CAIRO (ENTAG )–A group of trade mission delegates from Ethiopia arrived at Cairo, Egypt, in the last week of November as part of the effort that has been made by the Ethio-Netherlands Trade for Agriculture Growth (ENTAG) program to support the Ethiopian aquaculture subsector. The main purpose of the mission is to exchange expertise and, undertake trade and Business-to-Business (B2B) linkages in the field of fisheries where Egypt ranks 10th worldwide, based on internationally accepted agricultural report.
The team, which includes researchers, government actors and private company owners, was invited by the WorldFish Center – a research center that aims to reduce poverty through developing fishing and aquaculture – and is planned to visit several fish farms and hatcheries, the World Fish Center research facility in Abassa, Sharkia, a fish processing plant in Alexandria as well as various related sites.
Dr. Abebe Mengistu, ENTAG Aquaculture Subsector Coordinator and the leader of the delegation, said the visit is important in terms of knowledge and value chain sharing, as the participants from both research and private sector entities utilize and implement the gained knowledge back in their country.
It is not the first time when such mission is organized by ENTAG, as a previous mission was held to conduct a training by the World Fish Center for 10 Ethiopian private companies on aquaculture management in March 2017.
This trade mission will last for five days to be concluded with the Egypt-Ethiopia Aquaculture Platform Meeting to be held on Saturday, 1 December, that would bring private sector representatives from Ethiopia and Egypt together and where the two counterparties will share experience on the role of private sector in the development of the subsector. B2B linkages and networking among value chain actors is also expected to be part of the meeting.
According to FAO, aquaculture accounts for 65% of fish production in Egypt while WorldFish reports that the sector provides employment for 816,000 people (150,000 in the aquaculture value chain and 666,000 in fisheries). Tilapia is the species most farmed in the country, and the majority of the country’s fish production is consumed within, providing the equivalent of one fish per person per week.
Since launching its research program in Egypt in 1998, WorldFish has delivered high quality, practical research related to the country’s aquaculture and fishery sector. A key research focus has been on improving fish genetics to transform Egypt into a role model for African aquaculture development. WorldFish works closely with aquaculture stakeholders, the private sector and government organizations to deliver research on increasing aquaculture productivity, increasing the flow-on benefits of fish farming to women and youth, and enhancing fish value chains.
Source: entag.org