The 15th session of the Committee for Inland Fisheries and Aquaculture of Africa (CIFAA) of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) took place from 9-11 December 2008, in Lusaka, Zambia. Issues on the CIFAA agenda included: amendment of rules of procedure; follow-up actions of the 14th session of the CIFAA; CIFAA terms of reference; the proposed abolition of the CIFAA Sub-Committee for Lake Tanganyika; the Special Programme for Aquaculture Development in Africa (SPADA); an inland fisheries development strategy for Africa; securing regional supply in aquatic products: prospects from the FAO post-harvest loss assessment case studies; and strengthening CIFAA within the framework of regional cooperation initiatives. A seminar on information tools in inland fisheries and aquaculture was also held, and participants made a field visit to an aquaculture farm.
The session brought together 41 participants representing: 14 member States; two States with observer status; the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA); the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS); the Lake Victoria Fisheries Organization (LVFO); the Southern African Development Community; the New Economic Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD); the WorldFish Center; the Sustainable Aquaculture Research Networks in Sub-Saharan Africa (SARNISSA), and Swedmar.
The CIFAA’s work resulted in a number of outcomes, including: an amendment to the rules of procedure; the postponement of the abolition of the CIFAA Sub-Committee for Lake Tanganyika; the endorsement of the SPADA; the creation of an Ad Hoc Working Group (AHWG) to develop an inland fisheries development strategy for Africa; and revised terms of reference of the CIFAA. Delegates also adopted the report of the meeting, which contains the summary of the plenary discussions and the seminar.
