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  2.8 External Assistance

Shehadeh, Z.H. and J. Orzeszko

Information on grants and loans for aquaculture research and development is maintained within the Fisheries Project Information System (FIPIS) by FAO from data supplied by donor agencies. In FIPIS, funds committed to projects are allocated entirely to the year in which the projects became operational. Therefore, data presented here for each year refer to the number of projects beginning that year and the total funds committed to the projects. Following is an analysis of current information in the system. Some data returns from donors are incomplete for 1995, so the analysis should be considered provisional.

Figure 2.8.1
External funding for aquaculture and fisheries R&D, 1988-95 Total official aid to aquaculture research and development in 1988-95 was about US$995 million, expressed in current value terms, and represented about 28% (range: 25-40%) of the total committed to the aquaculture and fisheries sectors (US$3.6 thousand million). The average annual input was about US$124 million per year. With the exception of two years (1991 and 1993), annual inputs (funding for new aquaculture projects) during the period were fairly steady with a range of US$120-188 million; the maximum proportion of aquaculture assistance was in 1995, as a result of the continuing drop in funding for capture fisheries since 1992 ( Figure 2.8.1).

About 578 aquaculture projects were initiated during the period, accounting for 26% of the total number of projects in fisheries and aquaculture. An additional 54 projects with aquaculture components were also initiated during the period. The total number of fisheries and aquaculture projects commenced each year declined gradually over the eight-year period from 379 in 1988 to 132 in 1995, and from 114 to 21 in the case of aquaculture projects.

Figure 2.8.2
Aid to aquaculture by donor, 1988-95

Development banks were consistently the main source of external funding for aquaculture during 1988-1995 ( Figure 2.8.2). They accounted for 69% of the funding and 40% of the projects, while bilateral sources contributed 17% of funding and accounted for 6% of the projects. Multilateral sources contributed 34% of projects and 7% of funding. Projects executed by FAO, which were supported by the FAO Technical Co-operation Programme, Trust Funds and the United Nations Development Programme, amounted to 5% of funding and supported 18% of projects initiated in the period. A further 2% of projects came from other UN agencies (2% of funding). In 1994, the last year for which complete data are available, the banks and bilateral agencies accounted for 91% of funding (74% and 17%, respectively). Data so far available for 1995 show increasing dominance of funding by the development banks (92%) with the meagre balance contributed by bilateral (3%) and multilateral (5%) sources.

Figure 2.8.3
External aid to aquaculture by region, 1988-95 The Asian and African regions consistently received the greatest measure of support with regard to the number of projects commenced and the funds allocated ( Figure 2.8.3). Of the total number of projects reported to FIPIS for the period 1988-1995, the Asian region accounted for 65% of commitments and 38% of the projects, while African countries were the recipients of 16% of commitments and about a quarter of the projects. Of the remaining regions, only Latin America commanded a substantial part of aid, with about 14% of funds and 17% of projects. Interestingly, average annual aid to Oceania (US$1.5 million) was higher than that to the Near East and Mediterranean (US$1.3 million), the Caribbean and Atlantic (US$0.6 million), and Europe (US$0.2 million). Assistance through global and inter-regional projects accounted for 2.3% of aggregate funding for the period, and 10% of projects.

Figure 2.8.4
Main beneficiaries of external aid to aquaculture, 1988-95 The major beneficiaries of aquaculture aid during 1988-1995 (i.e. countries receiving at least 1% of total aid) are shown in ( Figure 2.8.4). India, China, Bangladesh and Mexico, which have received major loans from development banks during the period, accounted for about 64% (about US$638 million) of external aid to aquaculture.

Figure 2.8.5
External assistance to aquaculture in Asia, 1988-1995


The two notable trends in external assistance to aquaculture, as seen from FIPIS data, are the continuing dominance of development banks and the decrease in commitments of aid to aquaculture in Asia ( Figure 2.8.5).