A week-long event bolstering food productive capacities in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic for inclusive, sustainable economic and industrial transformation.

Date: Monday-Friday, 22-26 November 2021

Venue: Virtually and at Bingu wa Mutharika International Convention Centre in Lilongwe, Malawi

In this hybrid event hosted and funded by the Malawi government, FAO, Southern African Development Community (SADC), German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) and partners, research experts, businesses, innovators, governments and private sectors convened to explore the productive capabilities, transformative industrialization and COVID-19 challenges in the region of Malawi.

Starting from Tuesday-Thursday, 23-25 November 2021, scientists from WorldFish, CGIAR's Research Program on Fish Agri-Food Systems (FISH) and partners led different sessions under the umbrella theme 'Promoting small pelagic fisheries value chains to safeguard and enhance the contribution of fish to sustainable and healthy food systems, inclusive economic development and regional integration in the African Great Lakes (AGLs).'

Together, the scientists discussed small pelagic fisheries and their role in food and nutrition security and public health outcomes. They also did a deep dive on gender and youth dimension in fisheries value chains in the African Great Lakes Region and explore issues of governance, climate change, environment, value chains and trade. The final session covered the Water-Energy-Food NEXUS, Blue Growth and Wealth Generation in aquatic food systems.

Follow WorldFish and the hashtag #aquaticfoods to check out past conversations on Twitter.