Improving the diet composition of the population of Mongolia for better nutrition and health is one of the priorities in the National Food Security Programme. Increasing domestic fish production is recognized as an important means of reaching this goal, through the development of aquaculture and the improvement of inland fisheries in the country. The project aimed to achieve this by setting up pilot aquaculture business operations, improving capacity, and establishing an enabling environment for the development of the aquaculture sector in the country.
Aquaculture production (fish farming) in Bangladesh grew by nearly 200 percent between 2001 and 2015, to just over two million tonnes. The sustainability of further expansion will depend on ensuring high-quality seed and feed is produced, distributed and utilisedin an efficient, socially equitable, and environmentally appropriate manner. The project enabled seed quality to be enhanced by initiating a selective breeding programme to produce improved broodstock, and by developing better hatchery management practice guidelines. Feed quality was enhanced by establishing monitoring systems to ensure farmers accessed high-quality, unadulterated feed.
The project worked towards strengthening national capacities to eradicate hunger and malnutrition in the nations making up the Community of Portuguese Language Countries. It brought together leading civil society organizations, the private sector, academic institutions and parliamentarians from the countries involved, as well as fostering cooperation between member states to advance the national implementation of the strategy.
The benefits were to be felt deep within communities, as with school feeding programmesin Cabo Verde and São Tomé e Príncipe and family farming in Timor-Leste and Angola.
The magnitude of food losses remains unacceptably high around the world. In 2011, FAO estimated yearly global quantitative food losses in sub-Saharan Africa at around 20 percent for cereals, 40-50 percent for root crops, fruits and vegetables and 33 percent for fish. Food losses are brought about by wide-ranging managerial and technical limitations in areas such as harvesting storage and transportation. This is a particular problem for small and medium-sized fisheries and agricultural producers. If markets are not accessible or market prices are too low, farmers and fishers may let good products go to waste, with devastating results for producers and consumers alike. Given the emerging consensus among African leaders that investment in agriculture should address the post-harvest sector, it was agreed that food loss reduction interventions should be strengthened and incorporated in national agricultural strategies.
The development of the small ruminant industry in the Caribbean is considered a priority by ministries of agriculture and other stakeholders of the sector. To achieve this, support was requested to develop and strengthen the industry by building the capacity of farmers involved in small ruminant production and by enhancing the production and productivity of the sector. The overall objective of the project was to contribute to the modernization and strengthening of small ruminant development in the Caribbean in order to meet the challenges of addressing food and nutrition security more effectively.
