Critical problems in the Egyptian aquaculture industry including water quality and disease prevention were addressed in a meeting of key stakeholders held recently in Cairo. Aquaculture is a US$1.5 billion industry in Egypt and accounts for 65% of the fish consumed in the country.
The second plenary meeting of the Egyptian Aquaculture Innovation Platform in Egypt, organized by WorldFish, addressed concerns affecting the industry and set out a series of action items in order to move towards a countrywide aquaculture plan.
The meeting reviewed work carried out by the six working groups established in 2014 on issues including: high production costs in fish farms; improving fish handling in markets; improving land tenure for aquaculture; ensuring fish farmers are well-represented in policy discussions; improving fish health and securing water of adequate quality and quantity for fish farms.
Dr. Gamal El Naggar, Country Director Egypt, WorldFish: “The Innovation Platform process is an excellent model that engages different actors and parties of the sector to come up with better structured recommendations. The next critical step is for group leaders to meet and decide on solid actions to make sure that these recommendations are acted on.”
The eighty participants including fish farmers, input suppliers, fish retailers, policymakers and researchers identified clear recommendations including: increasing the cultivation of feed materials; the use of new technology in manufacturing floating feeds and applying quality control standards on both raw materials and final products. They also proposed the adoption of market standards; the approval of legislation to control the handling of fish value-added products; the establishment of water quality and disease clinics; and the alignment of taxation levels on land use.
The ‘Innovation Platform’ process has been organized under the Improving Employment and Income through Development of Egypt’s Aquaculture Sector (IEIDEAS) project funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), and implemented by WorldFish and CARE as part of the CGIAR Research Program on Livestock and Fish.
For more information or to request an interview contact:
Toby Johnson, Senior Media Relations Manager
Mobile Tel: +60 (0) 175 124 606
Email: t.johnson@cgiar.org
Web: worldfishcenter.org
Photography: flickr.com/photos/theworldfishcenter/
About WorldFish
WorldFish is an international, nonprofit research organization that harnesses the potential of fisheries and aquaculture to reduce hunger and poverty. Globally, more than one billion poor people obtain most of their animal protein from fish and 800 million depend on fisheries and aquaculture for their livelihood.WorldFish is a member of CGIAR, a global research partnership for a food-secure future.
About CGIAR
CGIAR is a global research partnership for a food-secure future. Its science is carried out by the 15 research Centers that are members of the CGIAR Consortium in collaboration with hundreds of partners.