Project: Formal and informal networks in rural areas10Apr2015
Western Balkan countries optimistic about aquaculture
Aquaculture has great potential in the Western Balkans, for three reasons: vast expanses of high-quality water resources, close proximity to large markets in the European Union, and skilled yet inexpensive labour. A two-year FAO project concluding this week helped five countries develop their capacity to meet international standards for trade in live fish and other aquatic animals.
At a closing workshop in Sarajevo, participants reviewed project outputs and began planning ways of building on the project’s accomplishments.
The project – a collaboration of FAO with the agriculture and other ministries of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia – accomplished its main objective of improved ability in each country for complying with international standards on aquatic animal health.
In total, five national workshops and six regional workshops were conducted, to share knowledge and generate support from the private sector and aquaculture producers. More than 120 people were trained on various aspects of aquatic animal health. A surveillance manual, a diagnostic manual, and emergency preparedness and response guidelines were produced, and a regional website was updated – all of which will serve as permanent resources for aquaculture development.
“Even though the project is coming to an end, the work that was accomplished will continue to make an impact,” said Melba Reantaso, FAO aquaculture officer responsible for the project. “I am confident that the project’s objectives will continue to be carried out even after the project ends, particularly at the national level.”
Since the start of the project in 2013, a strong national and regional network was built throughout the aquaculture industry and the national institutions that hosted the workshops demonstrated a strong interest in the project, Reantaso added. “These are all good signs at a time when biosecurity governance has become an essential requirement for healthy aquatic food production, and diseases are recognized as one of the most important challenges to aquaculture development.”
FAO Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia
FAO’s Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia – located in Budapest, Hungary – provides and coordinates FAO policy and technical assistance to Member Countries in the Region.
As a result of land reforms in the 1990s, Europe and Central Asia is largely a region of smallholders.
In some countries, large commercial farms exist side-by-side with many economically unprofitable smallholders. Yet small farms can achieve high levels of productivity and income – through improved organization, intensified and sustainable production, and integration into agri-food chains.
With appropriate support, family farms can be a model for achieving sustainable growth, ensuring food security and mitigating rural poverty.
An FAO Regional Initiative
This Regional Initiative uses a complex, multidisciplinary and area-based development approach, tailored to the Europe and Central Asia region. It takes into consideration the region’s heterogeneity and the special challenges it faces.
The overall goal is to address the key problems of rural people by empowering smallholders and family farms to improve their livelihoods. Elimination of rural poverty, improving the resilience of rural populations (with a focus on smallholders) and inclusive growth for rural economies based on sustainable use of natural resources are the basic principles of the Initiative.
The work focuses equally on technical issues (animal health, production, phytosanitary and so forth) and social, economic and environmental aspects. Inclusiveness – with respect to gender and vulnerable groups, for example – is also a key principle.
The Initiative tackles two main areas: (1) policy, institutions and governance, and (2) farms and communities. Priority actions include strengthening governance and policies, building capacities, enhancing participatory approaches, supporting small holders in sustainable production technologies, supporting land consolidation processes, income diversification, and improving smallholder access to markets, rural finance and value chains.
The Initiative aims to achieve the following results:
Increased participation of farmers and rural communities in national development;
Enhanced sustainable and inclusive growth of rural economies;
Improved sustainable management of natural resources.