Equatorial Guinea: BAD Commits to Fisheries and Aquaculture

par Jacques Leroueil

The African Development Bank (AfDB) on Wednesday, July 17, approved €55,518 million in financing for Equatorial Guinea to implement the « Project to Support the Development of Fisheries and Aquaculture Sector Value Chains (PASPA) ».

The five-year PASPA (2020/2025), formulated in partnership with the International Labour Office (ILO) and the Equatorial Guinea authorities, aims, in the words of the Pan-African institution’s communiqué, to « increase and enhance fish production through the sustainable development of industrial fishing, artisanal fishing and aquaculture ». With a total cost of nearly 70 million euros, the project aims in the long term to ensure a better supply of fish to the local market, reduce imports and export to the countries of the sub-region. The teams of experts in charge of PASPA expect additional annual production of more than 19,000 tonnes of fish, the launch of 500 micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, and the organization and formation of 300 viable and competitive cooperatives/groups. In addition, more than 15,000 direct and indirect jobs are expected to be created, 70% of them for women and young people.
The BAD’s support for the Equatorial Guinean fishing industry is in any case timely. With the fall in oil prices and falling budget revenues, the country is now seeking to accelerate its economic diversification, which has been part of the National Economic and Social Development Plan since 2008. And among the five sectors of activity identified as strategic to achieve this is fishing (alongside agriculture, financial services, tourism, petrochemicals and mining, NDLR).

Geographical situation of Equatorial Guinea in the Gulf of Guinea

Situation géographique de la Guinée équatoriale dans le golfe de Guinée