Aquaculture Development And Research In Sub Saharan Africa

The present regional review and synthesis for sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) provides an overview of major issues and trends in the aquaculture sector between 2004 and 2014 with emphasis on outstanding issues over the last five years. The regional review reflects development in 41 countries in SSA for which production was reported to FAO in 2014. The production volume and value data have been derived from the latest FAO global aquaculture dataset 1950-2014 (FishStat).

Volume 3. This document identifies elements of a legislation that will encourage the emergence of a sustainable commercial aquaculture. The aquaculture law of an individual country must provide the operator with a secure right to conduct aquaculture operations, to the property on which the farm will be located, to good quality water and to the produce. It must also ensure environmental sustainability, through permit or licence systems, without imposing unnecessary costs on applicants. Only proposals with the potential for serious environmental harm should be subjected to a full environmental impact assessment. Environmental supervision must extend to controls over the use of exotic species and products from modern biotechnology including genetically modified organisms, disease control and health management and to any water quality concerns created by the proposed project. To minimise costs, countries are encouraged to adopt a single window approach for the numerous approvals usually required for an aquaculture operation and screen initial applications. They could also consider creating a single agency to promote aquaculture and to monitor the progress of applications. Aquaculture regimes of selected African countries are measured against the elements required to encourage sustainable commercial aquaculture, and improvements that are applicable to all countries in sub-Sahara are suggested.

This volume, the second of three on commercial aquaculture in sub-Saharan Africa, discusses access to investment capital, one of the major obstacles to the development of a sustainable commercial aquaculture in this region. Among the key problems, are the excessively high interest rates on loans; bankers' perceptions that the industry is prone to failure; the lack of understanding by farmers of the financial options available, and limited information about other commercially successful aquaculture enterprises in this area. The study argues that banks need to take a less pessimistic view of the commercial viability of such enterprises, but that borrowers should also learn to formulate and develop a clear business plan, outlining how they intend to repay the loans requested. A number of options are available to improve the situation. Such as "no-collateral" strategies, through group lending, village banks and solidarity groups, that would persuade lenders of the committment of the those wishing to set up a commercial aquaculture business. Overall a need for legal and regulatory reform, along with the institution of government loan guarantees could help develop and improve the options for a commercially viable aquaculture business.