Honourable Minister, Mr Chairman, Distinguished Delegates and Observers, Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is a great honour for me to be with you today in this charming city of Arusha to talk about a subject of utmost importance for our communities, rural and urban: aqua-culture.
Let me first of all join the previous speaker, the FAO Representative to Tanzania, in addressing heartfelt thanks to the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania for the kind invitation to hold this Consultation and for the warm hospitality accorded to us since our arrival in this beautiful country.
Honourable Minister, Mr Chairman, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen, my intervention will not be long.
I would simply like to underscore the significance that FAO places on aquaculture development, especially in less privileged parts of the world such as sub-Saharan Africa. As already stated by the previous speaker, about 43 millions metric tons of fish and other living aquatic organisms were produced from aquaculture in 1999 worldwide. Of this, almost 90% occurred in developing countries. However, in spite of its abundant natural resources and physical conditions which are suitable for aquaculture development, Africa, which is home to about 12% of the world population produced only 0.3% of the world aquaculture output. All efforts must be put in place to improve aquaculture production in Africa.
Mr Chairman, one of the ways of increasing aquaculture output is through the development of commercial aquaculture.
Commercial aquaculture generates many advantages. It can contribute to food security, directly by producing fish for food and indirectly by generating employment income for the purchase of food; access to institutional loans is easier with commercial aquaculture; it will pay taxes, thereby contributing to government revenues; it can also be a source of foreign currencies through exports; even if consumed domestically, the output from commercial aquaculture may replace imported fish and thus save foreign exchange. Commercial aquaculture can pressure for improved infrastructure, promote the development of small communities and discourage youth from migrating to cities; commercial aquaculture will use family and hired labour on farms and in secondary industries. Labour productivity is higher in commercial aquaculture, which drives living standards up and ultimately alleviates poverty. Commercial aquaculture can stimulate research and technological development, some of it funded by the industry itself. Commercial aquaculture and rural aquaculture can be complementary and mutually supportive as rural aquaculture farms can be guaranteed an income by providing seed inputs to commercial farms. The diffusion of knowledge from commercial farms to rural aquaculture farmers through on-site training, technology transfer meetings and formal training sessions by commercial farms is possible. Commercial farms can also provide the later with feed and seed loans and offer them market guarantees.
Mr Chairman, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen, for commercial aquaculture to take off or develop technological conditions must be right; there must also be demonstrated economic viability and good returns on investment; necessary infrastructure must be in place, and farmers must have access to financial resources but above all, sound government policies are critical. Whether by providing the legal, political and fiscal framework for entrepreneurs to feel secure with their investments or by actively intervening to promote the sector, policy-makers have a critical role in successful commercial aquaculture; they can encourage or discourage private investment. Governments are also necessary to ensure long-term sustainability, by enacting environmental regulations, and encouraging environmental assessments.
Mr Chairman, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen, while some of the pre-requisites for commercial aquaculture development are in place in sub-Saharan Africa, many others are lacking. You will have the opportunity to examine the major impediments to aquaculture development in the region and explore the strategies of tackling them.
Honourable Minister, Mr Chairman, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen,
FAO’s expectations of this meeting cannot be over-emphasised. The conclusions and recommendations which will emerge from your discussions and condensed into the report, which you will endorse, will shape the future of the development of commercial aquaculture in Africa South of the Sahara.
I wish you a very successful meeting and thank you very much for your attention.
