SESSION ORGANIZERS AND FOCAL POINTS - Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, Zambia - Director, Department of Fisheries, Zambia - Director, Policy and Planning, Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, Zambia - Director, Livestock Marketing and Nutrition, Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, Zambia - Director, National Agriculture Information Services, Zambia

COLLABORATING TEAM - WORLDFISH (ZAMBIA OFFICE) - Victor Siamudaala, Country Director, WorldFish, V.Siamudaala@cgiar.org - Victoria Nkole, Operations and Project Delivery Manager, V.Nkole@cgiar.org - Netsayi Mudege, Senior Scientist, WorldFish , N.Mudege@giar.org - Rose Komugisha Basita, Senior Scientist, WorldFish, B.Komugisha@cgiar.org - Agness Chileya, Communications Assistant, WorldFish , A.Chileya@cgiar.org

EVENT ATTENDEES AND CONTACTS - GOVERNMENT, PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS AND REGIONAL ECONOMIC ORGANIZATIONS

Representatives from Ministries of Fisheries and Livestock; Finance and Planning; Small and Medium Enterprises; Commerce, Trade and Industry; Health – Zambia - Dr. Essam Mohammed, Director General - WorldFish, and staff from WorldFish - to be accompanied by Victor Siamudaala; Netsayi Mudege; Rose Komugisha; Mary Lundeba; Victoria Nkole and Rodgers Makwinja - Representatives from SADC member states - Representative from COMESA members states - Representatives from SADC Secretariat - Representatives from COMESA Secretariat - Representative from AU-IBAR - Representative from the Economic Association of Zambia - Representatives from Aquaculture Development Association of Zambia - Representatives from the Banking sector, Zambia - Representatives from the Insurance Industry, Zambia

KEY NOTE SPEAKER

The Honourable Minister of Finance and Planning

Moderator : Mr. Succeed Mubanga, Director - Policy and Planning, Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock

RAPORTEURS - Agness Chileya, Communications Assistant, WorldFish - Patience Chungu, Fish Breeding and Research Platform Manager, WorldFish -

Kakwasha Keagan - Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Specialist, WorldFish

CONTEXT

Africa’s population is expected to reach 2.4 billion people by 2050. Nourishing this huge population is going to be challenging unless Africa addresses pervasive issues that have plagued its food system resulting in many decades of chronic food insecurity and poverty, and all forms of malnutrition. Malnutrition is severe in sub-Saharan Africa, where in 2022, up to 264.2 million people, about a quarter of the continent’s population, where undernourished. Aquatic foods are highly nutritious and therefore essential to nourishing Africa and also delivering shared prosperity. Aquatic food systems has the potential to deliver 58 million jobs by 2050, if harnessed properly. Applying the International Model for Policy Analysis of Agriculture Commodities and Trade (IMPACT), a policy analysis conducted by scientists at WorldFish, projects Africa’s fish sector to support 20.7 million jobs in 2030 under business-as-usual scenario, which shoots up to 46.3 million jobs by 2030 in a high-growth scenario. Capture fisheries have continued to come under renewed threat from over-exploitation, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU) and destruction of fisheries habitats. Dwindling fish stocks make aquaculture the obvious alternative to fill the supply gap, create jobs and enhance food security. Otherwise, the continent will continue to be a net importer of fish unless its aquaculture industry grows at more current annual growth rate of 11%. In 2014 fish imports by African countries on the world market was US$ 4.8 billion. Potential for growth for aquaculture in Africa is enormous as the continent is endowed with abundant water resources, diverse aquatic species, low cost labor and, diverse and favourable climatic conditions.

Challenges to increasing aquatic foods production in Africa

To grow its aquaculture industry and reverse this trend, Africa needs farm-gate investments of US$ 1.8 billion annually to grow its aquaculture industry and curtail fish imports by 2050 under the business-as-usual (BAU) model compared to US$ 11.6 billion under the high aquaculture production scenario. Mobilizing this investment is a daunting challenge. Access to affordable financing has been a historical challenge for most industry players on the continent. Commercial loans have high interest rates and shorter repayment periods. The industry is characterized by short value chain resulting in missed social and economic opportunities. To create longer value chains and generate more value has been slow as investments in upstream value chain activities, such as fish processing and value addition, is still low. In addition, growth of both aquaculture and capture fisheries has taken plan place in an environment with no insurance products or schemes suitable for the Aquatic Food Systems. Industry player have therefore continued to bear business risks.

The event will convene voices across the African continent to discuss the crucial role of sustainable and innovative financing in growing the aquaculture industry. The event will also discuss ways of resolving constraints around sustainable financing in order to unleash the potential of aquaculture.

EVENT OBJECTIVES

• Highlight the importance of innovative and sustainable financing to growth of gender-sensitive aquaculture,
• Catalyze the unlocking public and private sector financing of inclusive aquaculture models;
• Inspire financial institutions to create financial products and services suitable for aquaculture
• Inspire governments to create policies and incentives among others to spur growth of aquaculture

KEY MESSAGES

• Increased financing is key to growing the aquaculture industry on the African continent for shared prosperity, job creation and a well-nourished and healthy population ;
• Innovative financing (industry-tailored financing models and products) by public and private sector agencies is an essential key to unleashing the potential of Africa’s aquaculture industry;
• Insurance schemes are critical to insulate value chain actors against hazards
• Creation of enabling conditions by Government is fundamental to development of affordable financing products and services for aquaculture industry actors

EVENT AGENDA

10:55 Moderator - Calls the House to Order

Moderator (TBA)

11:00 Welcome Remarks

Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock Zambia

11:05 Remarks from WorldFish

Dr. Essam Mohammed, Director General, WorldFish & Senior Director, Aquatic Food Systems, CGIAR

11:15 Remarks from FAO

Ms Anne-Ross Suze Percy Filippini ,Country Representative, Zambia

11:20 Opening Remarks

Minister of Fisheries and Livestock, Hon. Malozo Chikote, MP

11:30 Key Note Speech - “Current and Future Fiscal and Monetary Policy Mechanisms in Zambia for targeted at stimulating growth of fisheries and aquaculture for the benefit of people, the economy and the environment.”

Minister of Financing and Planning, Hon. Situmbeko Musokotwane, MP

Panel Discussion: Thriving Aquatic Foods Through Innovative Financing 

11:40 Panelist introduction

Moderator (TBA)

11:45 Panelists’ self-introduction and opening comments:

1. What you do? From your lens, how is the aquaculture industry performing? And what are some opportunities and challenges that exist in the industry?

1. What you do? As a financial service provider how well positioned are you to providing support to the aquaculture industry? Representative from Regional Economic Community (SADC/COMESA)

Representative from the Banking Sector

Representative from the Insurance Industry

Representative from the Donor Community

Representative from the Aquaculture Industry (preferably woman or youth)

11:5 Moderated panel discussion

12:35 Moderated Q&A session

12:50 Concluding Remarks

12:55 Closing Remarks Representative of REC (SADC/COMESA)