The West African country banks on the farming of this freshwater fish to meet its domestic market demands in 2031.
FISH4ACP is the name of the program of the Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (ACP) through which Cote d’Ivoire wants to increase tenfold its production of tilapia currently estimated between 6,000 and 8,000 tons.
With this in mind, the government, sector stakeholders and technical as well as financial partners adopted on Monday in Abidjan, the FISH4ACP strategy aimed at increasing the sustainability and productivity of the value chain.
The initiative is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and the European Union (EU).
It provides for a plan to reform the tilapia sector over the next ten years with an investment of $60 million (36.12 billion CFA francs) in services, infrastructure, training and equipment.
Marcel Kagnomou, representing the Ivorian Minister of Animal Resources and Fisheries, Sidi Tiemoko Toure, said: “We have taken an important step towards self-sufficiency in the provision of healthy food.”
In addition, Mr. Kagnomou welcomed “the economic opportunities and social benefits to the population without harming the environment.”
Benjamin Laag, from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, hailed “the spirit of collaboration that has united the sector around this strategy,” expressing his country’s ambition to “strengthen the autonomy of Cote d’Ivoire’s food production and stimulate growth, while improving social and environmental sustainability.”
FISH4ACP, through Gilles van de Walle, Chief Technical Advisor, expressed its pride “to participate in this blue transformation that will strengthen food security and benefit tilapia producers in Cote d’Ivoire.”
FISH4ACP’s priorities include creating 3,000 new fish farms, improving the business model of 1,000 established farms, and providing more affordable and higher quality feed and fingerlings.
The program, which runs until 2025, is also expected to bring about improvements in the cold chain and in marketing boosted by tilapia certification.
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