RECORDER REPORT

PESHAWAR: Omar Hayat, an expert on fisheries and aquaculture, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and FATA, has said that scientific development of the potential sector according to climate regime would produce valuable high grade animal proteins for the people of FATA and Frontier Regions (FRs).

Fisheries and aquaculture, he said are an important livelihood sources and provide sustenance for the people of FATA and FRs, contributing to food security, poverty alleviation, employment, direct earnings, development and the stability of rural communities, while also providing recreation and can also support tourism.

The development of the sector, he said would contribute to improve food and nutrition security and generate job opportunities for FATA and FRs’ communities. The need to increase access to animal source foods – fish – is vital to improve the nutritional status of the people of FATA and FRs and addressing the problem of unemployment through job creation in private sector. Aquaculture or the farming of aquatic animal like fish as a mean for improving food and nutrition security situation of FATA and FRs, and contribution to economic activity and household incomes in rural areas. For this purpose, he also stressed need for the preparation of a strategy for FATA and FRs Fisheries and Aquaculture Development to guide future development of Fisheries and Aquaculture in FATA and FRs.

The document for the purpose should be prepared with the support of federal organizations such as SMEDA, Ministry of Food Security, Fisheries Development Board and donor support, and subsequently approved by Federal Government for its implementation as early policy developed was not approved i.e. ”National Policy Framework and Strategy for Fisheries and Aquaculture Development in Pakistan was developed in the year 2007” under Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock, Government of Pakistan, Islamabad, due to passing of 18th Constitutional Amendment, Fisheries and Aquaculture had become a provincial matter.

A policy is required to be developed based on a review of progress made over the last several years and update our previous Fisheries and Aquaculture Policy and Development strategic plan for FATA and FRS’ under “Fish for the Future”: a strategic plan for the fisheries and Aquaculture for FATA and FRs. At this juncture in the economic development of FATA and FRs when resources are getting increasingly strained and intensified demand and the hazards from climate change are building up, there are many other compelling reasons to have an Fisheries and Aquaculture Development strategy and Action plan.

It is pertinent to mention here that there is no government policy with development strategy of Fisheries and Aquaculture for FATA and FRs for putting the investment of government funding on new initiatives on the right tract for the benefit of local people. A development strategy is required to be prepared through a process of consultation and analysis, and is anchored to the principles required for poverty reduction, combating malnutrition, economic development and effective ecosystem management in line with present day requirements to diversity livelihood opportunities in FATA and FRs. The funding, administrative support and technical support was provided by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of United Nations (UN).

Fisheries and Aquaculture can contribute to Millennium Goals 1 and 2 in reducing extreme poverty, hunger, support from its income primary education of children of household, provide women members an opportunity to raise fish for home consumption and market, improve child and maternal health through improved nutritional intake of high quality protein achieving Goals number 5 and 6 Goal 8 through support environmental management and further support Millennium Goal 9 through provision of partnership in trade.

The Government can provide support for the solutions through Fisheries and Aquaculture Policy and Strategy development and implementation to achieve improvement in food and nutrition security to population of FATA and FRs, provide support to enterprise development in Fisheries and Aquaculture and investing in Governess through development and strengthening of Fisheries Department Institutional set up and Private sector through human resource development and required technical and financial support to achieve the desired results.

The operational reasons, he said include better management of the sub-sector, having priorities based on stakeholders, views and needs, and having to allocate scarce resources among competitive sectors and uses. Fisheries and Aquaculture sub sector of Agriculture Sector can achieve a great leap forward in the light of newly developed strategy with its implementation. It can also attract local and foreign investment in new developed projects and programs facilitating creation of new employment opportunities for the youth as well as investment opportunities for the local and foreign investors resulting in economic growth of the FATA and FRs economy.