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Increasing the contribution of small-scale fisheries to poverty alleviation and food security.











FAO. 2005. Increasing the contribution of small-scale fisheries to poverty alleviation and food security. FAO Technical Guidelines for ResponsibleFisheries. No. 10. Rome, FAO. 79 pp.


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    Book (series)
    Increasing the contribution of small-scale fisheries to poverty alleviation and food security. 2007
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    The objectives of this Technical Paper are to highlight the contribution that inland and coastal small-scale fisheries can make to poverty alleviation and food security and to make practical suggestions on ways that this contribution can be maximized. This paper is organized into three main sections. The first section discusses the concepts of poverty, vulnerability and food security, and briefly outlines how these concepts have evolved in recent years within the field of fisheries (in line with the rest of the development literature). The second section reviews the actual and potential contribution of small-scale fisheries to poverty alleviation and food security. It illustrates, through use of examples, the role that small-scale fisheries can play in economic growth at the national level and poverty alleviation and rural development at the local level. The third and main section of the document discusses ways of increasing the contribution of small-scale fisheri es to poverty alleviation and food security through nine main entry points. First, the paper revisits conventional fisheries policies and legislation and makes suggestions on how those can be made more pro-poor. Next, the paper emphasizes the importance of capacity building and highlights how cross-sectoral interventions can greatly improve the livelihoods of fish-dependent communities. The paper then proposes a series of broad pro-poor or pro-small-scale fisheries principles, before discussing in greater detail three of the main management instruments adopted in fisheries: (i) property right approaches; (ii) co-management; and (iii) protected areas. The next two sub-sections discuss markets and how to make them work for the poor, and the important issue of pro-poor financing systems and subsidies. The paper highlights the complexity of the issues and reflects the current debate on the ambiguous impacts of markets and trade on poverty alleviation. The last sub-sec tion examines the information, research agenda and communication strategies that are needed to complement or support other interventions and to ensure the contribution of small-scale fisheries to poverty alleviation and food security.
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    Book (series)
    Report of the Expert Consultation on the Role of Small-scale Fisheries in Poverty Alleviation and Food Security. Rome, 5–8 July 2004. 2004
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    The Expert Consultation was convened by FAO in order to elaborate guidelines on the policies and actions needed to increase the contribution of small-scale fisheries to poverty alleviation and food security. The twenty-fifth session of the FAO Committee on Fisheries, held in Rome from 24 to 28 February 2003, requested FAO to develop such guidelines as part of its series of technical guidelines on the implementation of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries. The Expert Consultati on had before it a comprehensive background document on the subject matter and recommended that two products be published by FAO: (i) a FAO Fisheries Technical Paper on small-scale fisheries in poverty alleviation and food security that would include a full review of relevant background information; and (ii) FAO Technical Guidelines for Responsible Fisheries on enhancing the contribution of small-scale fisheries to poverty alleviation and food security that would be a much more concise document highlighting the actions needed to increase the contribution of small-scale fisheries. The Expert Consultation provided specific guidance for the finalization of the technical paper based on a revision and elaboration of the background document and produced a detailed outline for the preparation of the technical guidelines. It also provided recommendations on the dissemination of both documents and on methods to assess the use and evaluate the impacts of the technical guide lines. The Expert Consultation noted that there is little reference to poverty alleviation and insufficient coverage of small-scale fisheries in the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries. It therefore recommended the development of a new Article on “Small-scale Fisheries and Poverty Alleviation”.
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    Meeting
    Towards the implementation of the SSF Guidelines in Eastern Africa: Proceedings of the East Africa Consultation Workshop on Improving Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 15-18 September 2015 2016
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    Following the endorsement of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines) by the FAO Committee on Fisheries (COFI) in June 2014 and in line with paragraph 13.6 of the document itself, promoting the development regional plans of action for their implementation, a regional workshop was held in Eastern Africa to discuss implementation of the SSF Guidelines. The East Africa Consultation Workshop on im proving small-scale fisheries in the context of food security and poverty eradication was held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 15-18 September 2015. It was hosted by the FAO Sub-Regional Office for Eastern Africa. The workshop was attended by a total of 38 participants from Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda, including representatives of governments, regional organisations, Regional Fishery Bodies (RFBs), Civil Society Organization (CSOs), NGOs, res earch institutions, academia, other relevant other non-state actors as well as FAO staff and resource persons. The workshop noted that small-scale fisheries employ the bulk of fishers and fish workers in the region and contribute substantially to food security and livelihoods through their role in providing nutritious food and generating local and national incomes. Inland fisheries are particularly important in many countries of the region. There are many aquatic resources, including freshwater and marine resources, that are shared by two or several countries and the regional aspects of small-scale fisheries are hence important. The overall objective of the workshop was to facilitate the understanding of the principles of the SSF Guidelines and their application in order to support sustainable small-scale fisheries and Blue Growth. During the three and a half days, participants examined the current status of small-scale fisheries in the region and shared experiences through country and topical presentations, and discussed priorities and actions for implementing the SSF Guidelines at regional and national levels.  

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