July 6, 2017 — Developing a framework on fisheries and aquaculture for the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) could create over 100 million jobs, Stefania Marrone, the head of the EU delegation to Nigeria and Ecowas’s regional cooperation section, has said.
Representatives of Ecowas, the EU and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) are currently meeting in Abuja to develop a framework on fisheries and aquaculture for the Ecowas area, reports PM News Nigeria.
The sectors play an important role in food and nutrition security in West Africa, with fish being the only animal protein affordable for most households, according to Marrone.
The sector has estimated annual catch of 2.8 million metric tons with commercial values at $3 billion and job creation for over 100 million people in fishing, aquaculture operations, processing and ancillary industries, Marrone said.
Marrone pointed out that in spite the importance, the sector has not been fully integrated into the priorities of the national and regional agricultural development within the Ecowas zone.
She said to improve the situation, there is need to develop a regional fishery and aquaculture policy to address food and nutritional security in the region.
The EU official said that nutrition policy on fisheries and aquaculture represented an untapped opportunity that must be explored to ensure sustainable healthy diets.