Group photo: African Women Fish Processors and Traders Network Meeting in Côte d'Ivoire - credit FCWC secretariat
The Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea (FCWC), represented by the Fish Trade and Aquaculture Adviser, Adekunle Adejolu, participated, on 12th and 13th September 2019 in Côte d’Ivoire, in an African Women Fish Processors and Traders Network (AWFishNET) meeting which aimed to provide a platform for sharing and documentation of best practices in fish processing technology and identification of opportunities for enhancing women SMEs in the fisheries and aquaculture sector.
The two-day meeting was organised by the African Union InterAfrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) and included participants from the AWFISHNET Bureau, AWFISHNET conference organising committee, selected experts, facilitators, and AU-IBAR staff.
The main outcomes of the meeting were the enhancement of knowledge on the best practices for trade, market development and fish processing technologies; a compilation of the challenges and opportunities affecting women fish processors and trader SMEs in Africa; and a first draft of an AWFishNET program.
The African Women Fish Processors and Traders Network (AWFishNET) was established, facilitated by AU-IBAR, with the objective to contribute to improving the welfare, working conditions and income of women in the fisheries sector (and especially women in the post-harvest sector) within the member states of the African Union.
