Aquaculture for Poverty Alleviation and Food Security. Slide 2: World annual average per capita consumption of fish and fishery products

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1 Aquaculture for Poverty Alleviation and Food Security Slide 1: Title 1. Good Morning! Slide 2: World annual average per capita consumption of fish and fishery products 2. According to FAO statistics, in 1976, on average, the global per capita fish consumption was 11.6 kg. As of 2007, this figure of annual per capita consumption increased up to 17.0 kg, a 50% increase! Slide 3: World aquaculture production quantity and value 3. Our statistics also shows that, in 1980 global aquaculture production, including aquatic plants, was around 7.3 million tonnes. By 2008, this figure increased up to 68.3 million tonnes, more than a nine fold increase, valued at 105 billion US Dollars. 4. Considering the current trends in population growth, assuming that capture fisheries production will not increase any further, and if we are to at least maintain the current 17.0 kg per capita consumption globally, by the year 2030, we will require an additional 25 million tonnes of aquatic food, over 40% increase from the current production. Slide 4: Text 5. Achieving this is not only a significant task, but also a responsible undertaking!

2 2 Slide 5: Contribution of aquaculture to world foodfish supply 6. Aquaculture is still the fastest growing food producing sector in the world. It now accounts for nearly half (46 percent) of the world s food fish and this increase is expected to reach 50 percent in the year Aquaculture s social and societal benefits are significant! Aquaculture helps eliminating hunger and malnutrition by supplying aquatic products rich in protein, essential fatty acids, vitamins and minerals. It also makes a significant contribution to improving social wellbeing by increasing family incomes and providing employment opportunities. Slide 6: Number of fishers and fish farmers in the world and China 8. According to FAO figures, in 2004, aquaculture directly created over 11 million full-time jobs in the world, out of which 4.5 million in China alone. These figures are increasing. Slide 7: Income in fish farmers and other farmers in Henan Province in China 9. Aquaculture clearly enhances households disposable incomes and their ability to purchase food, thus contributing to alleviating poverty and improving food security. According to a recent survey by the WorldFish Centre, in Henan province of China, fish farmers earned much higher, almost double, income than other agricultural farmers. This scenario does not only reflect in China, there are similar examples found in many places elsewhere.

3 10. Aquaculture also contributes significantly to the national economies in many developing countries. For example, shrimp farming is the second largest export revenue in Bangladesh next to garments. We heard about how much it is worth in the developed already! Slide 8: World export of fish and fishery products Quantity and Value 11. Most of these economic contributions come in the form of export earnings. Fish is still the most valuable exported agricultural commodity from developing countries. In 2007, about 38 percent (live weight equivalent) of world food fish production was internationally traded, with a value of about US$93.5 billion. Slide 9: World export of fish and fishery products Developed and Developing 12. The share of export earnings is almost equal between developed and developing world. Export earnings from aquatic food have been increasing over the past decades, and it is expected to continue in the coming years. Slide 10: World shrimp aquaculture production 13. While production and export in fish and fishery products are increasing, domestic and regional consumption of aquaculture produce are also increasing. The graph shows the remarkable increase in global shrimp production during the past decade. It is interesting to note that, compared to 90% of the production of Black Tiger Prawn (Penaeus monodon) exported out of China in 1994, today, 90% of the annual shrimp production in China; currently producing over million tonnes of Penaeus vannamei; is locally consumed. 3

4 4 14. As the buying power increases, the fish, once considered as a luxury commodity, is now becoming a day-to-day common food commodity. This change is driving to produce more fish, both for national and international markets. 15. Most aquatic production comes from small-scale farms and farmers, predominantly from Asia. Over 80% of the estimated 11 million aquaculture farmers in the world are small-scale. For an example, in Thailand, out of 13,500 farmers currently producing 600,000 tonnes of shrimp, 85% are classified as small-scale. Slide 11: Millennium development goals 16. Achieving maximum social and societal benefits from aquaculture is the protection of small-scale farmers from current market trends and creating an economic environment to reduce their vulnerability to market forces. This is a clear responsibility for all of us, working hard to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, the first goal of the millennium. 17. Whether fish are produced for domestic consumption or international markets, aquaculture must be practiced in a responsible manner, addressing the needs for better environmental sustainability, improved social equity, higher consumer acceptability and food safety. These are the key governing factors and pillars of sustainable development of aquaculture, for achieving optimal economic, social and societal benefits. 18. This is going to be a significant challenge for all of us in the coming decades! Slide 12: Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries

5 19. The main challenge for policy makers is to create an enabling environment for the aquaculture sector to maintain its growth whilst meeting societal needs and preserving the natural resource base it needs. This enabling environment is multi-faceted and requires significant political will, sustained policy, public sector support, and investment. This is clearly outlined in the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries. 20. Reducing environmental impacts is one of the key considerations for sustainability. As a result of strong public scrutiny on the environmental impacts of some forms of inconsiderate aquaculture development, significant progress have been made over the past two decades in addressing many of those key concerns. Slide 13: Multi-trophic aquaculture 21. Indeed, it is now increasingly recognized that aquaculture can make a positive contribution to the environment or, wherever possible, help reduce the negative impacts of other industries and activities. There are aquaculture systems that contribute to environmental rehabilitation, or which mitigate the impacts of effluents from other agricultural and even industrial operations. The most well-known are integrated farming systems, where Chuina is the global leader! There are many other examples exist. Slide 14: Export of aquaculture products 22. There is an ongoing debate about the social and economic benefits of aquaculture production for export markets, particularly by the small-scale farmers. Whether we like it or not, as the demand for fish Iincreases more and more fish will be produced and exported from developing countries. 5

