The overall objectives of the Transitional Government are to establish peace and security; encourage growth by replacing the previous centrally planed economy with a market-based economy; and reduce poverty. The new economic policy emphasizes the need to revitalize the economy and create a favourable environment for development by limiting the role of the Government to selected economic services, encouraging private investment, promoting further participation of the private sector in the economy, mobilizing external resources, and pursuing appropriate macroeconomic and sectoral policies.
The devaluation of the Birr in October 1992 was among the first steps of the economic reform. Furthermore, several actions have already been taken by the Government as part of the overall economic adjustment programme. Some examples are the new investment code, the new labor code, the impending liberalization of road freight tariffs, and the banking law (under formulation).
Some fundamental issues, such as land ownership, are expected to be addressed through national referendum after a new constitution is adopted and a National Assembly elected.
The medium-term economic programme 1992/93-1994/95 aims to introduce a market-based economy and encourage labor-intensive investments. It is undertaken along three overlapping phases:
- Economic stabilization (tight fiscal and monetary policies and exchange rate correction);
- Structural reforms (changes in the legal, institutional and regulatory framework, including revision of labor, investment, commercial and tax codes). Among other things, these reforms are expected to put an end to the discrimination against the private sector regarding access to credit, to introduce competition in financial system, to liberalize both pricing and marketing of inputs and products; and to encourage autonomous operation of parastatal enterprises through restructuring and/or privatization;
- International competitiveness (strengthening of structural reforms, in particular regarding the financial sector).
Within the original Ten-Year Perspective Plan 1983/84-1993/94, there was a Sector Plan for Agriculture, which included detailed provisions on cooperatives and support to farmers. Only broad comments were laid down on fisheries (backwardness of technology used by fishermen, inadequate infrastructure, unavailability of detailed studies on potential resources, institutional problems). The Plan also gave unrealistic national production target of fish products.
Under the new economic policy, the principal objectives of agricultural policy are to ensure adequate food security through increased agricultural production, employment and income, especially in food deficit areas, and increase foreign exchange earnings through increased agricultural exports. Although importance of fish as a cheap source of animal protein is increasingly recognized, the fisheries policy however is not mentioned in the medium-term economic programme, as a result of the limited role played by the sector in the national nutrition and economy.
However, a clear fishery sector plan including detailed strategies and action programmes had never been elaborated in Ethiopia.
Although the FRDD is entrusted with fisheries planning activities, there is a lack of specialized planning Section and expertise for economic research and analysis. Development planning and programming which are extremely dependent on external financing, are thus mostly indicative and conducted on an ad hoc basis. Furthermore, Regional Fisheries Officers have not sufficient scope in development project identification, formulation and execution, and more generally in assessing realistic fishery development needs.
In June 1993, a National Seminar on Fishery Policy and Strategy was held at Addis Ababa, with the assistance of an FAO Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP/ETH/1357) project. The objectives of the project were to update the Sector Review prepared in 1990 under FAO/TCP/ETH/0052, and to propose related development strategy and action programme. The basic elements of a strategy were presented and approved in principle by the participants to the national seminar.
The short/medium term objective (1993/94-1995/96) of the proposed strategy is to increase per caput fish consumption through concentrating fishing and marketing development efforts on the under-exploited fisheries. The strategy is elaborated along the following main orientations:
- To strengthen the institutional and legal framework for fisheries management and development by:
. establishing a permanent mechanism for monitoring the status of fish resources and exploitation;
. defining the legal framework for fisheries management and consolidating private sector involvement in fisheries activities;
. developing FRDD development planning and resource management capabilities, and institutional collaborative linkages at central and regional levels.
- To increase fish supply from fishing communities and private post-harvest entrepreneurs by:
. promoting private small-scale fresh and dried fish marketing;
. increasing fish production and fishers productivity through technological standards improvement.
Present facilities for gathering essential information on fisheries production are inadequate. Summary statistics are collected at three-month intervals by regional teams of the FRDD for the regular report to Headquarters. These statistics are supplied by fishermen's associations and by the FPMC, i.e. only by organisations officially involved in commercial fishing. The very significant production from informal fishermen is not fully taken into account by the present system since it is arbitrarily estimated at 25% of official harvest only.
During the last three years, despite the observed increase in fish production, official production has stagnated to 4 300 tons/year. In such a context, current data collection system has become virtually inadequate to initiate sound development planning and resource management. Moreover, when decentralization process is implemented, new complex procedures for data collection and dissemination may be introduced through Regional Offices. The present data collection and quality control systems of fisheries statistics require immediate improvement in terms of methodology, auxiliary equipment and staff experience.
