The potential of green aquaculture in Africa  

Africa’s blue economy prospects  What if Africa could farm its oceans and reap benefits from it? Yes, research findings from African Natural Resources Centre (ANRC) in collaboration with African Development Bank (AfDB), ‘Prospects for developing green aquaculture in Africa 2021’ report brings a whole new depth to aquaculture in Africa.  The continent is growing fast, and it could grow more sustainably if it utilizes its most crucial resource, natural wealth. The report highlighted that the aquaculture sector is slowly growing and it shows a strong potential for expansion.  The world aquaculture landscape is showing promise. The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) 2020 report showed that farmed seafood globally produced 82.1 million tonnes of aquatic animals in 2018—which is equivalent to 96.4 tonnes of fisheries catch.  “Global aquaculture has been growing at an average annual rate of 5 per cent over the past 20 years and this growth is expected to continue in the coming decades.  In several Asian countries and Egypt, aquaculture has overtaken traditional fishing to be the main production source of aquatic organisms,” the report noted.  Contrary to the top performers of the world, Africa is not catching up. The region occupies at least 2.3 million tonnes (2 per cent) of the world’s production.   The AfDB