Current State of Global Aquaculture
Believed to have originated in China over 2000 years ago as a recreational pursuit, aquaculture is expected to have overtaken capture fisheries as the key food-fish producer by 2014. According to the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) total aquaculture production in 2011 was over 63 million tonnes. A significant trend in much of developing Asia is the growth in commercial and small farm aquaculture, spurred by increasing demand. The Asian region contributes over 90 per cent of global production, while China remains the world’s largest producer in the sector with 47.5 million tonnes produced in 2004.
Role of Aquaculture for Food Security and Nutrition
Nutritional Benefits
According to the FAO, over one billion people worldwide rely on fish as their primary source of animal protein. Around the world, average annual fish consumption is 16.1 kg per capita. In South-East Asia most major species of fish produced are primarily for local consumption, with Thailand and Vietnam deriving over a third of their fish production from aquaculture. In the last 30 years, animal protein consumption per capita in developing countries has more than doubled, as a direct result of technology advancement in aquaculture.
Those living in poverty and in lower socio-economic households are unable to access sufficient nutritional food to ensure their health and wellbeing. Often the food produced or purchased consists of cereals or low-cost staple ingredients; budgets are unable to stretch to include meat or fruit and vegetables. Fish, particularly produced through aquaculture, is commonly cheaper than other animal meat. It also contains much higher protein levels, as well as other important minerals and vitamins. As a means of providing greater nutrition for many poorer households, increased availability of fish can mean better health and a more diverse diet.
Indirectly, commercial aquaculture leads to increased food security by providing opportunities for employment and income generation for local communities. More than 500 million people in developing states reportedly depend on fisheries and aquaculture for their livelihood. As a majority of aquaculture production occurs in developing states, a rise in income leads to an increase in food purchasing power and, more importantly, diversification. The consumption of non-staple foods, including fish and vegetables, has a positive correlation with income growth, supporting food security and greater nutritional content in diets.
As poverty is often worst among rural communities, aquaculture presents an opportunity to diversify income and protect against market fluctuations in the prices of agricultural products. This integrated system of using agricultural land to raise fish, increases potential yield rates per annum. Diversification also increases overall land productivity, by utilising farm by-products as aquaculture feed and the water from aquaculture sites as a means of irrigating crops.
There are considerable constraints on aquaculture, particularly when intensive production is the key income generator for a farmer. Poorly developed infrastructure and limited access to transportation or urban centers,
Future Opportunities
Governance and access to market
The culture of exporting high-value fish persists, aided by government incentives; credit, low tariffs on imported supplies and infrastructure, and cheap land leases are prevalent. These benefits tend to favour wealthier producers, with low-income subsistence farmers often left with little support to sustain their aquaculture farms. Future policies and governance should focus on small-scale aquaculture as a means of poverty alleviation and improving food security. This assessment is supported by the positive effects on the production levels of poorer farmers, when they have been given access to technology and market opportunities.
Growth in the sector over the last two decades has been achieved through the adoption of new technologies and the diversification of farming practices. In Vietnam, the adoption of artificial propagation techniques for striped catfish, made it possible to produce fish seeds on a mass scale. In 2007, catfish production accounted for more than 50 per cent of Vietnam’s aquaculture production and has created livelihood opportunities for hundreds of people living in the Mekong Delta.
Past failures in aquaculture development have been linked to mismanagement, unclear land and water rights, and the use of inefficient government hatcheries. The capacity to develop aquaculture continues to suffer limitations due to weak institutions. A critical issue for fish farming, both subsistence and commercial, is the stringent health and safety requirements for exporting to the global market. With the costs and infrastructure required to meet standards, government support will be necessary if farmers, particularly small-hold farmers, are to successfully produce for overseas markets.
Instead of policies focusing on commercial farming and exports, policies and supporting systems need to address the needs of small-hold farmers, to ensure stability and food security for subsistence level households. Improved productivity, the expansion of aquaculture and the introduction of strategies to engage the poor, will enable aquaculture to have a far greater impact on food security. A key challenge regionally will be in developing standardised regulations and practices in line with international regulations.
Emad Mahgoub