This was a milestone for the fisheries sector since fish is one of the leading export commodities for Africa, with an annual export value of nearly 4.8 billion and 614 million US dollars for intra-African trade. So for countries like Sierra Leone and others in Africa, where fishing is one of the key main¬stays, it also makes a valuable con¬tribution to food and nutrition security feeding 200 million people annually. For millions on the continent, fish is the only protein food and represents the sole source of essential elements and fats to vulnerable rural African consumers, especially women and children.
However, Africa is still unable to meet its own fish consumption needs due to inadequate infrastructure, lack of financial resources, technologies and mismanagement and therefore has to import fish products.

Hence, fisheries is also integral part of the agenda of NEPAD’s Compre¬hensive Africa Agriculture Develop¬ment Programme (CAADP) aimed at increasing food supply and reducing hunger through national budgetary al¬location. So far, 30 African countries have signed the CAADP Compact to commit at least 10 per cent of their national budgets to agriculture. PAF supports these efforts and is being in¬corporated into their national CAADP food security investment plans, one of the key drivers to raise agricultural productivity on the continent to at least 6 percent annually.

In essence, PAF is about increasing, sustaining and protecting Africa’s as¬sets – fish - and to stimulate growth across the continent. This means strengthening Africa’s capacity to consider, determine and implement responsive reforms in fisheries gover¬nance and trade.
supports reforms in governance and trade.

The fisheries sector of Africa has the potential to contribute to about six percent of the Continent’s annual economic growth; however, it does not have enough resources to deal with this challenge which is made even more complex by illegal fishing, inadequate management, the threat of climate change, and over fishing.
According to Dr Sloans Chimatiro, Senior Fisheries Advisor at NEPAD, in order to deal with these chal¬lenges, PAF established and over¬sees continental working groups in key policy areas such as Good Governance; Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing; Fisher¬ies Investment; Fisheries Trade and Access to markets; and Aquaculture. “The working groups are composed of African and non-African experts in fisheries and aquaculture. They draw on experience in fishing communities, industry, government and educational institution,” said Dr Chimatiro.

In 2010 PAF hosted the first Confer¬ence of African Ministers of Fisheries and Aquaculture (CAMFA) in Ban¬jul, the Gambia. This African Union (AU)-led conference was the first of its kind and facilitated information sharing and promoted dialogue on the role and importance of the fisher¬ies sector. CAMFA was established as a policy organ of the AU to provide high-level guidance for continent-wide reforms. In January 2011, the 16th Summit of the AU endorsed the establishment of CAMFA. Through a Comprehensive African Fisheries Reform Strategy by 2013.

Sierra Leone’s fisheries sector, val¬ued at US$735 million, has received a boost from NEPAD’s Partnership for African Fisheries Programme (PAF), through funding of US$1.4 million disbursed by its West Africa Pilot Project (WAPP). This interven¬tion will provide direct and indirect employment for over 500,000 people.

The Pilot project, which is also man¬aged by PAF, has contributed signifi¬cantly to combating illegal fishing in the region. It has supported the Gov¬ernment of Sierra Leone to build ap-propriate policy and legal frameworks to capitalise on fish exploitation and has strengthened regional integra¬tion through the building of inshore fisheries infrastructure to stimulate economic growth. Since its establish¬ment in Sierra Leone in 2011, WAPP has increased the country’s food supply by enlarging aquacultures considered to be the fastest growing food-producing sector worldwide.

PAF was established in 2009 as a collaboration between the NEPAD Agency and the United Kingdom’s Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). The Partnership builds on earlier fisheries reforms in Africa such as the Abuja Declaration on Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture in Africa.

PAF has been working to empower the fisheries sector by facilitat¬ing access to financial institutions, particularly to those most vulnerable to fishing such as small-scale and grassroots fishers. It also promotes responsible fisheries management, sustainability in Africa’s fisheries and
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