The reduction of food insecurity and rural poverty and the promotion of sustainable rural livelihoods and more equitable access to resources are major strategies within the Strategic Framework for FAO 2000-2015. Small-scale fisheries are critical for food security and poverty reduction as highlighted again by the FAO Committee on Fisheries at its Twenty-fifth Session.
Poverty is a complex concept and process characterized by low incomes, poor health, low literacy levels, undernutrition and inadequate housing and living conditions; people move in and out of poverty. A high proportion of small-scale fishers are poor.
The United Nations General Assembly Resolution 52/94 of 18 December 1997 acknowledged the important contribution that microfinance programmes have made to poverty eradication and empowerment of the poor. It called upon the organizations of the United Nations system to include a microfinance approach in their programmes. Microfinance is defined as the provision of a broad range of services including loans, savings and insurance.
Microfinance programmes can be a powerful tool in poverty alleviation. In the case of fishing and fish farming communities, the alleviation of poverty is an important precondition for their participation in efforts to rehabilitate and conserve aquatic environment and fisheries resources. This again is likely to create conducive conditions for the implementation of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries and a sustainable use of fisheries resources.
It is hoped that the guidelines and case studies presented in this publication will be of help to those concerned with providing microfinance services to fisheries and aquaculture. The guidelines elaborate on lending models, methodologies and policies that are applicable to fisheries and address concerns that are particular to the sector while adhering to the best practices in the microfinance field.
Though comprehensive, the guidelines should not be followed rigidly, but creatively adapted to the various situations and circumstances under which they are being used, and so contribute to the ultimate objectives of achieving food security and a sustainable use of aquatic resources.
Jeremy Turner
Chief
FAO Fishing Technology Service
