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Wednesday, August 23, 2006 - Web posted at 8:12:46 GMT Aquaculture, the answer to food security BRIGITTE WEIDLICHINCREASED pressure to feed a growing world population, coupled with depleted marine resources due to overfishing, leave no choice but to increase food production through aquaculture or fish farming, according to Fisheries and Marine Resources Minister Abraham Iyambo. |
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Food security could be attained and maximised through fish farming and Namibia should take advantage of that opportunity, Iyambo said at the opening of a three-day southern African conference in Windhoek yesterday. Namibia has a fledgling commercial oyster industry along the coast, while inland aquaculture was recently introduced in the northern parts of Namibia, where the popular bream (tilapia) species is grown in large fishponds to improve the food security of local communities and generate an income for them. "I find it abhorrent and a blasphemy on the part of the human race that 800 million people are chronically undernourished and go to sleep hungry every night. According to Unicef statistics, 30 000 children in the world die each day due to poverty and malnourishment," Iyambo said. "We have too much Nato in the world - No Action, Talk Only - and this must change," a fired-up Iyambo added. "No love, no peace and no development (takes place) on empty stomachs," he added. African nations should not remain perpetual beggars for food, but turn the situation around and produce their own food. That required investment and commitment from financial institutions, however. "Why do banks shy away from funding fisheries and aquaculture? Are projects not feasible and not bankable?" Minister Iyambo wanted to know. He called on the World Bank, the African Development Bank and developed nations as "partners in our promulgation of an end to starvation and death to provide grants to developing countries to develop aquaculture and produce fish as food, especially in densely populated rural areas - we are running against the clock!" According to President Hifikepunye Pohamba, who opened the regional conference, rich nations imported about 80 per cent of their fish consumption by value from developing countries, but these products had to meet very strict quality standards and proof of traceability in the supply chain. "While these standards are meant to increase consumer safety it cannot be denied that the implementation of these standards place an increased burden on producers and exporters (in undeveloped countries), who are faced with the financial burden of ensuring their production processes comply with these requirements," President Pohamba pointed out. "Lack of human and institutional capacity is making it almost impossible for us to keep abreast with these new standards and regulations." The conference should map out strategies and provide guidelines to address those challenges, Pohamba urged. He told the 120 participants that in some African countries most fish catches came from small-scale fishermen. In Tanzania, Pohamba said, 96 per cent of fish catches came from small-scale fishermen. Similarly, in Uganda the majority of catches were made by small-scale fishermen on Lake Victoria. "The socio-economic benefits derived from small-scale fisheries do filter down to household levels. This group of operators forms an important element in the fisheries sector," Pohamba noted, "thus our fisheries management systems must render sufficient attention to this sub-sector (in Namibia)." The conference closes on Thursday and it is funded by the Icelandic International Development Agency (ICEIDA). Parallel to the event, a large delegation from Iceland led by that country's Fisheries Minister Einar Gudfinnsson is visiting Walvis Bay and Swakopmund this week. |
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