Government commits to long term aquaculture development; starts dialogue on issues
Government commits to long term aquaculture development; starts dialogue on issues
Myanmar Times, 02 Feb 2018
URL: https://www.mmtimes.com/news/government-commits-long-term-aquaculture-development-starts-dialogue-issues.html
Myanmar has taken its first major step towards developing a sustainable aquaculture industry that will meet domestic dietary needs and support the country’s fishery exports business at a time when wild fish stocks are declining rapidly.
“The fisheries sector is one of the most important for our ministry, contributing to the protein needs of our people as well as our nation’s food security,” Dr Aung Thu, Union minister of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation (MoALI), said in Nay Pyi Taw last week.
He added that while Myanmar now exports fishery products to 40 foreign markets, the country’s present production capacity is insufficient for it to continue exporting at those levels.
“As such, developing a local aquaculture industry with assistance from international organizations is essential,” he said.
In line with this initiative, the Department of Fisheries (DoF) under MoALI on February 1 launched the Myanmar Sustainable Aquaculture Programme (MYSAP), which kicked off with €22.5 million (K36.7 billion) in funding from the EU and German government.
MYSAP will focus on helping to develop aquaculture businesses in the inland fish-deficient Sagaing and Shan states as well as the coastal states of Ayeyarwady and Rakhine over the next 5 years. Ayeyarwady houses around 26 percent of Myanmar’s poor, while half the population of Rakhine lives in poverty despite the state having the highest potential for aquaculture.
Officials estimate the programme will directly benefit 250,000 fish farmers and also give some 25,000 rice farmers the option to improve their income by diversifying into aquaculture. It will also enable children to gain access to proteins that help prevent malnutrition.
“The fisheries sector is one of the most important for our ministry, contributing to the protein needs of our people as well as our nation’s food security,” Dr Aung Thu, Union minister of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation (MoALI), said in Nay Pyi Taw last week.
He added that while Myanmar now exports fishery products to 40 foreign markets, the country’s present production capacity is insufficient for it to continue exporting at those levels.
“As such, developing a local aquaculture industry with assistance from international organizations is essential,” he said.
In line with this initiative, the Department of Fisheries (DoF) under MoALI on February 1 launched the Myanmar Sustainable Aquaculture Programme (MYSAP), which kicked off with €22.5 million (K36.7 billion) in funding from the EU and German government.
MYSAP will focus on helping to develop aquaculture businesses in the inland fish-deficient Sagaing and Shan states as well as the coastal states of Ayeyarwady and Rakhine over the next 5 years. Ayeyarwady houses around 26 percent of Myanmar’s poor, while half the population of Rakhine lives in poverty despite the state having the highest potential for aquaculture.
Officials estimate the programme will directly benefit 250,000 fish farmers and also give some 25,000 rice farmers the option to improve their income by diversifying into aquaculture. It will also enable children to gain access to proteins that help prevent malnutrition.