Table of materials and presentations
|
23-24 October 2018, Nairobi, Kenya: Participants to the Project Inception Workshop of GCP/RAF/510/MUL: Enhancing |
Some 34 delegates representing two delegates each from Angola, Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda; delegates and officials of Kenya’s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Irrigation, academe and producer sector representatives; officials of FAOR and FAOHQ and experts actively participated during the Project Inception Workshop (PIW) of GCP/RAF/510/MUL: Enhancing capacity/risk reduction of emerging Tilapia Lake Virus (TiLV) to African tilapia aquaculture, held from 23-24 October 2018, Nairobi, Kenya.
Tilapias are the second-most important farmed finfish worldwide (next to the cyprinids), with Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus), ranking 6th among the most important cultured species. Given the importance of farmed and wild-caught tilapia, especially as a widespread source of low-cost protein and micronutrients, and its affordability, TiLV represents a potential threat to food security especially in the developing world.
Ms Susan Imende, Ag. Director General of the Kenya Fisheries Service, in her opening speech, emphasized the need to urgently tackle the threat of TiLV since it is in the African continent already. And since it affects also the wild fish – this can be a serious pathogen risk to wild tilapia populations of African lakes and rivers.
“We are aware that the disease can cause high mortalities and since there is neither cure nor vaccine yet, it can cause a lot of socio-economic upheaval among the small-scale fish farmers who are the majority in our Countries” (Ms Susan Imende).
She concluded her remarks with a note on the need to create awareness about the disease, create strong monitoring and surveillance systems as a continent, build capacity for diagnosis and more research to understand TiLV in order to develop an affordable vaccine and diversification of culture species if we are to build this industry. She declared open the PIW with a final remark “We must work together and not in isolation”.
The PIW introduced the backgrounder, objectives, scope, components and outputs, discussed project implementation mechanisms; and identified potential bottlenecks and/or risk in project implementation (especially at national level) and recommended ways in advance to avoid such risks.
The participants enhanced their knowledge about TiLV on various aspects pertaining to its emergence and current distribution, pathology and diagnostics, prevention, risks and risk management, aquatic animal disease surveillance and requirements. The participants also learned some aspects of socio-economic impact assessment methods and the FAO Emergency Management Tools.
By the end of the PIW, country delegates presented a detailed implementation plan including requirements, components, time-line, risks and responsibilities.
A 10-day intensive Training Course on TiLV is scheduled to be held from 4-13 December in Kisumu, Kenya in collaboration with the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute and the Kenya Fisheries Service.
More information: Melba.Reantaso@fao.org