Furthermore, as already underlined by a UNDP/FAO Workshop on Fishery Statistics and Information Systems, organised by the FRDD and the UNDP/FAO IFIP project (Addis Ababa, 1990), there is a need to start collecting socio-economic information as part of a fisheries information system.
Since the beginning of 1993, the LFDP (Phase2) has started to conduct baseline surveys on major water bodies. These surveys are based on questionnaire and information including distribution of fishermen, with indications on their ethnic groups and economic activities, distribution of boats and boats ownerships, and fishing gear. These frame surveys would constitute the first step to the establishment of a fisheries information system, even if a strong central direction is also required to coordinate the various fragmentary systems of data collection.
Ethiopia has no fisheries legislation, with the exception of a decree relevant to the FPMC activities. Most notable is the lack of legal provisions to monitor fishing activities through fisheries regulations and the lack of a clearly designated enforcement agency. However, general principles as well as a set of uncoordinated fishery regulatory practices do exist.
A fisheries legislation for Ethiopia was drafted by FAO in 1983 (Khan, 1983). This document included among others, draft decrees for fisheries management and development; fisheries regulations; and establishment of the FPMC. Unfortunately, this draft which was then thought suitable has never been followed up by the responsible authorities.
In the absence of a fisheries legislation, the authority empowered with the leading institutional responsibility towards sectoral development is not clearly established. The absence of clearly defined line administration, combined with the lack of institutional consultation, leads to frequent overlapping activities between various institutions. The clarification of the fisheries institutional framework in Ethiopia can be seen as a sine qua non condition for effective monitoring of the sector, and rational management of water bodies with regard to environmental protection.
The elaboration and adoption of a fisheries legislation is also needed for fisheries development with regard to the implementation of special decrees on investment, which requires a proper status for potential investors.
Under the Economic Reform Programme (ERP) adopted in March 1990 by the former Government, new licensed ventures in fisheries could have benefitted from investment incentives in the form of tax holidays and exemption for import duties. Further official information concerning the present situation is not available.
The special duties payable for franco valuta imports for some fishing inputs are as follows (source: Negarit Gazeta and Ministry of Finance - regulation N° 3/1989): wooden fishing vessels 75%; nets 50%; engines (inboard and outboard) 75%; fishing gear (nets, hooks, twine) 50%. In view of the current shortage of improved fishing inputs and the Government's willingness to increase fish production, the rationale of current import tax on engines and gear on franco valuta basis is questionable.
General taxes which also apply to fisheries are the sales tax of 5% on purchases of fish, and the annual market tax of about Br300 levied from licensed traders in Addis Ababa.
Income tax (e.g. Br0.10/kg of Nile perch fillets, which would be 8.5% ad valorem), are also levied from fishermen's associations but details need to be clarified for all locations.
Concerning income tax regulations, in September 1992, the Council of Representatives approved a draft proclamation on amendments to existing income tax regulations. It stipulated that incomes of up to Br105 should be tax free, and reduced the maximum tax rate from 85% to 50% on incomes of Br2 501 and above.
In the absence of a fisheries legislation in Ethiopia, the present evolved system of fisheries authorization and control is not altogether clear. Management systems have been de facto under the control of local fishermen's associations, the strongest bodies that prevailed, regardless of supposed rules and authority.
The FRDD has tried to maintain an influence on local practices under MOA guidelines, despite the lack of law which would have empowered the Department to make rules. When a fishermen's association insists on beach-seining capable of damaging fish stocks, or when an individual fisherman uses a mesh size probably too small, the FRDD has no explicit legal sanction to prevent them. Each fishermen's association has therefore set regulations governing its particular fishery (gear type, mesh size, seasonal constraints, nursery areas, etc.). However, judging from the reported annual decline in catches from Lake Awassa, the system has not always proved adequate.
The lack of a legal framework for fisheries activities is considered to be a most serious drawback which should be urgently addressed, especially in the transitional context towards liberalized economy. In particular, there is an urgent need to clarify the legal and institutional base for setting up and implementing access conditions to fishing grounds and related regulatory measures.
In the recent past, few projects had been directly supporting the fishery sector in Ethiopia. At present, the Lake Fisheries Development Project (Phase2), supported by the EEC, is playing a considerable role in fisheries development and management, while the Ethiopian Orthodox Church/Inter Kerk Urk and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have showed an increasing interest in the sector.
