Women and Africa's fisheries: A special tribute

Mar 05, 2020

Africa’s women fish processors and traders to a large extent, consequently, determine the volumes and quality of fish supplied to its local and regional markets.

OPINION
 

By Dr.Nelly Isyagi

As a food, fish and other aquatic animal products are among the best sources for high-quality animal protein, essential non-saturated fatty acids, and micro-nutrients.  Fish are acceptable to diverse cultures and age groups including infants.

Additionally, their non-food uses and value are enormous notably in the animal feed industry, medicinal industry (the ‘famous' cod-liver oil being an example), ornamental and recreational industries, textiles, for human and veterinary biomedical research, cosmetics and for environmental services.

The common environmental services fish are used for are as components of some filtration systems to clean water and as key indicators for monitoring water quality and ecosystem health. 

It is no wonder, that aquatic animals (fish and other seafoods) are the world's most traded animal commodity.

The fisheries sector comprises capture fisheries and aquaculture.  Africa contributes 5% of the world's capture fishery production from its inland fisheries and 3% of global aquaculture production.   

FAO estimates Africa's current total capture fishery production to be about 5 million tons and aquaculture production about 1.8 million tons. 

Africa's small-scale inland fisheries produce over 90% of the fish supplied to the 200 million people on the continent who rely on fish as their most affordable source of protein and micro-nutrients. 

In the process, 4.9 million people are employed in Africa's inland small-scale fisheries sector, 68% of whom are in direct fishing and 32% processing and trade. While direct fishing is principally a domain of men, 69% of processing and trade is done by women. 

Africa's women fish processors and traders to a large extent, consequently, determine the volumes and quality of fish supplied to its local and regional markets.  The situation in Uganda is no exception. 

 Rough estimates are that approximately a million Ugandan women (48% of Uganda's fish processors and traders) derive their livelihood from processing and trading fish. 

National macro-economic indicators give a positive outlook of the fisheries sector for most African countries.  For over fifteen years, the fisheries sector has been among Uganda's top five forex earners.   

However, at the micro-level, income levels, the ability for job creation, the food and nutritional status and social welfare of communities engaged in artisanal fisheries across the continent has been depreciating. 

The contribution of the sector to key socio-economic development indices has been below expectations.  This status quo, amidst rapid population growth and high levels of youth unemployment, has fuelled unstainable fishery management practices which have inadvertently caused a backlash for the sustainability of the sector. 

 About 20% of commercial fisheries are now regarded as being overfished, 70% maximally fished and only 10% remaining underfished.  Under such circumstances, the scope for sustainable growth within the industry vis-à-vis its ability to contribute to socio-economic development look grim.

The greatest opportunity Africa's fisheries sector has to address and reverse this situation is by adopting sustainable management practices, reducing post-harvest losses and increasing regional fish trade. 

Uganda for example estimates that 40% of its catch is lost through post-harvest losses and that by improving post-harvest handling alone; the value of the catch could be increased by 150%. 

It becomes common sense that if benefits from Africa's fisheries are to be optimised, addressing post-harvest losses and improving fish trade entails investing to build congruent capacity among women fishers.  

The socio-cultural status of women in most African societies creates gender-based bottlenecks that hinder women's ability to access knowledge, skills, appropriate technology and investment capital for business. 

 Most women-owned fish-businesses are subsequently small and are established with very minimal resources and capital.  This greatly constrains their ability to take advantage of new opportunities even where they are aware of them, in emerging local and regional fish markets. 

 For example, globalisation, regional and international free-trade protocols and urbanisation have created an opportunity for accessing larger, more lucrative markets for fish and ready meals, including for Africa's traditional household fish products. 

However, women remain limited to supplying local markets with low-quality products that are not competitive in regional and international markets because of their limited capacity to access and utilise knowledge, technology, financial services, market information or networks to harness such opportunities.   

While regional trade protocols cater for informal fish trade, the support to enable women transform their traditional operations into those that meet sectoral phyto-sanitary standards, are traceable and appropriately labelled to permit market differentiation for competitive access to target markets remains a much-desired need.

Subject to this, is the susceptibility of women's fish-businesses to environmental and climate change shocks.   

Within the last 20 years, Africa's fisheries have been beset by outbreaks of emerging transboundary aquatic animal diseases that have had profound negative socio-economic impacts for affected artisanal fishing communities and the sector at large as a result of the ensuing fish mortality and loss of production. 

In such situations, small low-capital businesses are immediately impacted as they do not have the financial nor technical capacity to buffer against such shocks. 

Consequently, there is an immediate loss of income and business capital with the subsequent negative effects on children's welfare and sustainable livelihoods as re-starting business is difficult for such vulnerable communities. 

 The loss of other low-value aquatic species that are a major source of food security in remote areas remains for a long while an unseen negative impact for food security, livelihoods, safe-trade and tourism.

The gender-based socio-economic and environmental challenges faced by women in the sector makes them prone to specific public health and occupational hazards. 

 The majority of landing sites, or rather locations where women can afford to establish fish processing operations and points of trade, are in remote areas that have limited infrastructure even for basic things like lighting, sanitation and security. 

Consequently, to a greater degree than their men counterparts, women fish processors and traders face are more likely to face physical and sexual violence, acquire communicable disease, victims of exploited labor and easy prey for corrupt officials. 

The unique challenges faced by women in Africa's fisheries sector vis-à-vis Africa's commitment towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG's)and in ensuring sector contribution to the Comprehensive Agriculture Africa Development Program (CADDP) and the African Union Agenda 2063;  compelled endorsement of the Policy Framework and Reform Strategy for Fisheries and Aquaculture in Africa (PFRS) by the African Heads of State and Government in 2014. 

 The PFRS articulates the need to empower and leverage the capacity for equitable gender and youth participation and benefit sharing in the fisheries.  The need for gender-sensitive policy-making to ensure that the necessary social, economic, environmental and legal safety-nets are enshrined. 

 As such, the PFRS provided anchorage for the establishment of the African Women's Fish Processors and Traders Network (AWFISHNET) as a Non-State Actor platform through which Africa's women fisher's can share experiences, learn lessons and advocate through ‘One Voice' to address gender-based and other bottlenecks affecting the sustainable and equitable development of Africa's fisheries sector.

For the women, in lieu of the status quo, the rapid rate of change and market dynamics within the fisheries sector, it is imperative that the translation of the PFRS and other national policy provisions into action and results was done yesterday rather than today. 

The platform has harnessed the true spirit and resilience of Africa's women fish processor and trader who for generations have continually had to overcome challenges and adversities using minimal resources.   

Since its establishment in 2017, AWFISHNET in 2017, the women went into straight into full gear. 

Rather than wait on alms, they have been proactive in establishing working relationships with their respective line ministries and mobilised resources from their own personal contributions and other sources to move their agenda forward.   The fact that grass-roots women can single handily organise a continental gathering to share experiences within less than a year of making the decision at their first annual general assembly, substantiates the significant role and contribution of women to the sector. 

They are, indeed, the unacknowledged drivers of the sector.  For this they deserve hats-off and the utmost respect.

The writer is a fisheries Consultant with the African Union

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