the agricultural sector of the region in 1980/81 and concluded that the sector had not satisfactorily performed its roles. In the fisheries sector the drought of the early 1970s had adversely affected inland fisheries, especially the flood plain fisheries; while there was evidence that most of the marine fisheries stocks of the region were being exploited at their maximum and, in some cases, were over-exploited.
It was in this background that Heads of States and Governments in the region, excluding South Africa, adopted the "Lagos Plan of Action" in 1980 which outlined strategies for the attainment of food self-sufficiency within the region. The development of aquaculture was identified in the Plan of Action, which was later adopted by both the Lomé III Convention and in the United Nations Programme of Action for African Economic Recovery and Development 1986-90, and accepted as a potential agricultural activity which could reduce shortfalls in fish catch and fish imports.
In addition to these statements all endorsed at the regional level, heads of governments and government officials in individual countries, in speeches dealing with food production and/or nutrition, often refer to the need to develop aquaculture. Public awareness of the sector has also been heightened by seminars, conferences, and symposia organized in a number of countries, such as Nigeria and Tanzania (see 4.5); by featuring aspects of aquaculture at agricultural shows and fairs, as in Kenya in 1985, in Nigeria in 1986 and 1988 and in Cameroon in 1984. Countries in the region took advantage of the 1985 "World Food Day" which was dedicated to small-scale fishermen, fish farmers and their communities, to publicize aquaculture. Local and international press have also commented on aquaculture development in the region. However, owing to economic hardships, the Lagos Plan of Action has remained inactive, not only in the aquaculture sector but in almost all other sectors - hence the need for the UN Action Programme for Africa. Only a few countries in the region, among them Côte d'Ivoire, CAR, Madagascar, and Zambia have identified aquaculture as a priority vis-a-vis agriculture and actively support the development of the sector (see 2.6).
The primary social objectives of aquaculture in all the countries in the region have been to improve the nutritional status of rural people, and to diversify their activities and incomes. Only in recent years has aquaculture been viewed as an activity likely to meet shortfalls in fish supply and to reduce fish imports. Furthermore, only in a few countries, such as Kenya, Nigeria, and Zambia, etc., where large-scale commercial aquaculture has started, is the activity regarded as a "major" source of income.
In Kenya, Mauritius, and Réunion, aquaculture is also a source of foreign exchange. In addition to government employees, the sector provides employment directly or indirectly, usually on a part-time basis, to almost 50 000 families in the region (see 2.4).
The only existing planning documents for aquaculture for some countries in the region are CAR, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Nigeria, Sudan, and Tanzania, some of which date back to 1975. These rather ambitious and very useful background reviews have not been updated. Studies have been undertaken in some countries, such as Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Gabon, Madagascar, and Nigeria, with the aim of establishing National Development Plans for Aquaculture, but these are yet to materialize.
In the absence of coherent aquaculture development plans with phased programmes and budgets, the tendency in almost all the countries has been to propose a shopping list of projects to external aid donors or financing institutions, or for inclusion in national economic, social, and cultural development plans. During the past six years, FAO has undertaken to study and produce "National Reviews of Aquaculture" of countries in the region. Twenty such reviews are now available. The UNDP/FAO ADCP has recently produced guidelines on aquaculture planning which is now being distributed to African countries.
Government support to the sector has been little at best. In Nigeria, for example, in the Third National Development Plan 1975-80, about Naira 641 451 million was allocated to dam construction and irrigation schemes, but only Naira 9.77 million for aquaculture to the various States, and Naira 1.84 million to the Federal Department of Fisheries (FDF). Less than half of this amount was released however. Between 1981-86, funds allocated to FDF for aquaculture amounted to Naira 9.06 million, while actual expenditure was Naira 5.22 million. In the fiscal year 1988, 43% of FDF's budget of about Naira 13 million is earmarked for aquaculture. In Ghana, none of the aquaculture projects listed in the "Agricultural Development Plan 1984-88", is costed or budgeted for.
The organization of the aquaculture sub-sector/sector is within the fisheries sector, but in no country in the region is there an independent Ministry of Fisheries. At one time such a Ministry existed in Ghana, but was dismantled in 1977.
The following table illustrates the multitude of ministries which are responsible for fisheries and aquaculture in the countries of the region:
|
Angola |
Agriculture |
|
Burkina Faso |
Environnement et du Tourisme |
|
Cameroon |
Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Husbandry |
|
CAR |
Eaux et Forêts |
|
Chad |
Tourisme, Artisanal, Eaux, Forêts et Chasse |
|
Ethiopia |
Agriculture |
|
Gabon |
Eaux et Forêts |
|
Guinea Bissau |
Développement Rural et de la Pêche |
|
Kenya |
Tourism and Wildlife Regional Development, Science and Technology |
|
Lesotho |
Agriculture and Marketing |
|
Malawi |
Forestry and Natural Resources |
|
Mauritania |
Pêche et de l'Economie |
|
Niger |
Agriculture et de l'Environnement |
|
Nigeria |
Agriculture, Water and Rural Development |
|
Sudan |
Agriculture and Natural Resources Animal Resources |
|
Swaziland |
Agriculture and Co-operatives |
|
Tanzania |
Land, Natural Resources and Tourism |
|
Togo |
Développement Rural |
|
Uganda |
Animal Industries and Fisheries |
|
Zimbabwe |
Agriculture |
The fisheries sector is therefore always part of a broader Ministerial responsibility. The special situations in Côte d'Ivoire and Gabon were alluded to in section 3.1. The principal Ministries within which the fisheries sector is placed in some of the countries are the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Animal Production/Livestock, and the Ministry of Forestry or Waters and Forests.
