Aquaculture is becoming increasingly important to African economies in a number of ways, including providing sustainable and nutritious food for the continent’s rapidly growing population, creating jobs and improving livelihoods.
It is against this backdrop that the highly successful Annual Conferences on Aquaculture in Africa (AFRAQ) were launched, starting with Egypt (2022) and Zambia (2023).
These annual meetings have brought together a wide range of aquaculturists from the commercial, academic, government and NGO sectors to celebrate the achievements of the sector, but also to find solutions to some of the challenges facing the sector.
Tunisia will host the third Aquaculture Africa Conference (AFRAQ24) from November 19 to 22, 2024 in Hammamet, a choice that confirms Tunisia’s status as one of Africa’s leading aquaculture producing countries and one of the countries with the highest average annual growth rate in the world.
The country is the second largest aquaculture producer in North Africa, after Egypt, and is keen to develop the sector thanks to the competitive advantages of its blue economy sector.
In addition to assessing Tunisia’s burgeoning aquaculture sector, hosting AFRAQ24 in the country is expected to inspire the African, Francophone and Arab communities.
AFRAQ24 aims to be a platform for bringing together African and European aquaculture stakeholders.
The technical program of AFRAQ24 aims to cover development issues, including the latest research and development aspects of aquaculture in Africa.
An international trade exhibition, industry forums, student sessions and activities, satellite workshops (and training sessions) and various meetings/forums on aquaculture development in Tunisia and Africa are also planned.
The international conference will focus on the theme ‘Blue Farming: New Horizons for Economic Growth’ and will present lessons from Tunisia and other countries on the role that sustainable aquaculture continues to play in building sustainable food systems for economic growth.
A melting pot of aquaculture communities
Collaboration and partnership will be at the heart of this event. The great strength of AFRAQ is that it brings together the key players in the development of aquaculture in Africa, including industry, international development agencies, financial institutions, governments, NGOs and the research community, say the organizers.
With contributions and presentations from the public and private sectors, producers, researchers, academic, financial and development institutions, the event will provide a unique opportunity to explore the latest innovations and experiences – a melting pot of the global and African aquaculture communities.
The conference will recognize and celebrate the progress made to date in the sustainable development of aquaculture in Africa and propose solutions to some of the continent’s development challenges.
Sessions will include sustainable aquaculture in the face of climate change, aquaculture financing, aquatic animal health, aquatic animal feed, biotechnology, youth and gender.
“As we celebrate five years of existence, the diversity of our membership, our strategic partnerships with various entities and our achievements have enabled us to develop functional communities of practice that will continue to play a role in the sustainable development of aquaculture in Africa.
This will once again be clearly demonstrated at AFRAQ24 with the many organizations, both new and traditional, exhibiting,” said Sherif Sadek, Past President of the World Aquaculture Society (WAS).
New sessions include the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Special Session on Aquatic Animal Health – Research and Development.
The African Union will host a new session on the development of the African Seaweed Program.
The Global Salmon Initiative (GSI) and its partners will hold a Business Seminar on Aquaculture in Africa alongside AFRAQ24.
The seminar is expected to bring together business leaders and CEOs from Africa’s leading aquaculture companies. The conference program is being finalized and should be available online shortly.
