The real GDP growth in the last five years was 5 percent with great disparities between countries and subregions. High inflation and currency depreciation affected growth in many countries. Progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is positive overall, with widely varying progress among goals and countries, and within countries. More than 40 percent of the population still lives in extreme poverty.
Freshwater (inland), brackish water and marine (coastal) environments are used for aquaculture production, but most of the activities are concentrated inland. The operations, particularly inland, are either subsistence, small-scale market-driven or large industrial scale. Between 2004 and 2014 there was a seven-fold increase in production with an average percent growth rate (APR) of 21 percent. The first sales value (farm gate price with no value addition) of the 2014 production was US$1.6 billion. Most (98 percent) of the production was from inland aquaculture, predominantly of indigenous and ubiquitous species of tilapia and the African catfishes. Seven countries (the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Republic of Uganda, the Republic of Ghana, the Republic of Kenya, the Republic of Zambia, the Republic of Madagascar and the Republic of South Africa) accounted for 93 percent of the total production. Mariculture production decreased by 17 percent in the last five years owing to the decimation of the shrimp industry in the Republic of Mozambique by white spot syndrome virus.
Dedicated commercial hatcheries are functional in some countries and emerging in others. Important developments include development of appropriate technologies to produce all-male tilapia fingerlings, making possible the production of a crop comprised primarily of high-value large fish and spawning of Clarias in large numbers using injections of fresh pituitary followed by hand-stripping. Genetic improvement including advances in pedigree-based breeding programmes for both tilapia and catfish are in various stages of development by the public and private sectors in the Republic of Ghana, the Republic of Uganda, the Republic of Kenya and the Federal Republic of Nigeria. There are aquafeed shortages but the situation is improving. Significant quantities of aquafeed are imported but expansion of local feed mill capacity is under way in a number of countries. Access to loans is limited due to complex bureaucracy and rules, high interest rates of 20–25 percent a year and short pay-back period of 5 years. Investment facilities include national development and commercial banks and non-formal sources. Farmers who obtain loans from non-formal sources are obliged to insure the farm; this is tied to the loan and is centrally done. There is a need to develop high quality, cost effective aquafeeds designed specifically for species and life stages being grown, undertake profitability or viability studies of different aquaculture production systems and subsequently develop business plans.
Fish prices vary between and within countries based on consumers’ preference, location, and imported vs domestic product and product forms. In 2013, prices for tilapia ranged from US$2.5 per kg (fresh whole round and gutted) in the Federal Republic of Nigeria to US$15 in the Republic of Angola. The price of fish is constantly on the increase because of high demand. Many countries are importing aquaculture products, particularly tilapia, from China, India and Thailand to meet demand. The impact of imported fish on aquaculture products is minimal. There is increased uptake of bilateral and intra-regional trade in aquaculture products but issues of quality standards persist. Value chain for aquaculture products is not well developed.
Certification and quality standards for export markets, such as the hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) system, have been met by some countries. The per capita fish consumption in 2014 was 8.9 kg compared to the World average of 19.7 kg. Consumption in SSA is projected to increase by 2.2 percent in 2025 owing to a combination of rising incomes and urbanization interlinked with the expansion of aquaculture and improved distribution channels. About 34 percent of those employed in the aquaculture sector in SSA are women. Women are owners of farms and actively involved in the value chain operations of post-harvest and marketing of product. Women, particularly in seaweed farms, face health issues and need better working condition and sustainability.
Over 40 SSA countries have adopted national environmental framework laws and some countries have incorporated specific regulations to promote environmental management of aquaculture. Several governments have made concerted efforts to improve aquaculture governance and management of the sector but this effort is not evenly spread. Many countries have yet to elaborate policies, framework strategies and plans. The rate of implementation of elaborated instruments is low. Regulations on the use of alien species, monitoring of aquaculture activities, improvement in the implementation of environmental impact assessment (EIA), the prevention and mitigation of escapes and aquaculture zoning as a well as the application of ecosystem approach to aquaculture (EAA) deserve more attention in the region. Some countries undertook activities implementing FAO’s Blue Growth Initiative in an aquaculture context. The activities included Spatial Planning (the Republic of Angola), Ecosystem Services and Biodiversity (the Republic of Kenya) and Aquaculture Enterprise Development (the Republic of Zambia).
The main drivers for the progressive regional expansion and remarkable growth of SSA aquaculture in the last five years include the increasing importance being placed by SSA countries on the sub-sector for improving food security, job creation, economic growth and resource use. Assistance has come from FAO and other development partners (international and bilateral) and donor organizations and investors, including the African Union – InterAfrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR), the World Bank, African Development Bank (AfDB), European Union (EU), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Department for International Development of the United Kingdom (DFID), Swedish International Development Cooperation (SIDA) and WorldFish Center (WFC). In addition, there is increased willingness by the private sector to effectively engage in aquaculture activities in several countries.
Weather and climate change-related shocks, insecurity, rapid growths of the working-age population, increasing urbanization, access to land and water resources, competition for these resources by multiple users and their degradation as well as lack of excellent basic infrastructural capacity in many countries have weighty implications for the promotion of aquaculture development in SSA. This notwithstanding, the possibilities for increased growth are good and indications are that the APR of 21 percent witnessed during the past decade can be maintained. Aquaculture production in SSA in 2025 is projected to be 1 million tonnes, an increase of 84 percent.
