Contribution of Aquaculture to Food
Security Globally
Modadugu V Gupta
The greatest disease of all
humankind is “hunger”
 Global population from 1.5 billion in 1900 to 7 billion now and
to 9 billion by the year 2050; may reach 10 billion
 Estimated 925 million under nourished
 Micronutrient deficiencies affecting > 2 billion
 250 million children at risk of vitamin A deficiency; equal
number suffer from deficiency of minerals (iron, zinc,
calcium, etc.)
 MDG target of reducing hunger by half by 2015; under
nourished declined from 20% of population to 16% in 2010;
but no decline in absolute numbers
Where are undernourished/food
insecure?
Poverty and Food Insecurity
• Food security; not just producing food, but also access to food
• Food security linked with poverty and rural development
• Economic access to food ONLY when households generate sufficient
income
• Aquaculture provides primary source of income
• Aquaculture can be a starting
point for alleviation of poverty
in rural areas
Contribution of Fish to Nutrition
• Fish “Rich food for Poor”; cheapest animal protein
• Provides over 20% of animal protein to 2.6 billion people
globally; in developed countries 13%, while in developing
countries > 30%
• Major source of animal protein in regions where animal
protein in diets is below world average
• Provides at least half of animal protein intake for 400
million poor in S. Asia & Africa
• Rich source of protein, essential fatty acids, vitamins and
minerals. Some fish high in calcium, zinc, vitamin A and
iron
Contribution of Fish to Nutrition
Source: H.H. Jensen / Marine Pollution Bulletin 53 (2006) / Albert Zeucack 2010
Percentage of fish in animal protein
consumption
Contribution to Livelihood
• Globally over 540 million (8% of population) involved
in fisheries & aquaculture; growth more than
population & employment in traditional agriculture
• Fisheries and Aquaculture provides primary source of
income
• 80-100% of rural aquaculture products sold
generating cash for families
• Cash generated used for buying other necessities
• Brings in foreign exchange
Economic Importance of Fish
• Fish most internationally traded
•
commodity; About 40% global
production enters international
trade against 10% for meat
Global trade in fish over $ 102
billion in 2008
• Exports of fish & products exceed
those of meat, dairy, cereals, sugar,
coffee, oilseeds, etc.
• In many developing countries
foreign exchange from fish
exports finances other food
imports
Source: Jiansan Jia 2010
Demand for Fish
• Present global production of food fish 115
million tons
• Demand for fish increased at twice population
growth over last 50 years
• Estimated additional 20-30 million tons
required to meet demand by 2020; could be
an underestimate
• Per capita consumption increased from 11.5kg
in 1970 to 12.5kg in 1980 to 14.4kg in 1990 to
17.0kg in 2008
Growing Economic Power, Growing Middle Class
Numbers (millions) of global middle class
2009
2020
2030
North America
Euope
Central and South America
338
664
181
333
703
251
322
680
313
Asia-Pacific
Sub-Saharan Africa
Middle East and North
Africa
525
32
105
1740
57
165
3228
107
234
1845
3249
4884
World
Source: Homi Kharas, The emerging middle class in developing countries, OECD 2010
Global Fish Production
160
140
Capture
Aquaculture
Total
100
80
60
40
20
0
19
50
19
54
19
58
19
62
19
66
19
70
19
74
19
78
19
82
19
86
19
90
19
94
19
98
20
02
20
06
Million t
120
Source :
FAO year Book 2007
Aquaculture Importance
 Aquaculture fastest growing agriculture commodity with annual
growth of >6% in last two decades
 Increased from <1 million tons in 1950 to 55 million tons in 2009
 80% comes from 20 million small-holder farms
(<2ha) in developing countries;
 Environmental demands for unit biomass or
protein produced are lower as compared to
poultry , piggery and beef
 Grain needed for production of 1kg protein of
fish: <13kg; pork 38kg; beef 61kg
 Animal protein with small carbon footprint.
:
0.96% of total Co2 emission; 6.3-7.5% of
agriculture emission
Prevalence of iron and vitamin A
deficiency
Cambodia: WFP promoting Esomus longimanus to supplement iron for small
children
Bangladesh: 1.3 million ponds; 10 kg/pond Amblypharyngodon mola can
meet vitamin ‘A’ requirement of 2 million children
Breakthroughs in research & development
domestication of more species, 72 sps. in 1950
to 336 sps. in 2006
Better aquatic animal health management
Increasing demand – domestic & export
Improvement in policies & governance
Regional importance
 Asia-Pacific dominance; over 60% from freshwater
 China: 61.5%
 Rest of Asia: 29.5%
 Europe: 3.6%; mostly high value marine, commercial;
research & development remarkable
 S. America: 2.2%; commercial & industrial; opportunities
for small-scale aquaculture development
 North America: 1.5% – finfish & shellfish development
 Africa: 1.4%; small-scale & commercial; slower
development; gaining importance; increased by 56% during
2003-2007; expansion of small-scale aquaculture
Aquaculture can be integrated in to farming systems
Red tilapia farm in Malaysia
Source: DOF, Malaysia
Tanks in Arizona
Intensively
managed tilapia
tanks
Tanks in California
Source: K. Fitzsimmons
Raceways in Arizona
Intensive
Raceway
Systems
Raceways in Mexico
Source: K. Fitzsimmons
Capture based culture in open waters
Mariculture
 Fastest growing subsector of aquaculture
 Of 202 maritime countries and territories, 93 with
mariculture in 2004-2008; 15 countries account 96%
global production
 Caters to high end markets
 Breeding technologies developed for more species;
moving from wild caught seed to hatchery produced
seed
High growth potential
Farming of non-food species
 Ornamental fish farming
o $ 5 billion market
o $ 15 billion industry
 Seaweeds farming
o $ 5-6 billion market
 Pearl farming
Women and Aquaculture
 Strong relationship between hunger and gender inequality
 Equalising women status with men in S. Asia and SS Africa
estimated to reduce malnourished children by 13.4 and 1.3 million
respectively
 Women mostly involved in processing and marketing
 Excellent opportunities for
involvement of women in
aquaculture production
 Many success stories – increase
in household incomes, better
nutrition and health for family
Share of global aquaculture in fish
production, 1997 and forecast for 2020
Aquaculture
31%
Capture
32%
Aquaculture
68%
Capture
69%
Fish production 1997
Increase in fish production,
2020
Source: Rosegrant 2003
Historical trends in farmed fish production and projections of future production: 65-85 million
tons by 2020 and 79-110 million tons by 2030
Source: S. Hall et.al. 2011
Challenges
• Impact of declining water and land resources
• Impact of climate change
• Impact of intensification and spatial concentration
of farms
• Increased aquatic animal health
concerns
• Protecting environment
• Sustaining production and
livelihoods
Action needed to increase contribution of
aquaculture to food security
• Strengthen research including fish health management;
farmed sps. increased from 72 in 1950 to 336 sps. in 2006
• Integrate small-scale aquaculture into globalised market
economy (improving market access, horizontal & vertical
linkages, developing business models, etc.)
• Species adaptable to climate change; genetic improvement
• Integrated water resource management
• Introduction of BMPs
• Ecosystem approach to aquaculture
• Food safety and product quality
• Improvements in policies and governance
Conclusion
• Aquaculture has shown resilience to various
economic crises in the last decade
• While precise data not available, available
information indicate, contribution of aquaculture to
poverty alleviation, food security, employment, trade
& gender opportunities is on the increase
• Long term sustainability of aquaculture- economic,
social & environmental and contribution to food
security depends on commitment of governments and
good governance
Thank you