WEBINAR: Guidelines for microfinance & Credit services in support of small-scale fisheries

The fisheries and aquaculture sector produces annually 179 million tonnes of fish and fishery products for human consumption. The sector provides worldwide employment to 59 million people (39 million in fisheries and 20.5 million in aquaculture) in fish production and to many more people in value chain activities. Fishers produce 96 million tons of fish and fisheries products for human consumption and therefore play a very important role in achieving global food security (FAO, 2020). For instance, the sector supplies an average 20.5 kg of fish/capita/year and contributes 17 percent of total animal protein, and 7 percent of all proteins, consumed globally (FAO, 2020). The role of fisheries and aquaculture in providing food, nutrition and employment is significant and growing. Employment in the fisheries and aquaculture sectors has grown faster than the world population and faster than employment in traditional agriculture.

Over 90 percent of small-scale fishers (SSF) and aquaculture farmers live in developing countries and often they are fully dependent on the sector for their livelihoods. SSF is emerging as a dynamic and evolving sub-sector of fisheries that employs labor intensive harvesting, processing, and distribution technologies to harness inland and marine water fishery resources. Small-scale fisheries are generally profitable and are key to the environmental, economic, and social well- being of many coastal and inland communities, yet access to financial services is still a challenge as compared to small-holding agriculture farming communities.

The Food and Agriculture Organization has been proactively promoting and advocating for supporting the SSF. In Member countries of FAO, together with thousands of SSF stakeholders, have developed and adopted in 2014 the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines). These SSF Guidelines recognize the limitations in financial access and dearth of investments in the SSF sector and call upon States to support access of small-scale fishing communities to savings, credit, and insurance schemes.

Join AFRACA Secretary General, Mr. Thomas Essel as he shares insights on this topic together with Mr. Raymon van Anrooy (FAO Senior Officer); Lorna Grace (FAO Consultant and Dr. Prasun Kumar Das, Secretary General APRACA. The webinar aims to address the following issues:

1. 1. Increasing awareness about the financial service needs to small scale fishers for more sustainable and inclusive access to finance
   2. To guide policy and decision makers on the Asia-Pacific, Africa Region and elsewhere, to help introduce & incentivize financial services to small scale fishers, with the ultimate objective to encourage investment in the industry  and by doing so influence and strengthen sustainability  and ecological and economic viability of these fisheries.
   3. To build capacity among financial service providers, fisherfolk organisations, NGOs and concerned government agencies to design and implement financial service products and programmes that suit the needs of small scale fishing communities and enhance social protection and;
   4. To promote financial services that incentivize and reward a responsible and sustainable conduct of fishing, fish processing and marketing operations.

Register today at: https://lnkd.in/d4FCkET
Meeting ID: 994 8568 9703
Passcode: CAFI-SSF