Greater need for local capacity building

In September 2024 the SASI-SPI program held its first Science-Policy Lab (SPoL) on Aquatic Food systems as a mini plenary during the Blue Food Forum held by FAO and the Government of Tanzania in Dar Es Salaam. The Blue Food Forum gathered 250 participants from 12 African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries, comprising the private sector, public sector and civil society stakeholders of the FISH4ACP program that FAO has been implementing since 2019. The discussion focused on “A Systemic Approach for Aquatic Food Value Chain Resilience”.

- For me, it became clearer how challenging it is to translate the concept of food systems into real action and to relate it to what different stakeholders in the food system are doing, says Dr Albuquerque from the Instituto Superior de Agronomia in Lisbon.

Even if everyone agreed on the need to be more systemic and inclusive it was difficult to envision on how such actions to strengthen resilience in the food systems should be implemented.

- One of the main lessons that we learned from the Dar es Salaam Lab was the divergence in perspectives between stakeholders and between private and public sectors.

The importance of strengthening the dialogue between different stakeholders stood out. Positively there was a strong engagement among, especially, local and national stakeholders when they had the opportunity to share and discuss their opinions with high level policymakers.

From value-chain to food-systems analysis

The background paper focused on a food systems analysis, centred on resilience. The COVID-19 pandemic had shown the impact of shocks in the food systems and the need for strengthened resilience.

- Earlier reports have mostly looked at stakeholders in the value chain, but our idea in the report was to also look at interconnected actors like informal actors in the aquatic food system that are not explicitly acknowledged.

The participants in the Lab identified different threats to resilience in aquatic food systems. One of the mostly discussed was climate change. Another was related to structural challenges, such as the need to improve coordination, managing different stakeholder values and foster effective multistakeholder dialogues.

- The need for capacity building when it comes to governance and coordination to ensure that small-scale fishers and small institutions have access to funds to improve their businesses was one of the key challenges that stood out for me, says Dr Albuquerque.

Another issue discussed was related to infrastructure and climate shocks, the need for better cold chains, storage and logistics as well as improved access to markets.

Food loss and waste related to lack of infrastructure

The high amount of aquatic food loss and waste in aquatic food systems globally (estimated at nearly 15% of total production), is in many ways related to a lack of infrastructure, both when it comes to roads but also the lack of cooling facilities and cold storage in the food supply chains and fish markets. This leads to the loss of nutritious food in areas where it is critically needed.

If food loss and waste in aquatic food systems can be reduced, and more food can reach the local markets in good condition, nutritious aquatic foods could become more available to the local population. However, access, affordability and food demand remain critical factors.

- There may be some cultural barriers in certain contexts, so it is important to invest in supporting strategies, such as providing nutrition education, to ensure that the consumers trust that the food is healthy and safe. Making aquatic foods more appealing can also play a key role, says Dr Albuquerque.

She mentions that strengthening dietary guidelines for the entire population or investing in more targeted strategies for specific population groups, such as school food procurement programmes, are additional systemic steps that can be taken. These can gradually contribute to build a more supportive food environment over time.

- There is also the health argument. Aquatic foods are rich in essential micronutrients and essential fatty acids. Raising awareness of their role in improving child and maternal health, particularly in low- and middle-income countries facing malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies, would be beneficial.

Small scale processing of aquatic foods, for example into fish powder, could be a potential solution with multiple benefits: it can help address food loss, while at the same time increasing the availability of safe, shelf-stable and nutrient-rich aquatic foods, ideally at affordable prices for local consumers. 

- In Dar es Salaam, many initiatives on small scale food processing were showcased. Although these foods may taste different and there may be some uncertainty  about how to integrate them into traditional recipes, using them in complementary feeding could be a way to develop this taste from an early age. Evidence suggests that children may need to try a new food multiple times (8 to ten exposures) before developing acceptance of preference for it.

The importance of time and sustained engagement in dialogue

Dr Albuquerque also took part in the Science Policy Lab in Brussels. A drawback from the Dar es Salaam Lab was its short duration, only 90 minutes, compared to two days in Brussels.

-That’s a reason why we didn’t generate as many in-dept findings in the Dar es Salaam Lab, as we did in the subsequent ones. One of the main differences between Dar es Salaam and Brussels was the available time; in Brussels we were allowed to really reflect on and discuss more specific issues.

She reflects that some topics occurred both during the Dar es Salaam and Brussels Lab. 

- In both events, the needs for high-level participation in the dialogues and to strengthen local capacity were clearly raised. Empowering local actors is essential to ensure that there is more capacity on the ground, where it’s most needed.

Key topics in Dar es Salaam and Brussels Labs

• The need to strengthen the dialogue among stakeholders
• The importance to build local capacity
• The importance for high level decisionmakers to know what is happening at the local level
• The need for small scale actors to have access to essential resources beyond new technology, such as infrastructure and funding