The Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea (FCWC), in collaboration with Côte d’Ivoire’s Ministry of Animal and Fisheries Resources (MIRAH) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), convened the Second Regional Seminar on Aquaculture Development from 4–6 August 2025 at the Palm Club Hotel in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

 

This regional seminar built on the momentum of the First Regional Seminar held in 2020 and deepened public-private collaboration in the aquaculture sector across the FCWC sub-region. Under the theme “Strengthening Public-Private Dialogue on Investment Promotion and Industrialisation in the Aquaculture Sector,” the seminar served as a platform for key aquaculture stakeholders from government, private industry, regional institutions, and international partners to share experiences, assess progress, and identify actionable strategies for promoting investment in aquaculture growth.

 

The opening ceremony was marked by five speeches: a welcome speech by Dr. Gaston Antoine Djihinto, FCWC Secretary General; Hon. Cyrus Saygbe, Chairperson of the FCWC and Director General of Liberia’s National Fisheries and Aquaculture Authority (NaFAA); Madam Asaoka, representative of the Economic Department of JICA Headquarters in Tokyo; Mr Joseph Nyemah, FAO Representative in Côte Ivoire; and an opening address by Hon. Sidi Tiémoko Touré, La Côte d’Ivoire’s MIRAH Minister.

 

Over 100 participants, comprising representatives from the six FCWC Member States (Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Togo), Cameroon, Senegal, and Guinea, attended the seminar. In addition, stakeholders such as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Centre (SEAFDEC), the Ministerial Conference on Fisheries Cooperation Among African States Bordering the Atlantic Ocean (ATLAFCO), the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the African Union Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR), the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) attended.  Private sector aquaculture entities like the Catfish and Allied Fish Farmers Association of Nigeria (CAFFAN), Ranaan Fish Feed Ltd, Tropo Farms (Volta Catch) Ltd, l’Interprofession Poisson d’Elevage du Benin (IPEB), INFOPECHE, and the Ghana Chamber of Aquaculture participated alongside the leads of several of Côte d’Ivoire’s aquaculture projects.

 

The seminar featured sessions on aquaculture promotion initiatives by international and regional organisations; investment expectations and conditions for industrialising aquaculture; public policies supporting aquaculture entrepreneurship and disease control; and strategies to enhance the investment environment for aquaculture in the FCWC region.

 

The seminar was in alignment with FCWC’s 2021–2030 Strategic Action Plan, which was developed with JICA’s support, and highlighted the FCWC’s commitment to coordinating aquaculture development actions among Member States.

 

The event culminated in the creation of recommendations on the four thematic areas of the seminar: to guide policy harmonisation, enhance biosecurity frameworks, promote entrepreneurial development, and facilitate targeted investments in the aquaculture value chain. Key outcomes include the decision to revitalise the Working Group on Aquaculture (WGAq) and to finalise the draft FCWC Aquaculture plan.

 

Kofi Taylor-Hayford
Communication Officer