The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has introduced the FAO-Thiaroye Technology (FTT) in Papua New Guinea to address the challenges of post-harvest losses within the fisheries sector and to provide better market opportunities. To determine the financial and economic viability, FAO established two demonstration sites and conducted a Financial and Economic Analysis (FEA) to compare traditional smoking practices with the FTT smoking technique. The results showed that the incremental benefit is 59% IRR, and the analysis also identified the sensitive parameters of the business. Moreover, FTT empowers fish operators by solving cold chain, market access, and transport constraints in remote…

Experts at a workshop on 16 January 2024said that the prospect and potential of Blue Economy is enormous, and it is possible to earn more than $2.5 billion by the year 2030. They urged the authorities concerned to remove the bottlenecks in implementing the policy decision and the masterplan that has already been designed in this regard. The workshop was held at a hotel in Cox’s Bazar. The Economic Reporters Forum (ERF) organized the workshop in collaboration with some government agencies concerned. Md Shafiqur Islam, Expert, JICA presented keynote paper in the workshop. ERF President Refayetullah Mirdha presided over the…

Q: Dr Essam, you have multi-country experience in Sub-Saharan Africa, (South, Southeast and East) Asia, Latin America, and Europe. In which region of the world have you observed the most significant progress in aquaculture over the past decade, and what have been the factors that have been the main drivers in this process? A: In reflecting upon my experiences in various global regions, it’s evident that Asia stands out for its significant progress in aquaculture over the past few decades. The key drivers of this growth have been well-aligned policies and the adoption of adaptable technologies, especially by smallscale operators.…

Unlike formal conventions and declarations of the UN, voluntary guidelines provide an integral role for civil society actors and communities in shaping them. Focusing on the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries (SSF Guidelines), this article underscores the importance of local-level implementation, given the significant contribution of small-scale fishing communities to national economies. It suggests that democratization requires active community participation, meaningful consultation, as well as identification of relevant indicators and participatory actions. Ultimately, successful implementation of the SSF Guidelines requires contemporaneous empowering of communities at the local level and recognizing the true value of small-scale fishing worldwide. Read…