Getting the picture

Value chain assessments will set the agenda of FISH4ACP’s efforts to strengthen fisheries and aquaculture in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific

1 December 2020, Rome - Hundreds of people are being mobilized as FISH4ACP prepares a massive assessment of all the value chains targeted by this ambitious initiative aimed at improving fisheries and aquaculture in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific. Right from the start, partnership and capacity building prove to be key to FISH4ACP's success.

The first assessment kicked off in mid-November in Guyana. Guyana is the world's largest producer of the Atlantic seabob, a commercially important shrimp captured from the Atlantic coast of the US all the way down to Brazil.

"The value chain assessment will be of tremendous importance," said Dawn Maison, who leads FISH4ACP's efforts in Guyana. "We will get the picture of the main environmental, economic and social challenges of the seabob fishery. This will show us the way to addressing them."

By the time field work is complete, in early 2021, over 500 interviews of small-scale fishers, workers involved in the harvesting, trading and processing of seabob, as well as experts and consumers will have taken place.

Dawn explained that FISH4ACP has teamed up with the University of the West Indies and the University of Guyana to carry out the survey. "Each institution brings a vital strength to our partnership," she said, adding that the results of the assessment are expected in the spring of next year.

Across the ocean, in Nigeria, all eyes are on African catfish - Nigeria is the world's biggest producer. To assess Nigeria's catfish value chain, FISH4ACP is working with Lagos State University (LASU).

By early December, a ten-member team will have been trained in the innovative value chain assessment method developed by FAO that FISH4ACP is using. Next, the survey will swing into action in ten sites across Nigeria, where 700 interviews are going to be conducted. A close-up of Nigeria's catfish sector is expected to emerge.

Further east, in Tanzania, FISH4ACP has partnered with the Tanzania Fisheries Research Institute (TARIFI) to analyse the value chains targeted by the project to improve the sustainability of fisheries in Lake Tanganyika: sardine, sprat and perch.

TARIFI is a lead centre for the promotion and research on fisheries in Tanzania. Currently, its staff are being trained in FAO's comprehensive assessment method that analyses economic, social and environmental aspects of the value chain.

Ishmael Kimirei, TARIFI's General Director said: "Capacity building is key for value chain research and development of Lake Tanganyika fisheries."

Over the course of the next year, assessments of all twelve value chains will be carried out supported by FISH4ACP. The outcomes will set the agenda of the initiative's work over the coming four years.

FISH4ACP is an initiative of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) aimed at making fisheries and aquaculture value chains in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific more sustainable. It is implemented by FAO and partners with funding from the European Union (EU) German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).