The LFDP (Phase1), supported by the EEC (1981-1987), concentrated on the major lakes of the Rift Valley. The main objectives were to increase production on Lakes Ziway and Abaya, to facilitate marketing by strengthening the FPMC, and to study resource potential on Lakes Ziway and Abaya. The total contribution from the EEC was ECU1.74million, of which 76% was spent on equipment, buildings and fishing gear, the remainder on training. Most of the installations constructed under Phase1 became assets of the FPMC. The LFDP (Phase 1) contributed significantly to build basic infrastructure although outcomes did not reach all expectations in terms of fishing techniques improvement and development of a self-sustained fishing activity in the Rift Valley lakes.
The LFDP (Phase 2) was signed in 1989 with a budget of ECU7.5million under the EDF and a matching fund equivalent to ECU4.5million. The long-term objectives of the project are still to encourage a rational exploitation of the fishery resource, and to increase the contribution of the sub-sector towards rural development. However, the short term objectives have been changed to put emphasis on giving direct support to individual fishermen, cooperatives and fish traders, the FPMC being considered as any economic operator in fish marketing.
Actual implementation of the LFDP Phase 2 started mid 1992 with the support of a team comprising a fisheries planner, a biologist and a boat builder/master fisherman. The project area is currently covering Lakes Chamo, Awassa, Ziway, and Tana. The project components are as follows: research (baseline survey, stock assessment, diversification of gear), training (FRDD staff and extension workers), infrastructural development (feeder roads, jetties, fish landing sites, market place), and marketing (market survey, fish promotion).
In 1986, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church/Inter Kerk Urk (EOC/DICAD) has started a fishing project on Lake Tana at Bahir Dar, with the assistance of a similar church organization based at Urk in the Netherlands. The objectives are to enable the MOA to assess fish stocks in Lake Tana; to train fishermen and extension workers; and to improve the diet of the local population. A great portion of the financial support has been brought as donation in kind imported from Holland (URK): motorized boats, twines for netmaking, cooling facilities for storage, etc. URK has also been engaged in organizing training courses in Holland and facilitating contacts with the University of Wageningen for the research studies.
From the beginning, the programme trained: about 60 fishermen in modern fishing technologies with motorized boats (who went on themselves to train 70 fishermen); four mechanics for engine maintenance, women in net-making; and women in filleting and packing fish. After training, separate groups of fishermen have been provided with a motorized boat under a credit scheme, but by March 1993 less than 10% of the funds was revolved. The research programme, which is expected to end in 1996, includes a comprehensive assessment of the fish resources with the final objective of introducing improved fishing technology.
When the project is terminated (end 1993), it is expected that the community will be able to pursue the project activities through a service cooperative, with the support of the MOA for managerial issues. Nevertheless, the capital-intensive strategy adopted by the project is likely to hamper the sustainability of the project.
In 1986 the NGO German Agro Action helped to set up a cooperative at Wawa, at the northern end of Lake Tana. Ten families started fishing, the men using traditional papyrus rafts and local nets, the women selling the fish. With the help of the Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (RRC), the project experimented from 1987 to 1988 with outboard engines. Since the beginning of 1989, the project has imported inflatable boats, but no data is made available on their performance as well as on the present status of the project.
The Family Service Organisation (FSO), an Ethiopian NGO, has implemented since 1990 a development project at Godino near Debre Zeit, whose rural component includes experimental fish ponds. So far, Land and Water Resources (USA) has provided technical support, plus Soviet and US volunteers who worked alongside Ethiopian volunteers to demonstrate bio-intensive food production, by integrating vegetable with fish pond production of tilapia.
Furthermore, the NGO World Vision, in collaboration with the MOA, has recently introduced gillnetting on Lake Abaya, by supplying two organized fishing groups with about 80 nets. So far, World Vision has adopted a "Food for Work" approach to implement its project.
The main projects in pipeline are the following:
. The EOC/DICAD might launch a project in Arba Minch area on the basis of the accumulated experience from Lake Tana project (URK would have already given its agreement to fund the project);
. The FSO is currently preparing two projects: one project with a three-year target aiming to train 425 families around Godino in fish farming before extending the work to the Rift Valley; one project to improve fish production, marketing and distribution in the Rift Valley, and notably in Sodo and Shashamene areas.
