A four (4) day workshop on Gender Transformative Approach and Small Scale Fisheries Guidelines (SSF) was organized for Fisheries Officers nationwide, from Monday October 10 to Thursday October 14, 2022 by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) at Elmina Beach Resort in the Central Region.
The Food and Agriculture organization (FAO) under its Small Scale Fisheries (SSF) umbrella program has been supporting the government of Ghana to sustainably develop the SSF Sector. This is to empower artisanal fishers to implement the voluntary guidelines to secure sustainable Small Scale fisheries.
Executive Director of Fisheries Commission, Mr. Fred Kwasi Antwi-Boadu in his welcome address noted that, the Small Scale Fisheries (SSF) project aims at enhancing the contribution of Small Scale Fisheries to food security and sustainable livelihoods through better policies, strategies and initiatives.
The Executive Director added that, the project is being implemented at a time when the Fisheries sector is being threatened by the destruction of vulnerable habitats and biodiversity. He reiterated that, the project is essential to the Fisheries sector because, the project focuses on helping to develop policies, strategies and initiatives for effective management of the Fisheries resources for sustainable growth.
He added that, the fisheries sector of Ghana has received numerous support from the FAO, and expressed gratitude to the FAO for its support to the Fisheries Commission over the years.
FAO representative for Ghana, Mr. Ndiaga Gueye in his opening statement stated that, the workshop aims at building capacity on the best way to adopt and utilize the SSF Guidelines. He continued that, Gender Transformative Approaches, and how to mainstream it in Fisheries officers’ technical work as well as their delivery services is another aim of the workshop. Mr. Ndiaga Gueye expressed his profound gratitude to Fisheries officers for their participation in the workshop.
The FAO representative for Ghana concluded by reminding Fisheries officers of the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture (IYAFA 2022) celebrations. “Let us all work together to achieve our common vision of a better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life for all, leaving no one behind”, he added.
