Funding Aquaculture Research for Africa

Recent publications available on SARNISSA (July 2010):
Funding Aquaculture Research for Africa
Sustainable Aquaculture Research Networks for Sub Saharan Africa - A new era for strengthening African aquaculture development.

This FP7/EC funded SARNISSA project aims to link like minded individuals throughout Sub Saharan Africa and beyond for their mutual benefit. Language differences present a particular challenge. English speakers may be unaware of key contacts or unable to access the wealth of information from French-speaking countries and vice versa for French speakers

The three-year project will strengthen alliances between languages and across borders among experienced and emergent players in the African and wider aquaculture scene that will build on an existing knowledge resource base and exchange platform – The Aquaculture Compendium – which is available throughout the project period to all key project stakeholders who will help provide new materials related to sub Saharan African development.

The project team has a balance of considerable experience and expertise in the aquaculture research and commercial sectors, development and policy, and information technology, as well as an ability to work in different linguistic areas, and a track record in the implementation of activities at local to international level.

The consortium consists of 8 partners from Africa and Europe and beyond:

1. University of Stirling  (co-ordinator UK)
2. CIRAD
3. WorldFish Center
4. CABI
5. Asian Institute of Technology
6. Bunda College Univ of Malawi
7. IRAD Cameroon
8. ETC Netherlands
9. Moi University Kenya

The project focus is very much on initiating regular communication among stakeholders (researchers, commercial and market sectors, government agencies, NGOs, and others) in order that collaborations can be initiated and nurtured. Identifying and developing such new initiatives for sub Saharan African aquaculture research will be critical to this process. These may be between researchers and commercial users, between anglophone and francophone regions, between Africa and Asia; and between Europe and Africa.

Through the further development of the Aquaculture Compendium the project aims to deliver a comprehensive interdisciplinary knowledge base required for Sub Saharan African aquaculture to develop in a sustainable way and so fulfil its potential to help increase farmers’ incomes and increase food security.

Related blog post: FARA blog 19August 2008

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