Final Technical Report - ACP Fish II

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Final ReportMegapesca Lda, Portugallonger term, the BNF is recommended to ensure that an annual training budget for the sector isallocated by the Ministry of Agriculture. The BNF and the ACP Fish II are also recommended toconsider providing support for the strengthening of the collective activities of female fish processorsand traders, by building their capacity to engage in a formal association.2 INTRODUCTIONThis report presents the activities and results of the project “Technical assistance on Training ofGroups of female fishmongers in good sanitary practices and management of small businesses”carried out under the EU funded Strengthening Fisheries Management in ACP States project (9ACPRPR 128) programme implemented by the EDF Funded ACP Fish II Programme.The specific objective of the project was to improve Liberia’s value chain of artisanal fisheriesproducts by strengthening the capacities of women fishmongers. The project designed andimplemented a pilot approach to training of female business operators in the supply chain whichcovered essential business and technical skills. The project was implemented by a team of two KeyExpert consultants from Megapesca Lda. of Portugal in association with AEDE of Liberia. Theproject objectives and terms of reference are shown in Annex 1.After home office preparations, Phase 1 commenced in Liberia on 10th July with the arrival in postof the Key Expert 1 (who remained in Liberia until 26th July). In line with the terms of reference,the activities during this Phase included a review of literature and previous/current interventions,undertaking of a training needs assessment exercise in three coastal communities, preparation ofcourse outline and logistics and preparation of two training handbooks.Phase 2 of the project took place during the period 22 nd September to 8 th October 2012. During thisperiod the consultants undertook the field testing of the course materials, delivered a pilot trainingto 36 female trainers from fishing communities and two staff from the Bureau of National Fisheries,and investigated options regarding sustainability of future training provision to small scale fishprocessors and traders.A list of persons met and a summary of activities is shown in Annex 2.3 BACKGROUNDIn Liberia there are an estimated 33,120 fulltime fish producers and processors in both marine andinland waters (mostly subsistence and under-developed commercial fisheries). According to a recentWorld Bank study 1 about 60 percent of these are women. Because their communities are frequentlyremote, these operators have few opportunities for alternative income generation. The sector hasdifficulty in accessing national, regional and international markets due to poor physical andinstitutional infrastructure, and a lack of technical skills to meet buyer requirements, includinginternational sanitary and quality standards. Liberia is at present not able to export fishery productsto the EU, a factor which encourages exploitation of national resources by foreign fleets flagged toother states which are authorized for exports by the European Commission. In recognition of thesocial dependency and the limited options available to the small scale sector, the Government ofLiberia provides policy support in the form of preferential access to coastal resources in the newFisheries Law of 2010.1 Liberia: Gender-Aware Programs and Women’s Roles in Agricultural Value, Prepared by theWorld Bank’s Gender and Development Group (PRMGE), in collaboration with the Ministry ofGender and Development of Liberia (MOGD), World Bank, May 2010. See:http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTGENDER/Resources/LibGenAgrPolicyMem-Web-fin2.pdfTechnical assistance on Training of Groups of female fishmongers in good sanitary practices and management of small businesses 2
Final ReportMegapesca Lda, PortugalLiberian fisherfolk, whose limited investments and livelihoods were disrupted by years of civil war,are thus denied many of the potential benefits of globalization. They lack the means to defend theirexisting markets as trade barriers fall. The consequence is that many small fishery enterprisescannot generate the returns required to re-invest in their business and communities (which includesensuring adequate levels of health and education services). Because of this system failure, thefishery sector is decapitalised. To avoid fishery dependent communities being consigned to apoverty trap, new investment is required to re-build the sector, including infrastructure and adaptedsupport services (e.g. health care, child care and education). One barrier is lack of access to finance,but another fundamental need is to improve the business skills of relevant actors in the supply chain,to ensure that new investment is based on sound business principles and is therefore viable andsustainable. Women play a vital role in the commercial and financial activities of the sector, sincethey are engaged in processing and marketing activities, as well as financing of fishing trips(supplying finance for vessels, nets etc). While both men and women face constraints in access toresources and markets, women remain particularly affected and disadvantaged and therefore theyneed special attention and support. Organizing/linking female business operators in an effective wayis important to increase their bargaining power and collective strengthThis intervention by the ACP Fish II programme aimed to establish and pilot a sustainableentrepreneurial skills training to strengthen the capacity of female business operators in the fishsupply chain to participate more effectively in the development of the Liberian fishery sector.4 ACTIVITIES UNDERTAKEN DURING PHASE 14.1 Establishment and meeting of the Technical TeamThe ACP Fish II Focal Point in Liberia is Mr. Andrew Sumo, Head Marine Division of BNF, wholed the Technical Team. The technical team responsible for steering the project also included:two other BNF staff; Ms. Yarnga Tokpa, Officer in Charge and Mr. James Dolo, ChiefAdministration Officer.representatives of the Women’s Wing of LAFAthe ACP Fish II Key Experts: Team Leader/Food safety Specialist (Key Expert 1) and theBusiness Management Specialist (Key Expert 2)The first meeting of the technical team was held at the kick off meeting on 12 th July. A secondmeeting was held to present (verbally) the interim results and finalise Phase 1 field activities on 24 thJuly 2012.4.2 Meetings and discussions with stakeholdersThe Technical Team identified a number of landing sites to be visited as part of the Phase 1programme of activities, for the purpose of generating baseline data for the training needsassessment. Four communities were visited, with the following programme (for locations see Figure1 overleaf).Table 1: Programme of field visits to fishing communitiesFishing community County DateWest Point, Banjor Montserrado Friday 13 th JulyBuchanan Grand Bassa Monday 16 th JulyRoberstportGrand Cape Mount Tuesday 17 th JulyTechnical assistance on Training of Groups of female fishmongers in good sanitary practices and management of small businesses 3
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Final Technical Report - ACP Fish II

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