Food security does not just concern food production. It can be defined as the physical and economic access to sufficient safe and nutritious food to meet dietary need. Fish and aquaculture provide the main source of animal protein to about one billion people globally, it contributed around 16% of animal protein intake and support to the livelihood of 10-12% of the world population. In 2010 the fishery sector represented an employment for 4.2% of the 1.3 billion people economically active in the broad agricultural sectors worldwide, compared with 2.7% in 1990.
Fish is an important source of protein, employment, and foreign income for many African countries. Africa depends on access agreements with fishing nations, and fisheries aid from developed countries. Increasingly, Africa confronted with competition from Asia for export fish markets.
The value of total fish export from Africa was around US$ 4.4 billion and the total iùmports US$ 2.6 billion. The EU market absorbs 63% of Africa’s fish exports whereas the intra regional is merely 12.3%.
The EU is embracing a broad-based liberalization measures which will lead to erosion of preference margins African countries have enjoyed. Thus, African countries should look into various options to reposition themselves in international fish trade. Other export markets: USA, China, East- Asia and other non-EU Europe accounting for 24 % of Africa’s export value. These markets could expand for African suppliers Intra-African trade is another potential opportunity for the Continent. In the past decade, the significance of the intra-African export trade in fish and fish products grown from 1 to 8 % in value terms
Challenges for Africa:
• Exploitation of natural fish stocks is reaching limits;
• Erosion of market shares in major markets;
• Intra regional trade is low and
• Aquaculture production has not yet fulfilled its potential.
Action needed
· Conservation and sustainable resource use and benefits;
· Promotion of small-scale fisheries development
· Sustainable aquaculture development;
· Promotion of responsible and equity fish trade and marketing;
· Strengthening of bilateral and regional cooperation;
· Enhanced human capacity development
Amadou Tall