By Kebba AF Touray
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations has commenced training for fisheries and agriculture extension staff on aquaculture management on Wednesday, 7 August 2024.
The training, organized under the Green Climate Fund for climate resilient fishery initiatives to improve livelihoods (PROREFISH Gambia), avails participants the opportunity to build their capacity as well as support fisheries and agriculture extension staff for them to support the implementation, mitigation, and adaptation of strategies for vulnerable fisheries communities in The Gambia, in the fight against the threats of climate change.
Saloum Jatta, Principal Fisheries Officer at the Fisheries Department, said the PROREFISH Project aims to build the resilience of Gambian fisher folk against climate change and to improve their livelihoods. He said the project will scale up adaptation measures that have been proven in several countries in West Africa, and will focus on climate-proofing fisheries infrastructure and value chain segments dominated by women (fish handlers and processors); adding that the project has three inter-linked components, and component one strengthens the restoration capacity and community management of artisanal fisheries habitats.
Mr. Jatta said this is designed to reverse the degradation of mangrove ecosystems which serve as breeding and nursery grounds for fish and shellfish, by investing in restoration through replanting and regeneration, couple with support for sustainable ecosystem management.
On component two, Jatta said this will enhance climate resilient fisheries infrastructure and aquaculture development, and “the objective is to increase the overall fish availability and enhance the incomes of poor fisher folk and farmers.” This he said is ensured by improving the artisanal fisheries infrastructure, to reduce post-harvest losses, and by enhancing aquaculture production and productivity through different technologies, including fish farming, oyster cultivation, and rice-fish or horticulture-fish farming.
“Component three is to improve climate change adaptive capacities by providing the support necessary for the successful implementation, scaling up and sustainability of mangrove restoration, fisheries infrastructure, climate proofing, and aquaculture development, through capacity building training,” he said.
He told the convergence that the last component has counterpart funding in which the Ministry of Fisheries, Water Resources, and National Assembly Matters has committed itself to conduct capacity-building training for civil servants, fish farmers, and fish mill operators. He told participants that the Fisheries Ministry has already conducted two training for twenty-eight fisheries officials and the other for twenty-seven fish mill operators.
On her part, the FAO Country Rep. Ms Moshibudi Rampedi said the PROREFISH project aims to support vulnerable fishing communities in building resilience to climate change and in diversifying livelihoods through technology improvements, processing techniques, climate-proofing of the local fishery infrastructure, and diversification of local food systems. She said the adaptation measures will include climate-resilient aquaculture, fisheries habitat and mangrove restoration, and oyster cultivation, as well as climate-proofing for small-scale fishing infrastructure.
“Aquaculture may be the fastest growing food-producing sector which accounts for nearly 50 percent of the world’s food fish. The overall growth in aquaculture production remains relatively strong owing to the increasing demand for fish among most producing countries,” she told participants.
She said the fisheries sub-sector faces challenges such as overfishing, illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing, and high sensitivity to the effects of climate change.
“In response to the challenges faced, the Government of the Gambia has set aquaculture as one of the priority intervention sectors for decent job creation especially for youth and women, in order to reduce poverty, improve productivity, and boost economic growth,” she said.
She added that though The Gambia’s aquaculture is underdeveloped, there are opportunities for accelerated and sustained growth through the availability and level of technology, availability of production inputs, support facilities and services, among others.
“We can develop commercial and small-scale aquaculture in The Gambia because it enjoys comparative advantages. We have marine, brackish and fresh water regimes,” the FAO Country Rep. said.
According to the FAO Country representative, they have recognized that a few more gaps remain to be filled in the aquaculture sub-sector, before the objectives of aquaculture development is attained in the country, noting that as such, the FAO and the Government of the Gambia have organized the training session to support the aquaculture sector.
“The PROREFISH project will establish a solid and functioning foundation for sustainable provision of and access to good quality seed (fingerlings) and feed, transfer of technical and technological expertise, as well as managerial and other skills for better production and a better life,” she concluded.
According to some of the extension staff in attendance, the training was timely and apt. They expressed that the visits and consultative engagements they will have during the training will expose them to the requisite expertise in the aquaculture sector.
“The lineup of engagements will also enable us to expand our knowledge, as well as help us spore critical expertise. It will also widen our understanding of aquaculture,” they said.
