Food Loss and Waste in Fish Value Chains
©FAO/Hashim Muumin

FISH4ACP can have significant impact on food loss and waste reduction

Maarten Roest, 1 June 2021

The innovative and comprehensive value chain approach underlying the efforts of the new, five-year FISH4ACP programme to make fisheries and aquaculture value chains in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific more sustainable can make a significant contribution to food loss and waste reduction. 

Fisheries and aquaculture are growing in most countries of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) region, but growth has been slow and benefits do not always reach communities who rely on them for their livelihoods and food security, while poor fisheries and aquaculture practices can put stress on the environments in which they operate.  

To tackle some of the fundamental challenges to sustainable growth of its fisheries and aquaculture sectors, the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) launched a major initiative, called FISH4ACP, to maximise economic returns and social benefits of value chains in twelve ACP countries, while minimising detrimental effects on natural habitats and aquatic resources.  

The programme focuses on enhancing the productivity and competitiveness of fisheries and aquaculture value chains, while ensuring that economic improvements go hand in hand with environmental sustainability and social inclusiveness. 

Through its innovative and comprehensive value chain approach, FISH4ACP covers a wide range of issues related to quality, hygiene, value addition and market access, which can all have a positive impact on food loss and waste reduction.  

Similarly, food loss and waste reduction can have multiple benefits for the fisheries and aquaculture value chains supported by FISH4ACP. It can make better and safer food available for consumers, improve sales and increase the incomes of fishers, processors and traders, while generating more government revenues.  

In certain capture fishery value chains that FISH4ACP is supporting there are opportunities to work on the reduction of bycatch and discards. For example, in Guyana and Cameroon, where the project is involved in the shrimp fishing sector.  

Technological improvements in processing and handling in Lake Tanganyika fisheries value chains have the potential to greatly benefit fisherfolk from Tanzania and Zambia, for example by diminishing losses of small pelagics that they suffer every year during the rainy season.   

 

Strengthening the cold chain is another technological improvement with a strong potential to reduce loss and waste in many value chains covered by the project.  

FISH4ACP is an initiative of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), contributing to food and nutrition security, economic prosperity and job creation by ensuring the economic, social and environmental sustainability of fisheries and aquaculture in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific. FISH4ACP is implemented by FAO with funding from the European Union (EU) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).  

More information on the project is available on the website with news stories on recent activities, videos presenting the people behind the value chains supported by FISH4ACP, as well as background on its objectives, activities and targets, the approach and methods used, and the countries where it operates. 

Find out more about solutions to reduce food loss and waste here.