© NDFS - Trawler Deck Luderitz Namibia

MIDRAND, April 25, 2012 - The NEPAD Agency and the Food and Agriculture Organisation have begun implementation of a joint project aimed at boosting fisheries development in Africa and improving the standard of living of fishers on the continent.

The NEPAD Agency and FAO partnership is a collaborative undertaking with the objective of supporting regional efforts to attain the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Its expected long-term impact is a significantly enhanced contribution of fisheries and aquaculture to poverty alleviation, food security and economic growth through improved and sustainable management of the fishery and aquaculture sectors.

This partnership will focus on the environmental sustainability of ecosystems in both marine and inland fisheries and aquaculture. This approach, appropriately dubbed the Ecosystem Approaches to Fisheries and Aquaculture (EAF/EAA), also has a second focus area - that of Climate Change Adaption (CCA). Other elements of the NFFP will deal with sustainable development of aquaculture businesses, post-harvest value chain and Disaster Risk Management (DRM).

“The implementation of this programme has been long awaited, and now it’s time to deliver for the benefit of the African people continent-wide,” Dr. Sloans Chimatiro, NEPAD Agency’s Fisheries Advisor, said at the inauguration of the project.

The NEPAD Agency is grateful to FAO and the Swedish International Development Cooperation (SIDA) for harmonizing their fisheries development efforts in Africa, through NPCA’s Fisheries Programme.

NFFP Co-ordinator, Ms. Gunilla Greig, expressed the hope that the programme would make a significant contribution to NEPAD’s fisheries agenda and further promote long-term NPCA-FAO co-operation, for the benefit of the many people depending on fisheries and aquaculture in Africa.