The Embassy of Switzerland’s Office for International Cooperation, WorldFish and Care International have joined forces to launch a project to boost production of inexpensive, nutritious and safe fish from sustainable aquaculture systems in Egypt.
The CHF2m (€1.8m) Sustainable Transformation of Egypt’s Aquaculture Market System (STREAMS) project aims to increase the participation of Eqypt’s underprivileged socioeconomic segments in the country’s aquaculture sector while making fish more affordable and accessible.
Markus Leitner, Swiss Ambassador to Egypt, said: “Since 2011, Swiss investments in the Egyptian fishing sector have increased income and employment in the sector and have provided the Egyptian population with better quality and healthier food at low cost.
“The success of this program is a solid base for more efforts to strengthen the Egyptian aquaculture market and to contribute to food security in Egypt,” he added.
Over three years, the project will assist fish farmers, traders and retailers across seven governorates and will focus on three goals: training fish farmers to improve management practices and increase access to the Abbassa improved strain of Nile tilapia; promoting aquaculture practices in areas not yet engaged in the sector and enhancing marketing systems through support of retailers; and establishing a certification scheme for farmed Egyptian tilapia.
According to 2015 statistics issued by Egypt’s Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS), agricultural and fishing activities comprised the largest segment of workers engaged in the Egypt’s economic activities, at 6.5 million people or 26.5 % of the workforce.
However, the development of aquaculture has been constrained by a restrictive regulatory environment, poor post-harvest and supply chain handling, fish health issues and licensing arrangements favouring medium-scale businesses.
STREAMS hopes to improve market standards in fish distribution systems and introduce testing frameworks in order to provide definitive evidence that Egyptian farmed fish is safe.
The project will also pilot-test small-scale aquaculture and integrated aquaculture-agriculture systems and help aquaculture producer organisations to advocate for policy changes.
Nigel Preston, director general of WorldFish, said, “With its robust support for national aquaculture development, Egypt is setting an example for other countries in the Middle East and Africa to follow.
“Increased investment in aquaculture will bring improvements in nutrition and food security as well as increased employment and income,” he added.
