Visitas: 94
By: Alejandro Flores*
After almost 40 years of uninterrupted professional service in academia, in aquaculture production and as an international civil servant, the time has come for retirement, at least from FAO…. Farewell!
On this occasion I would like to take the opportunity of this valued space, to talk about a personal matter, for which I apologize upfront. First of all, I would like to thank Aquaculture Magazine Management for the generous space of my column “FAO”, which has been published in Aquaculture Magazine for over a decade now.
It has allowed me to disseminate the activities that the FAO Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean carry out to foster sustainable aquaculture, as a means to strengthen food and nutrition security; alleviate rural poverty and increase the resilience of communities that depend on aquatic ecosystems for their livelihoods.
The technical and policy assistance provided to member countries to identify opportunities, overcome barriers and limitations, and to plan the sustainable development of their aquaculture sectors, has paid off and has been done with environmental soundness and social inclusion.
“The focus has been, though not exclusively, on the small-scale farmers, whose resource limitations have excluded them from achieving economic and productive stability, and eventually develop into self-sufficient economic enterprises.”
After almost 40 years of uninterrupted professional services in the academia, aquaculture production and as an international civil servant, the retirement point has come, at least from FAO, and with that, the moment to leave the space in this internationally reputed magazine, to another contributor.
I joined FAO some 15 years ago, after being selected from a long international selection process, when I was still Rector of Marist University of Merida, Mexico, institution which, along with the Center for Research and Advanced Studies (CINVESTAV), I owe much, both professionally and personally.
The decision to join FAO was based on the opportunity to work in an organization whose mandate is the eradication of hunger, rural poverty, and the promotion of sustainable use of natural resources. Without a doubt, both fisheries and aquaculture are essential means to achieve such goals.
“This is reflected in the fact that both sectors produce more food globally, than any other primary sector, even though it is not widely recognized.”
Latin America contributes with approximately 12% of the world´s fisheries production and although the share of aquaculture is only 4% of the global total, its rate of expansion in the region is one of the highest of the globe, and the surface area for aquaculture expansion is the largest worldwide.
However, aquaculture faces many challenges in the region: climate change affects directly many aquaculture-dependent communities; price increment of critical production inputs; a negative social perception of the activity; increasing international certification of good practices that becomes a financial burden to small scale producers, and the low political institutional hierarchy in most countries, that results in the lack of resources for extension and a sound sectoral management, among others.
Such challenges demand creativity, innovation, cooperation, adaptation and political will, to create the badly needed an enabling environment to fully develop the enormous potential of aquaculture and its social benefits.
“In retrospective I can say that somehow, we have helped to overcome, at least partially, some of such challenges.”
Some examples are the multiple aquaculture developments policies, strategies, and plans that we helped formulate in many countries throughout these years, some of which contributed significantly to increase national fish production and fish consumption, as well as contributed to improve the nutritional condition of vulnerable communities and their cash income.
With this, we have also been able to generate evidence of the potential of aquaculture for territorial development.
We have also created bridges between and among countries that have benefitted from technology transfer and we have managed to create large, international innovation, capacity building and productive inclusion, which altogether have allowed the advancement of aquaculture development and to improve the livelihoods of thousands of rural families.
I have only done my part, putting my limited skills and abilities to a large human team integrated by FAO colleagues, national aquaculture authorities, partner agencies, academics and of course, thousands of farmers whose generosity in sharing their knowledge to their peers, has been instrumental.
Thanks to all persons and institutions that have shared their capacities and resources to achieve all this… Farewell!
*FAO Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean, Santiago, Chile | www.fao.org
