To effectively tackle food insecurity in Nigeria, stakeholders from the fishing industry have advocated the immediate implementation of the Small-Scale Fisheries (SSF) Guidelines.
The position was taken at the Opening Ceremony of a three-day National Stakeholders’ and Advocacy Capacity Building Workshop on the Small-Scale Fisheries Guidelines, organised by the Faculty of Science, Lagos State University (LASU) in conjunction with the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF).
Nigeria, they said, stands to benefit greatly from the implementation of the Guidelines, which had been adopted as far back as 2014.
In her presentation, titled ‘Beyond Awareness on the SSF-Guidelines: Partnership Towards Ensuring that Small-Scale Fisheries Deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals’, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Princess Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, emphasised that the implementation of the SSF Guidelines was critical to the achievement of the country’s SDGs. She assured that the agency will support relevant efforts to achieve the goals.
The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello, in her opening remarks, noted that apart from fish production, the small-scale fisheries are firmly rooted in local communities, sustaining rich traditions and value systems in many fishing communities and villages across the country.
She mentioned that the sub-sector directly provides livelihood to about 2 mn people and is a secondary source of employment for up to 20 mn people.