Aquaculture key to food security
NAIROBI – Africa must pull out all the stops and grow the continent’s aquaculture sector to ensure food security in the face of a population growing at a rapid pace. This is according to the State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2026 report released by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) during the ongoing Our... The post Aquaculture key to food security appeared first on New Era .
NAIROBI – Africa must pull out all the stops and grow the continent’s aquaculture sector to ensure food security in the face of a population growing at a rapid pace.
This is according to the State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2026 report released by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) during the ongoing Our Ocean Conference in Nairobi, Kenya.
Speaking at the launch, Manuel Barange, Assistant Director General at the FAO, noted that Africa has the world’s lowest availability of aquatic foods at about 9kg per person per year, compared to the global average of more than 21kg.
“Yet aquatic foods provide 19% of animal protein availability across the continent, the second-highest share globally,” he explained.
He added that the fisheries and aquaculture sector remains an important source of employment.
Delving deeper into the report, details show that global fisheries and aquaculture production stood at 235 million tonnes (t) in 2024, a 5.2% increase from 2022. Of this, 195t came from aquatic animals and 40t from algae.