6 6 23. Although more and more fish are internationally traded, present trends in international trade does not appear to work in favour of small-scale aquaculture sector. There are many reasons. Smallscale farmer sector is not well organized. The commodity prices are declining and the costs of production is increasing, thus making the margin of profit inadequate to continue business. Overall business structure is rapidly changing and the survival of small-scale farmers against cooperate sector is becoming a challenge. Slide 15: Cluster farmers in India 24. With more and more stringent requirements of export markets, small-scale farmers are facing further difficulties in producing for export. Empowering small farmers to become competitive in global trade is not only an urgent need, but also a significant corporate social responsibility. 25. We have strong evidence that empowering small-scale farmers through forming farmer societies or clusters to self-regulate their production process is the key to success in achieving sustained social and societal benefits from aquaculture! Recent experience in Andhra Pradesh in India and Aceh in Indonesia are good examples. Slide 16: Bottom of the pyramid 26. Successful application of BMPs in Small-scale shrimp farmers in Aceh, Indonesia clearly demonstrated the impact on reducing the occurrence of disease in ponds, thus contributing to increased production. Our experinces in India, Indonesia and Viet Nam clearly indicate that adoption of better management practices in small-scale shrimp farming is highly beneficial and siugnificantly improve farmer revenue.

7 7 Slide 17: Aceh BMP application 27. Stringent market access requirements are creating a considerable drive for importing and exporting countries to collectively harmonize standards and protocols, as well as addressing issues of certification of products and processors. FAO is currently engaged in the development of international guidelines for aquaculture certification, and is expecting to culminate the process in September in Thailand. Slide 18: Aquaculture certification 28. Declining resource availability, regulatory environment, economics and increasing demand for fish and fishery products are forcing the aquaculture sector to intensify. Of these factors, the declining availability of suitable locations or constraints imposed by competition for water and increased regulation on discharges and abstraction appears to be the main driving force. Slide 19: Text 29. In addition to calling for intensification, these constraints create opportunities elsewhere. For example, there is an increasing trend towards sea-farming, with many countries experimenting open-ocean aquaculture. The challenge is for policymakers to properly regulate the sector so as to ensure its orderly development and to discourage high discount rates on the use of natural resources and, thus, their exploitation beyond carrying capacity, while ensuring maximum benefits to society. Slide 20: Text

8 8 30. Though small or big, most successful aquaculture is driven by private sector investments. Private investments are vulnerable to political and legal instabilities. Albeit external to the sector, these factors seriously affect institutional development and deter private investors, directly and indirectly reducing the societal and social benefits of aquaculture. Therefore, creating an attractive economic environment for investors is an important prerequisite for sustainable aquaculture. Slide 21: Text 31. As I mentioned earlier, the aquaculture sector is expected to contribute more effectively to global food security, nutritional well-being, poverty reduction and economic development, by producing - with minimum impact on the environment and maximum benefit to society 93 million tonnes of aquatic food by 2030, an increase of 25 million tonnes over the 2008 level. Slide 22: Constraints 32. Although there are clear indications that aquaculture could bridge the gap between the expected demand and food fish supply from the wild, there are many constraints which could dampen or even stall production increases, thereby preventing aquaculture supply from meeting expected demand in decades to come. 33. There is a concern that the available marine resources (e.g. fishmeal and fish oil) may not be sufficient to meet the demand of projected aquaculture production. Even though the production of these resources from capture fisheries have remained stagnant over the last decade and any significant increase is not anticipated in foreseeable future, there will be, and has been a, substantial decrease in the amount of fishmeal use by the animal production sector, particularly in the poultry industry.

9 34. Further, it is also expected that the proportion of fishmeal and fish oil use in aquafeeds will substantially be reduced through the increasing use of vegetable-based protein and oil as well as greater efficiencies in feeding. There will be increased production of fishmeal from fish waste! Under these scenarios, it is unlikely that the supply of fishmeal and fish oil will be a major limiting factor in aquaculture feeding. Slide 23: Text 35. One of the greatest constraints could be the unpredictable and uncharacterized impact of climate change on aquaculture. Climate change presents unquantifiable threats of temperatures, weather and water supply. There is a need for the aquaculture sector to join other economic sectors in preparing to address the potential impacts of the planet s warming. 36. One of the practical responses to climate change in aquaculture could be to strengthen the adaptive capacity and resilience of the sector, particularly that of small farmers and aquatic resources users. Slide 24: Text 37. Albeit constraints, there is clear evidence that aquaculture can contribute much more to the social and economic wellbeing of the developing world. The increased contribution to social wellbeing of the vulnerable communities would only realise if the sector is developed responsibly, in keeping with the theories and practices of sustainability. This is, to a large extent, a national commitment. 9

10 Whilst the level of commitment will inevitably vary within and among regions, according to the importance of aquaculture in national economies, it is expected that in countries where aquaculture contributes, or has the potential to contribute, substantially to food security, nutritional well-being, poverty reduction and economic growth, the commitment will hold, the level of support will increase, and the societal and social benefits of aquaculture will increase in the developing world. Slide 25: Thank You! 39. Thank you!