{"id":21650,"date":"2026-07-29T15:43:37","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T14:43:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/maritimafrica.com\/en\/?p=21650"},"modified":"2026-07-29T15:43:37","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T14:43:37","slug":"togo-sets-the-terms-for-fisheries-and-aquaculture-reform","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maritimafrica.com\/en\/togo-sets-the-terms-for-fisheries-and-aquaculture-reform\/","title":{"rendered":"Togo sets the terms for fisheries and aquaculture reform"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Stakeholders meeting in Lom\u00e9 are validating recommendations meant to be implemented,\u00a0with investment, climate resilience and the livelihoods of fishing communities at stake<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Fish feeds families, pays school fees and holds communities together along Togo\u2019s coast and inland waters. Whether it continues to do so depends less on what the country\u2019s policies say than on whether they are implemented \u2014 and that is the question stakeholders have come to Lom\u00e9 to settle.<\/p>\n

The Government of Togo, working with the African Union Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR), has convened national stakeholders to review and validate recommendations for strengthening the country\u2019s fisheries and aquaculture policies, investment planning and climate resilience. The consultation and validation workshop is held under the second phase of the Fisheries Governance Project (FishGov2), implemented by AU-IBAR with financial support from the European Union.<\/p>\n

Around the table are government institutions, fisheries and aquaculture organisations, research institutions, civil society, the private sector, non-state actors and development partners \u2014 the same actors who will have to carry the reforms once the workshop closes.<\/p>\n

A clear test set from the opening session<\/strong><\/p>\n

Opening the workshop, Dr Lombo Yad, Technical Adviser and representative of the Government of Togo, reaffirmed the Government\u2019s commitment to a productive, inclusive and sustainably managed sector \u2014 and set the standard against which the meeting should be measured.<\/p>\n

\u201cFisheries and aquaculture are essential to food security, nutrition, employment and the livelihoods of many communities in Togo. This consultation provides an important opportunity to identify policy gaps, strengthen coordination and agree on practical reforms that respond to our national priorities.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 Dr Lombo Yad, Technical Adviser, Government of Togo<\/p>\n

\u201cThe success of this process will depend on our ability to move from consultation to action.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 Dr Lombo Yad, Technical Adviser, Government of Togo<\/p>\n

The recommendations, he said, must strengthen institutions, improve resource management and generate tangible benefits for fishing and aquaculture communities.<\/p>\n

Measuring national policy against continental commitments<\/strong><\/p>\n

Participants are examining how far Togo\u2019s fisheries and aquaculture policies, strategies and legislative frameworks align with the Policy Framework and Reform Strategy for Fisheries and Aquaculture in Africa (PFRS) and other continental and global instruments. The PFRS sets out what African Union Member States have agreed on: sustainable fisheries management, responsible aquaculture development, regional cooperation, trade, institutional strengthening and the contribution of aquatic resources to food security and economic growth.<\/p>\n

The exercise is deliberately practical: identify the gaps, document what already works, and name the priority actions that can realistically be taken next.<\/p>\n

Speaking on behalf of Dr Huyam Salih, Director of AU-IBAR,\u00a0Rafik Nouaili\u00a0<\/strong>said alignment cannot stop at the review of documents \u2014 it has to show up in planning, investment, coordination and delivery.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis workshop represents a strategic step in the implementation of FishGov2 and reflects our collective commitment to advancing sustainable, inclusive and climate-resilient governance of fisheries and aquaculture in Togo and across Africa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014\u00a0Rafik Nouaili,\u00a0<\/strong>AU-IBAR<\/p>\n

\u201cTogether, we must ensure that fisheries and aquaculture become pillars of economic transformation, resilient food systems and the protection of aquatic ecosystems. This requires policies that are coherent, institutions that work together and recommendations that are realistic and implementable.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014\u00a0Rafik Nouaili,\u00a0<\/strong>AU-IBAR<\/p>\n

The sector that keeps missing the investment plans<\/p>\n

One message runs through the consultation: fisheries and aquaculture are too often absent from the plans that decide where money goes. Despite their weight in food security, employment and rural development, they remain under-represented in national agricultural investment planning.<\/p>\n

Participants are therefore assessing how the sector is currently reflected in Togo\u2019s investment plans and how it can be positioned more firmly in national food-system planning, climate-resilience programmes and public and private investment frameworks. Getting that right is what unlocks financing for fisheries infrastructure, aquaculture production, value chains, research, data systems, ecosystem protection and community resilience.<\/p>\n

Climate pressure is already visible on the water<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fisheries and aquaculture support the food, nutrition, income and livelihoods of millions of people across Africa. That contribution is being eroded by weak institutional coordination, inadequate investment, policy gaps, environmental degradation, overexploitation of aquatic resources and the impacts of climate change.<\/p>\n

Degraded aquatic habitats and changing climatic conditions reduce fish production, disrupt breeding and nursery areas and weaken the livelihoods of small-scale fishing communities. The Lom\u00e9 workshop is therefore pressing for fisheries and aquaculture to be written into national agricultural, environmental and climate-adaptation plans rather than treated separately from them.<\/p>\n

What Togo expects to walk away with<\/strong><\/p>\n

Participants are reviewing the findings of national policy studies, testing the proposed recommendations and adding technical input to strengthen the final reports. The process is expected to deliver:<\/p>\n