Aquatic Food Systems for Blue Transformation: A Vision for FAO

Abstract

This paper outlines a roadmap for the transformation of aquatic food systems (While applying to all aquatic food systems, the roadmap considers the critical role and potential of aquatic food systems in Low Income Countries, Food Deficit Countries and Small Island Developing States, making them a particular focus of the Blue Transformation vision outlined in this document)—‘Blue Transformation’ (BT), providing a compass for the FAO’s work on aquatic food systems for the period 2022–2030. This roadmap for Blue Transformation aligns with the 2021 Declaration for Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture of the Committee on Fisheries (COFI) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and FAO’s Strategic Framework 2022–2031. It focuses on the elements that would maximize the contribution of aquatic food systems to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Finally, we look at approaches how this maybe applied to India.

In this paper, the BT roadmap prioritizes food systems as drivers of employment, economic growth, social development and environmental recovery, which all underpin the SDGs. The 2030 Agenda is supported through the transformation to more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable aquatic food systems for better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life, leaving no one behind. The overall framework provided by BT is to support planning, implementation, monitoring and communication of FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Division (NFI)’s work. Under FAO’s Strategic Framework, this BT will be used to prioritize decisions globally so as to achieve a harmonized and coherent objectives globally.

We discuss how best to apply this approach to systems in India, and propose an integrated framework that would meet the domestic and export demands of seafood in the Indian context. Integral in this approach is the necessity to build capacity locally so as to achieve the three pillars of the transformation; primarily to invest in Universities and training centers to make sure India can implement the three pillars, increased aquaculture production through increased and better facilities, improved management of India’s marine living resources and finally adequate value-chains to increase the value and quality of the product from both supply chains, aquaculture and fisheries and improve the distribution of benefits.