Continental concern over the poor performance of Africa’s fisheries and aquaculture sector in the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) prompted Africa’s convening of the Fish for all Summit in Abuja, Nigeria in 2005. To address the, the Summit recommended strategic investments to improve the management of natural fish stocks, develop aquaculture production and enhance fish trade in domestic, regional and global markets. Africa’s Heads of State and Government (AHSG) accented to this recommendation in the Abuja Declaration on Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture (2005). Consequently, the Policy Framework and Reform Strategy for Fisheries and Aquaculture in Africa (PFRS) was developed and adopted as the blue print for transformation of the sector by AHSG in 2014. The PFRS consists of seven policy pillars and the modality for its implementation is an all-inclusive participatory process, the African Fisheries Reform Mechanism (AFRM).
The third policy pillar of the PFRS is ‘sustainable aquaculture development’. The aims to harness the full potential of Africa’s aquaculture sector sustainably, to generate wealth, social benefits and contribute to the development of Africa’s economy by jumpstarting market-led sustainable development strategies. These strategies outlined are creating an enabling environment, creating African Centre of Excellence for Aquaculture, mainstreaming aquaculture strategies and plans into national development plans especially CAADP, and increasing research and dissemination of better practices. The anticipated outcomes are market-led aquaculture investments operating in many countries, accelerated growth rates, the enabling environment for investment and governance significantly improved, public-private-partnerships in aquaculture development significantly strengthened, strategic cooperation in many areas of aquaculture regionally, harmonised and coherent policies, institutional and legal frameworks for aquaculture in shared ecosystems.
In line with the AFRM, an all-inclusive bottom-up participatory continental consultative process commenced in 2015 under to draft a implementation framework by consensus. This culminated into the drafting of a continental action plan at a continental aquaculture think tank meeting in 2016. The draft was consolidated by AFRM’s Aquaculture Working Group for further consultation with the global community at the 32nd Session of the FAO Committee on Fisheries (COFI) in 2016. Thereupon, the AHSG adopted the ‘AU Ten Year Aquaculture Action Plan 2016-2015’ as the PFRS companion document outlining the approach for promoting.
The session presents and reviews the performance of AU Ten Year Aquaculture Action Plan 2016-2015’ for the sectors development over the last decade in Africa. As a result, it aims to draw lessons to chart the way forward for the next decade of aquaculture development in Africa, under CAADP Strategy and Action Plan: 2026-2035 that aims to strengthen the resilience of Africa’s agri-food systems.