Sustainable development of the fisheries value chain and fish processing capacity for economic livelihoods, food security and job creation in Amhara and SNNP Regions, Ethiopia

The government of the Federal Republic of Ethiopia has adopted a strategy on promotion of fish protein consumption, as a viable alternative means for achieving nutritional food security. The country has a significant volume of water resources, most of which could be utilised and feasible for investments to increase primary production of fish for rural subsistence food, along with the gradual improvement of value added processing for the domestic and export markets; contributing to poverty reduction. The objective is to support the national priorities on development of the fisheries sector, through the introduction of good practices, technology demonstration and training on preservation of fish catch, value addition and overall postharvest management of fish and fish products. This project is expected to promote an integrative and interdisciplinary approach to inclusive and sustainable fisheries, fisheries management & biodiversity; information system improvements for proxy and cost effective monitoring of fish stock recruitment & assessment; diversifying fish value chains, and building-up infrastructure to enhance value chains. Collaboration with agencies and potential partners that are involved in research and development projects, in the respective lake areas as well as direct partnership with government and local initiatives will be explored, so as to implement a holistic response that addresses productivity and environmental aspects for sustainable exploitation and utilisation of the diverse fisheries resources. Another innovation that will be introduced through UNIDO support will be on expanding the project focus to national level, with enhanced synergies with ongoing initiatives and projects on these Lakes, notably such as the Lake Biosphere reserve project, and the NARCIS project among others. Interventions on Lakes Chamo and Abaya will focus on the promotion of fish processing and improvement of marketing services to supply value added fish and fish products to markets. International experts from BOKU (lead: Andreas MELCHER) will work under the close supervision of the Project Manager(s) at UNIDO Headquarters (HQs, PTC/AGR/ABD) and Ethiopia Regional Office (PTC/BRP/ETH).