FAO handover Fish Processing Facility and Equipment to Grand Bassa County

By FAO Liberia Communication Team

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations on Monday, June 10, 2024, handed over a state-of-the-art fish processing facility and equipment in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County to be used by fish mongers and processors in the county.

The handover of the facility is part of the completion of the Livelihood Empowerment of Women in Small-Scale Fisheries project funded by the Government of Japan. The National Fisheries and Aquaculture Authority (NaFAA) jointly implemented the project.

The project contributes to income diversification, food and nutrition security, resilience building, and sustainable livelihoods for 1,000 fishmongers and their surrounding communities.

The handover ceremony was attended by top government officials such as the Pro-Tempore of the Liberian Senate Madam Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrance, Gender, Children and Social Protection Minister Gbeme Horace-Kollie, a Deputy Agriculture Minister, Grand Bassa Superintendent Julia Bono, Buchannan City Mayor George Gaybueh and other local authorities.

The gathering was also marked with dramatising and cultural traditional dances. Speaking at the program, FAO Representative to Liberia Bintia Stephen Tchicaya noted that handing over the fish processing facility to fishmongers aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.  She said by investing in women’s livelihoods in small-scale fisheries and promoting sustainable practices, the FAO is contributing to achieving these global goals.

She emphasized that the FAO Strategic Framework seeks to transform agri-food systems to be more efficient, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable.

‘’This project in Buchannan is a testament to our commitment to this vision, as we strive for better production, nutrition, environment, and life for all, leaving no one behind,’’ she intoned.

Madam Tchicaya availed that fisheries are crucial to global concerns due to their essential contributions to food security, nutrition, livelihoods, employment, and poverty alleviation. She noted that Liberia, with its 579 km coastline rich in demersal and pelagic fisheries resources, is no exception.

The FAO Representative signaled that the fisheries sector provides about 65% of the national animal protein needs, contributing approximately 12% of the agriculture GDP, and offers direct employment to over 33,000 full-time fishers, fishmongers, and processors along the coast, 60% of whom are women. Despite this significant contribution, she said, small-scale fisheries face challenges such as weak safety measures at sea, low monitoring, control and surveillance, poor infrastructure and equipment, minimal value addition capacity, and fragile market access.

She intimated “The second output of our project focused on scaling up previous post-harvest activities for female fish processors and disseminating best practices to selected fishing communities. Climate-smart, sustainable, and healthy fish processing infrastructure, like the one we inaugurate today, has been built, and renewable energy and durable fish processing equipment have been distributed to female fish processor groups in three fishing communities. Additionally, training in female-to-female knowledge exchanges and capacity development have been organized to improve efficiency, productivity, and hygiene practices.

This new fish processing infrastructure aims to ensure the sustainability of marine fisheries resources, improve livelihoods, and enhance food security for small-scale fish processors. It focuses on improving the quality of life and livelihoods for women fish processors, reducing fish loss, and enhancing fish product quality, thereby increasing access to nutritious food in rural areas.”

Madam Tchicaya furthered that the completed fish processing infrastructure includes a cleaning, cutting, gutting, and filleting area; a processing area with the new FAO FTT smoking technology; a cooling area; a packaging and storage room; an equipment and tools store; changing rooms with showers and toilets; and an office.

She said women groups’ collective use of these facilities will ensure that production follows a specific chain, adhering to necessary hygiene and quality standards.

“This approach allows women to divide production work among themselves, freeing up time for other income-generating or social activities and ensuring adherence to hygiene and food quality measures through mutual support and control,” the FAO Representative added.

The FTT technique, developed collaboratively by FAO and the National Training Centre for Fish and Aquaculture Technicians (CNFTPA) in Senegal, addresses the need to improve small-scale fish drying and smoking operations. Its benefits include Health: Eliminates smoke pollution and fire hazards, and improving health and safety conditions for women and their communities. Market Access: Eliminates carcinogenic toxins (PAHs), ensuring the fish meets international food safety standards and accesses better markets. It also extends the final product’s shelf life, allowing leverage against price fluctuations. Time Efficiency: The FTT functions regardless of weather conditions and processes fish faster than traditional methods, freeing up time for other opportunities. Reduction of Post-Harvest Losses: Extends product shelf life, reduces post-harvest losses, and allows additional revenue from by-products like fish fat. Environment: Significantly reduces wood usage, decreasing environmental pressure and costs.

For her part, Senate Pro Tempore Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrance thanked the FAO, the Government of Japan, and NaFAA for the project implementation and called on fishmongers to take ownership of the fish processing facility. She said with such infrastructure built it is important for fishmongers, especially women in the county to work together by ensuring that the facility is operational so that their livelihoods can be improved.

Also, NaFAA Director General Emma Matieh Glassco thanked the FAO for collaborating with her institution to have the project implemented and extended commendation to the Government of Japan for providing the funding.

She called on the beneficiaries to take charge of the facility. She encouraged the local authorities to play a more supervisory role in protecting the facility and operations of the fishmongers and processors in the county.

The NaFAA Director General said the FTT Technique is a new phenomenon that will boost fishers’ production capacity. Describing it as a game changer, she said the new technique enhances environmental sustainability and is designed to be environmentally friendly, using less wood for smoking and reducing carbon footprint.

“Our traditional smoking methods often expose workers to harmful smoke and toxic compounds. The FTT system significantly reduces these health risks by providing a cleaner, safer working environment. This is not just an investment in technology but an investment in the well-being of the community dwellers,” she added.

 

The turnover of the Fanti Town FTT-Fish processing facility in Buchanan City, Grand Bassa County is one of the three completed fisheries facilities to the Government of Liberia through NaFAA.