Meeting with H.E. Paubert Tsimanaoraty Mahatante, Minister for Fisheries and the Blue Economy of the Republic of Madagascar

Rabat - FAO Director-General QU Dongyu met today in Rabat with His Excellency Paubert Tsimanaoraty Mahatante, Minister for Fisheries and the Blue Economy of the Republic of Madagascar, on the margins of the 33rd Session of the FAO Regional Conference for Africa (ARC33).

The Minister thanked the Director-General for the good collaboration with FAO and requested increased support for the fisheries sector, noting that the country still faced huge fish loss due to lack of proper equipment. The Minister stressed the need for modern fishing equipment to reduce post harvesting loss.

The Minister also highlighted the need for increased technical support on marine data capturing as they were faced with the immense challenge of data capturing for their marine resources, as well as for stock assessment.

Finally, the Minister also referred to the need for support on aqua feed as they were still reliant on imports and were faced with a heavy tax burden leading to increased prices for fish thereby making it a very expensive commodity.

The Director-General reaffirmed his commitment to continue providing the technical support needed in all areas related to FAO’s mandate, especially through the FAO Country Office, and encouraged the government of Madagascar to join the Hand-in-Hand Investment Forum taking place under the umbrella of the World Food Forum in October 2024 at FAO headquarters in Rome, as it would provide an important platform to market their products and attract investors.

The Director-General further encouraged Madagascar to collaborate with Morocco, as a leader in agrifood systems transformation, and in particular for exchange of knowledge and experience regarding the aquaculture sector.