FISH 2019: a year in review
The CGIAR Program on Fish Agri-food Systems takes a look back at the biggest moments and events of 2019. Explore the highlights of the past year through the photos, videos and blogs published in 2019.
Enhancing the contributions of aquaculture and fisheriesto reduce poverty and improve food security and nutrition
Highlights
Fish in irrigation systems: an ancient practice may be the way of the future!
Fisheries are critically important to nutrition and food security around the world. The total global value of caught wild fish and aquaculture was estimated to be USD362 billion in 2016, with fish accounting for 17% of global animal protein consumption in 2015. In the lower Mekong alone, fisheries...
Inclusive business models: making aquaculture value chains work for the poor
It is not always clear whether new trends in commercial growth in aquaculture are inclusive of the poor and whether this contributes to reducing poverty and inequality. Integrating smallholders and poor actors into aquaculture value chains using inclusive business models are touted as more...
Fishing Can Be Profitable for Emerging Economies, but ...
People who live in developing nations don’t just need income; they also need nourishment Not long ago, fish of all kinds, including tuna, snapper and grouper, caught in coral reefs and mangrove forests of Pacific island nations like the Solomon Islands and East Timor filled the plates of local...
Lab-in-a-backpack: Rapid Genomic Detection to revolutionize control of disease outbreaks in fish farming
A team of researchers from Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, and the UK is harnessing the power of genome sequencing to help Aquaculture farmers manage fish diseases. Until recently, this was not possible as the technology was not only costly but the genome sequencing process required...
In the Spotlight: Rose Komugisha Basiita
Rose Komugisha Basiita is a WorldFish scientist conducting research in aquaculture and fish genetics. Based in Zambia, her research in fish genetics is helping to advance sustainable aquaculture production in the Southern and East African region. Rose attained her PhD in Aquaculture Genetics from...
Balancing community and environmental needs in the Pacific Islands
The CGIAR Program on Fish Agri-food Systems (FISH), led by WorldFish in partnership with some of the World's best research agencies, aims to provide research insights and solutions for more equitable and sustainable futures. WorldFish and the ARC Centre of Excellence in Coral Reef Studies have a...
What we do
Fisheries and aquaculture contribute to livelihoods for 800 million people and provide 3.2 billion people with 20 percent of their animal protein. Fish is a rich source of micronutrients and essential fatty acids, which are critical to cognitive and physical development. In low-income and food-deficit countries, fish is often the cheapest and most accessible animal-source food.
To meet future demand for fish, particularly in developing countries, production will need to double by 2030. The scale of this challenge requires research innovations across the whole spectrum of aquaculture and fisheries production systems and value chains.
In collaboration with national governments and partners, the CGIAR Research Program on Fish Agri-Food Systems (FISH) leads research to enhance sustainability, productivity and access to fish by those most in need.
Research Areas
A fish agri-food system is an interconnected and interdependent system involving components of fish production, through to processing, marketing and consumption. The CGIAR Research Program on Fish Agri-Food Systems (FISH) aims to enhance the sustainability, productivity and resilience of fish agri-food systems to reduce poverty, enhance food and nutrition security, and improve natural resource systems.
The overarching research question for the program is: How can we optimize the contributions of aquaculture and small-scale fisheries to reduce poverty and improve food and nutrition security, while enhancing environmental sustainability? Research is focused on the two interlinked challenges of sustainable aquaculture and sustaining small-scale fisheries, with integrated crosscutting themes of gender, youth, capacity development and climate change.
Research Areas
Cross Cutting Themes
Where we work
FISH pursues an integrated body of research in six focal countries. Three are in Asia (Bangladesh, Cambodia and Myanmar) and three are in Africa (Nigeria, Tanzania and Zambia). In addition, the program focuses on Egypt as a research hub and training center for our aquaculture capacity development in Africa, and Solomon Islands as a hub for our learning networks on small-scale governance in the Pacific.
Successes and lessons learned from research will be scaled to achieve impact and expanded to Ghana, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Philippines, Malawi, Sierra Leone, Timor-Leste and Vietnam.
Latest Research Projects
OngoingIDEA: Income, Diets and Empowerment through Aquaculture
IDEA: Income, Diets and Empowerment through Aquaculture project aims to enhance the incomes, diets and nutrition of smallholder families. The project embeds proven technologies in Bangladesh by harnessing public and private sector products and services to increase the productivity of smallholder...
OngoingTechnologies for African Agriculture Transformation (TAAT)
The Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) program is funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and other agencies. The aquaculture compact is one of 15 compacts comprising TAAT led by WorldFish. Ten countries were selected for the TAAT Aquaculture Compact (TAC): the...
OngoingAquaculture Technical, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Training for Improved Private Sector and Smallholder Skills Project in Zambia
Zambia has a high rate of youth unemployment. There are also noticeable disparities between men and women in the labor force, especially a lack of women formally working in the fisheries sector who have received fisheries skills training. The current technical education, vocational and...