The initiative was launched at last month’s World Aquaculture Society meeting in Tunisia and unites companies from across the continent and supply chain, who have a shared vision for aquaculture playing a much larger role in assuring meeting food security, health, climate and socio-economic goals.
“There is huge unrealised potential in African aquaculture and with greater investment and growth there is the opportunity to not only feed more people in a healthy a sustainable way but give more employment opportunities to local communities and the next generation. Africa is a huge under served market, rich in natural resources and has a young population eager to innovate. If we act now, aquaculture can be part of the region’s promising future,” said Caesar Asiyo, chief development officer of Victory Farms and chair of the AABLN.
Acknowledging that working together can significantly accelerate progress, the members have highlighted some initial areas they will be exploring on how collective action can drive positive impact:
- Increasing awareness of the opportunities in the sector, most notably with the investment community
- Supporting wider technology transfer between companies and regions to help increase productivity and overall sustainability
- Increasing training and skills development, with specific focus on women
- Sharing knowledge and building greater awareness of biosecurity challenges
- Exploring opportunities to support the development of smallholders
“Within this group we have the expertise to make a signficant difference, and by mobilising this collective knowledge we have the opportunity to identify and action initiatives to address current barriers to growth and support industry advancements,” added Asiyo.
The AABLN is inspired by the Global Salmon Initiative (GSI) model for pre-competitive collaboration in the farmed salmon sector. Building on GSI’s experience in uniting business leaders to work together on environmental improvements, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation chose to work with GSI to help AABLN establish itself and determine an impactful workplan under a new three-year grant.
“The GSI model has taught us over the last ten years that when we unite business leaders under a progressive vision, we can identify common barriers, and we can act together to greatly accelerate progress. Gates Foundation saw the potential in the broader application of our model and now we are working together to mobilize the collective insight of local business leaders to help the African sector meet its potential,” said Sophie Ryan, CEO of GSI.
Founding members
The 22 companies are: Acelia Africa, Aller Aqua, AquaRech, Aqua Spark, Belona Fish Farm, Chicoa Fish Farm, Eden Group, Flossell Farms, Gatsby Africa, Lake Harvest, Nutreco, Ranaan Fish Feed, Royal De Heus, Rio Fish, Samaky Hub, Sekunjalo Group, Stallion Group, Sustain Aquaculture, Tropo Farms, Victory Farms, Yalelo Farms and Zoetis.
