Improving Fisheries and Aquaculture Value Chains in the Mediterranean within the Blue Growth Initiative (SVC4MED) is a four-year project, funded by the Directorate General of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Government of Italy, and implemented by FAO. SVC4MED aims to improve wild shrimps and farmed rainbow trout value chains in the Mediterranean by maximizing economic and social benefits to society, while minimizing negative impacts on the environment, in line with the FAO Blue Transformation Initiative.

Key countries selected to implement project activities within SVC4MED are Albania, Italy, Lebanon, Tunisia and Turkey. The planned project activities include data collection on a number of performance indicators along the value chain, on the basis of which to analyse the structure, dynamics and performance of the system and develope visions for value chain upgrading. Involvement of local partners and stakeholders throughout the process is an essential part of the project.

The project kick-off meeting took place on 23rd and 24th February and was attended by representatives of the national partners and consultants, who will have the primary responsibility for collecting and analysing data and developing upgrading strategies for the selected value chains in their countries. A total of 18 participants joined the workshop over the two days, in addition to representatives by the project management unit.

SVC4MED¿s methodological approach is an adaptation of the FISH4ACP project methodology for fisheries and aquaculture value chain analysis, which builds on FAO guiding principles on Sustainable Food Value Chain (SFVC) and Value Chain Analysis for Development (VCA4D) of the European Commission.. FAO defines sustainable food value chains as ¿the full range of farms and firms and their successive coordinated value-adding activities that produce particular raw agricultural materials and transform them into particular food products that are sold to final consumers and disposed of after use, in a manner that is profitable throughout, has broad-based benefits for society and does not permanently deplete natural resources(1)¿. This is a holistic approach designed to identify and understand the core factors and interrelated constraints associated with all main components of the system (see figure below) and enable the identification of upgrading opportunities.

(1) FAO. 2014. Developing sustainable food value chains - Guiding principles. Rome

With ever-growing concerns over climate change, disease outbreaks, market fluctuations and other uncertainties, species diversification has become an increasingly prominent strategy for sustainable aquaculture development. Policy and planning on species diversification require a holistic, sector-wide perspective to assess the overall prospect of individually promising species that may not be entirely successful when competing for limited resources and markets. This paper examines the status and trends of species diversification in global aquaculture and establishes a benchmarking system to facilitate the comparison of species diversification patterns across countries. The benchmarking results based on the experiences of around 200 countries for three decades can provide points of reference to facilitate evidence-based policy and planning in sustainable aquaculture development. Additionally, the benchmarking system can be used in foresight analyses to help design or refine future production targets in policy and planning for aquaculture development. Indicating the usefulness of global experiences in guiding policy and planning in individual countries may motivate more efforts in strengthening global data on aquaculture. Improved global data would not only enhance the quality of information generated from the benchmarking system but also could expand the system to include more indicators.

PDF: http://www.fao.org/3/cb1550en/cb1550en.pdf

Information: Juinning Cai

Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) is a growing threat to human and animal health; it endangers modern human and veterinary medicine and undermines the safety of our food and environment. Antimicrobials play a critical role in the treatment of diseases of farm animals (aquatic and terrestrial) and plants, and therefore their effectiveness must be preserved. Their use is essential to food security, our well-being and to animal welfare.

The misuse of antimicrobials increases the rate of emergence and spread of resistant organisms, placing both human and animals at risk. To support implementation of FAO Resolution 4/2015, which recognized the serious threat presented by AMR, FAO has developed an action plan (2021-2025) which addresses focal areas of activity to address this threat, including raising awareness, increasing capacity for surveillance and monitoring, and the promotion of good practices in food and agricultural systems, including antimicrobial use.

In this regard, Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute (YSFRI) and Pearl River Fisheries Research Institute (PRFRI) of Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences (China), Nitte University (India) and the Mississippi State University (USA) are proposed for designation as "FAO Reference Centre on AMR and Aquaculture Biosecurity".

During this virtual event, speakers from the above FAO candidate reference centers will present and share their knowledge on AMR and aquaculture biosecurity to increase the understanding of overview and current status of knowledge on AMR and its mitigation measures in aquaculture.

Link to programme and presentations can be found here.

Information: Melba.Reantaso@fao.org; Hao.Bin@fao.org