Equatorial Guinea has received backing from the African Development Bank to implement the Project for the Development of Value Chains in the Fisheries and Aquaculture Sector (PASPA), which could see annual fisheries and aquaculture production increasing by nearly 320 percent in the country by the end of 2024.
The country, which depends on its hydrocarbon resources for 44 percent support of its national economy, has projected that through PASPA it can grow artisanal fishing production to 22,400 metric tons (MT) from the current 5,000-8,000 MT produced in the next four years. Additionally, Equatorial Guinea hopes to scale up aquaculture and industrial fishing production to 4,091 MT and 1,300 MT, respectively, from the current 15 MT and 350-650 MT produced. It also hopes to establish at least 500 micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the fisheries and aquaculture value chain.
Currently, Equatorial Guinea has an estimated potential for 74,000 MT of fish and 600 MT of crustaceans, but the country only produces 0.7 percent of this potential, a trend the government looks to reverse through the PASPA initiative. The initiative would cost an estimated USD 77.2 million (EUR 70.1 million), out of which the African Development Bank (AfDB) will provide 79 percent of the funding while the remaining will come from the national government.
“This domestic production falls short of the country’s consumption needs (with) substantial quantities of frozen fish imported annually, particularly from Spain, Mauritania, and Senegal,” says AfDB.
By 2018, Equatorial Guinea’s fish import bill was estimated at USD 18.5 million (16.8 million). The government wants to reduce that total to USD 8.4 million (7.6 million) by 2024 under the PASPA initiative.
Under this initiative, basic fishing infrastructure such as landing sites, conservation, fish processing and smoking, fish sale units, aquaculture ponds, and fishing equipment sale centers will be constructed while existing ones will be rehabilitated.
Furthermore, the initiative would support the Equatorial Guinea government in developing a public-private partnership structure for the value chains of aquatic products and establish a training system to meet the existing demand for a skilled workforce in the country’s fisheries and aquaculture sector.
Successful implementation of the PASPA would not only support Equatorial Guinea in harnessing the fisheries potential within its 314,000 square kilometer fishing area, but would push up the contribution of fisheries and aquaculture via economic growth from the current 0.5 percent to 5 percent, in addition to reducing the malnutrition rate to 20 percent from the 26 percent reported in 2018.
Moreover, AfDB said by the time PASPA is fully implemented, Equatorial Guinea will “improve fish supply to the domestic market, reduce imports, export to countries in the sub-region, increase incomes, and improve youth employability.”
The launch of PASPA coincides with the scheduled completion of a four-year USD 4 million (EUR 3.6 million) partnership between Equatorial Guinea and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) that focused on the study and generation of scientific data on the state of fish stocks in the West African country.
“The results of the research will be used in order to develop an investment plan for the sustainable use of national fisheries,” said FAO.
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