Most APEC member economies are aquaculture producers and nine are among the top global players. Aquaculture commerce is an important source of livelihoods and food security in the Asia-Pacific region.
Making this industry accessible to small-scale aquaculture farmers will help APEC take strides in its agenda of inclusive economic growth.
However, success will rely on good aquaculture practices so that food-safety measures meet expectations of authorities and buyers. To achieve this, small-scale producers need to incorporate international food safety standards in their production and logistics processes.
An initiative between APEC and the World Bank’s Global Food Safety Program (GFSP) is under way to help small-scale aquaculture farmers gain access to food standards and safety support. Its objectives: to help them grow their livelihoods and integrate into a US$160 billion industry.
The aquaculture training project took off in Vietnam in 2015 when it certified its first cadre of 30 trainers from APEC member economies. These trainers went on to share aquaculture safety guidelines in their own economies and are now part of a network of certified food-safety trainers in the region.
“The project includes access to mentors who are technical experts in aquaculture safety,” says Megan Crowe, senior international trade advisor in the United States Department of Commerce, and administrator for Partnership Training Institute Network. “It helps aquaculture businesses to overcome major hazards and risks, and tap into the global trade in food.”
“We are helping economies meet food production standards so that even the smallest aquaculture business can safely export,” says Crowe. “Trade in food requires transparency and certainty.”
Helping aquaculture farmers access a global industryCommercially, the opportunity is huge. Between 2005 and 2015 the value of global aquaculture production more than doubled to US$160 billion — and Asia is at the center of the industry. In China alone, five million people depend on the aquaculture industry for their livelihoods. They produce 45 million tons of farmed fish, mollusks and crustaceans each year, which is approximately 60 per cent of Asia’s total production.
“With limited annual increases in global fisheries, aquaculture remains the only option to increase the availability of healthful fishery products — but education is essential,” says Steve Otwell, founder of project collaborator Seafood HACPP Alliance (SHA), which creates and delivers aquaculture education and training in the United States.
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Published: 8/24/2016