New Aquatic Food Value Chains (NAVAC)
Nutritious and safe aquatic foods for vulnerable people
NAVAC works to increase the availability of nutritious and safe aquatic foods for vulnerable populations, while strengthening local economies through innovation in aquatic value chains. The project is funded by the European Union and implemented by FAO, in collaboration with the Technical University of Denmark (DTU).
Innovative approaches are urgently needed to develop affordable, nutritious and safe aquatic foods that reach local populations, generate decent livelihoods, and reduce food loss and waste through better use of byproducts along value chains.
The NAVAC project will support this goal by:
- growing the knowledge base on aquatic foods and their byproducts, focusing on how value chains can prevent and respond to food and nutrition crises;
- developing resilient, sustainable value chains to increase the availability and accessibility of nutritious, safe aquatic foods for vulnerable groups, including in fragile contexts, as part of broader social and environmental resilience strategies; and
- improving awareness and market acceptance of new or enhanced aquatic food products with strong nutrition benefits.
NAVAC leverages FAO's expertise in data collection, generation and management, and aquatic value chain analysis and development (VCAD). It builds on FAO's extensive experience in value chain analysis, including examples such as the FISH4ACP project, which focused on enhancing the productivity and competitiveness of aquatic value chains in 12 African, Caribbean and Pacific countries, ensuring that economic improvements go hand in hand with environmental sustainability and social inclusiveness.
