News

• Funded by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad), the Development and Scale-up of Sustainable Foods for Resilient Aquatic Food Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa (FASA) project is a five-year project that aims to produce low-cost, highly nutritious aquatic foods with new ingredients ;
• The project is expected to benefit 5,000 small-scale aquatic food producers in Nigeria, Kenya and Zambia, with the ultimate aim of strengthening their resilience, increasing their incomes and improving food security;
• CORAF is implementing the project through the National Aquaculture Specialization Centre, based in Nigeria.

A new agreement signed between WorldFish and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) aims to produce low-cost, highly nutritious aquatic foods based on new ingredients in Nigeria, Kenya and Zambia.

Called the Development and Scale-up of Sustainable Foods for Resilient Aquatic Food Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa (FASA) project, it is funded to the tune of 80 million Norwegian kroner, or around 8 million US dollars, and has a duration of five years.

Five thousand small-scale fish feed producers in the three countries are targeted by the project, 30% of them women and 40% young people, according to WordFish.

"One of the major challenges currently facing the aquaculture sector in the sub-region is the availability of quality feed to feed the fish. In addition to having a high climatic footprint, feed is often expensive, scarce and not easily accessible to smallholders", notes Professor Niéyidouba LAMIEN, Program Manager at CORAF.

"The FASA project will enable aquatic feed producers to offer farmers in the target countries sustainable, nutrient-rich and low-cost fish feeds, which will thus help to significantly increase the incomes of all players in the aquaculture value chain in the region," he says.

Ultimately, the technologies generated by the project are expected to be scaled up in other sub-Saharan African countries.  

In so doing, the project aims to contribute to the development of resilient aquatic food systems in the sub-region.

Strengthen the National Center for Aquaculture Specialization

Implementing partners include, in addition to CORAF, the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE), the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Aller Aqua Group's subsidiary in Zambia, the Natural Resources Development College, fish feed manufacturers and local farmers' groups.

CORAF is involved in the FASA project through the National Specialization Center (NSC) for Aquaculture, based in Nigeria.

The Aquaculture NSC is one of nine NSCs and Regional Centers of Excellence (RCEs) set up under the West African Agricultural Productivity Program (WAAPP), implemented by CORAF.

"In concrete terms, the project will support the CNS on aquaculture to help it conduct research and develop innovative aquatic foods that meet users' needs and enable them to increase their income and strengthen their resilience," explains Professor LAMIEN. 

The species targeted in this research are tilapia and catfish, two of the most widely consumed species in sub-Saharan Africa.