In all the countries in the region, the Fisheries Department is responsible for the administration and development of the public sector of aquaculture. More precisely, it is responsible for policy, planning, monitoring, and the provision of extension services to the private sector. However, this responsibility is shared by other agencies as well, particularly parastatal organizations involved in irrigation schemes or in integrated rural development projects. This situation is not peculiar to the aquaculture sector, and the agricultural sector (crop and animal production) is often organized in the same way. It is seldom true, however, for the forestry and wildlife sectors.
In the anglophone countries in the region there is a corps of fisheries personnel/staff within the Civil Service, and aquaculturists are assimilated into this corps. In most francophone countries, the exception being Senegal and only recently Cameroon, there is no special corps for fisheries staff. They are recruited within the existing corps of workers in Waters and Forests, Veterinary, Animal Production, or Agriculture. However, in both systems the staffing is stratified or hierarchial in both a vertical and horizontal sense, For example, the typical structure is as follows:
Recruitment in either strata is based on basic educational training, while promotion within the strata is based on the number of years of service, merit and, at times, examination. Only in exceptional cases can one be promoted from the cadre of technical officers (technician) to that of fisheries officers (ingénieur), and usually only in the francophone system. The fisheries officers are generally responsible for administration, policy and planning, while technical officers are specifically responsible for operations.
As noted in section 3.1, the Departments are heavily staffed. The staff complement in the Inland Fisheries Division in Ghana in April 1988 was 6 fisheries officers. 111 technical officers, and 127 technical assistants; but most of the mid-level personnel are not trained and there are no specialist staff.
A number of graduates from the UNDP/FAO Regional Programme (ARAC) are currently in staff positions within governments in Cameroon, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Sudan. Tanzania, and Zambia, and have responsibilities for the sector.
Where legislation for the fisheries sectors exists most of it was enacted before 1980 and did not deal with the aquaculture sector. A few countries have updated their regulations, for example, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, the Gambia, Madagascar, and Senegal.
The new fisheries legislation in Cameroon, Gabon, and the Gambia contains specific clauses dealing with the aquaculture sector. Notably they deal with registration and licensing, and the exportation and importation of fish species. The importation of exotic species into Malawi is forbidden by law.
The Investment Code of many countries makes provisions for creating joint ventures. These provisions are also applicable to the aquaculture sector. However, the principal constraints of access to land and water rights need to be removed, or the procedures for obtaining them simplified, if joint ventures in the sector are to succeed.
There are no trade and business associations specifically for aquaculture in the region at the present time. Primarily this is because most aquaculture production is for national markets and little, if any, is exported. Each country has national Chambers of Commerce which encourage bilateral trade and assist with import documentation. Most of the national overseas embassies help the industry by sourcing equipment and advising on import regulations through their Commercial Attaches for international trade.
There are no publications in the region for management. Any general information about the sector is usually in association with publications for producers (see 3.8) or for the professionals (see 4.6).
Through the UNDP/FAO Aquaculture Development and Coordination Programme (ADCP) a number of documents are available which deal with planning and management of the sector. ADCP also produces a Newsletter, called Aquaculture Minutes, for administrators and managers. Some of the publications produced by ADCP are guidelines for the preparation of national plans, planning aquaculture development, and aquaculture engineering.
Technical assistance projects directed at developing or improving the aquaculture administrations in the countries of the region in terms of organization, structure and managerial capacity, are few in number. This is in spite of the fact that lack of managerial expertise has often been cited as a principal reason for the failure of large-scale aquaculture ventures in particular, and for the poor performance of the extension services in general.
Only three technical assistance projects have been undertaken in the sub-sector. Two of them were in Gabon (1982) and the other was in Côte d'Ivoire (1984) and were studies aimed at formulating National Aquaculture Development Plans for these countries. The third was the Fish Farm Management Course organized through FAO in Hungary with funds provided by AGFUND. However, some of the projects detailed in sections 2.7, 3.9 and 4.8, particularly the UNDP-supported project in Mali for freshwater fish production in rice fields, have a small component of management.
At the Sixth Session of the Committee for Inland Fisheries of Africa (CIFA) at Lusaka, Zambia in 1985, there was a workshop on "Planning for Aquaculture in Africa".
