Small-scale fisheries are important for achieving food security
Women predominate the postharvest sector and play a key role in ensuring that their families and consumers have access to food
Small-scale fisheries, and all activities along the value chain in both marine and inland waters, play an important role in achieving food security and sustaining livelihoods through better policies, strategies and initiatives. This was the focus of discussions at the workshop held in early June with partner countries and organizations of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations’ sub-programme on “Implementing the Small-Scale Fisheries Guidelines for gender-equitable and climate-resilient food systems and livelihoods”.
Over 70% of people involved in the capture fisheries value chain in partner countries such as Ghana are small-scale fishers and over 80% of small-scale landings are consumed locally. However, in recent times, the fisheries' resources have been overexploited due to, climate change and illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing practices among others.
This, according to Ghana’s Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development Hon. Mavis Hawa Koomson would have a negative impact on the livelihoods and food security of the small-scale producers if nothing is done to reverse the overexploitation.
“The adoption by FAO Member States of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines) is therefore in the right direction and critical to the sustainable use of our fishery resources. I strongly recommend that all FAO Member States should be encouraged to mainstream the principles of the SSF Guidelines into their respective national policies.” Said the Minister.
The four-day meeting in Accra Ghana brought together different stakeholders and countries to discuss lessons learnt, challenges and good practices to enhance knowledge exchange within the African and Asian regions, as countries and organisations are at different stages in their activities. While some have recently started implementing activities others already have some experience from past work under the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) or Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) projects. The overall purpose is to strengthen the implementation of ongoing and planned activities.
The Sub-programme
The FMM-funded Sub-programme focuses on seven countries in Sub-Saharan Africa: Ghana, Madagascar, Malawi, Namibia, Sierra Leone, the United Republic of Tanzania, Uganda, and two countries in Asia: the Philippines and Indonesia. other partner organizations - African Confederation of Professional Organizations of Artisanal Fisheries (CAOPA), the African Women Fish Processors and Traders Network (AWFISHNET), the East African Communities (EAC) secretariat, the FAO-GEF Coastal Fisheries Initiative West Africa project (CFI-WA) and the Southeast Asia Fisheries Development Center
(SEAFDEC) - to present completed and ongoing sub-programme activities, discuss lessons learnt, challenges and good practices to strengthen knowledge exchange within the region (Africa) and across regions (Africa, Asia).
The Sub-programme is designed as a continuation of activities, funded by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation Norad which started in July 2021 and supports the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines), (FMM/GLO/155/MUL).
“The SSF Guidelines include specific sections on gender and the postharvest sector recognising that in many countries, in particular low-income countries, women predominate the postharvest sector and play a key role in ensuring that their families and consumers have access to food. However, they face many obstacles and frequently do not have the same rights and opportunities as men. They often have unequal access to usable assets, technology, finance, and services such as education, water, and health. As a result, women can be vulnerable to disadvantageous contracts, unfair conditions and practices regarding fish sales and markets. The compound effect is that women have limited influence over decisions that are critical to their livelihoods and to the way they contribute to food security, nutrition, and sustainable food systems. With this project, we want to contribute significantly to the change of this situation”. Yurdi Yasmi, Assistant Director-General of FAORAF,
The SSF Guidelines
The SSF Guidelines are the result of a bottom-up participatory development process based on the recommendations of the Twenty-ninth and Thirtieth Sessions of the FAO Committee on Fisheries (COFI). Between 2010 and 2013, FAO facilitated a global process that involved more than 4000 representatives of governments, small-scale fishers, fish workers and their organizations, researchers, development partners and other relevant stakeholders from more than 120 countries in 6 regional and more than 20 civil-society organization-led national consultative meetings. The outcomes of these consultations provided the basis for the work of an FAO Technical Consultation, which met in May 2013 and February 2014 to agree on the final text. The endorsement of the SSF Guidelines by the Thirty-first Session of COFI in June 2014 represents a major achievement toward ensuring secure and sustainable small-scale fisheries