Fish Farming in Northern Niger boosts Local Economy

5 October 2019 By admin

APO News from Africa:

Fish Farming in Northern Niger boosts Local Economy:

The adoption of the law N° 2015-36 criminalizing the smuggling of migrants in the country – that, and the closing of several gold mines, once magnets drawing job seekers – have left many people living along northern Niger’s migration routes in search for alternative income-generating activities.

Together with local authorities, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has been working hard in recent years on strengthening the socio-economic development of communities living in the migratory zone.

This week, IOM completed a fish farming project in Bilma, in the Kawar region in northern Niger, to the benefit of more than 6,500 people, through its project Community Stabilization Initiatives in Northern Niger (COSINN), funded by the German Federal Foreign Office.

“Before this project, all the fish supply in the Kawar region came from Libya or Agadez. This initiative gives the local community the opportunity to buy fish at affordable prices,” stated Sanda Chegou, vice-mayor of Bilma. “The initiative also creates socio-economic opportunities and empowers our youth which is a priority for our region.”

The Aboubou pond used to have a variety of fish species, most notably tilapia. However, its weak management in the past years has led to the loss and weakening of the existing fish stock.

This project is implemented in the framework of Bilma's 2014-2018 Communal Development Plan (PDC) and addresses several of its objectives, such as environmental protection, natural resource management and more specifically to the promotion of fish farming. The project also complies with national environmental guidelines concerning the preservation of the region’s valuable water resources.

Additionally, the project also allows to ensure food security for the community members, while also strengthening their leadership and entrepreneurial skills.

To ensure the sustainability of the project, 18 beneficiaries, including four women, attended trainings in fish farming techniques and business management, organized by Bilma’s technical environmental service of the Department for Wildlife, Fishing and Fish Farming. Through the project, the beneficiaries also received suitable equipment, including fishing gear.

“The authorities in Bilma had been thinking for a long time of ways to exploit the Aboubou pond to the benefit of the community. I am grateful they finally found a solution for it,” said Fatoumata, one of the project’s beneficiaries. “I now own a profitable business which meets the needs of my family.”

The initiative is looking at producing five tons of fish per year and rebuilding the fish stock through the introduction of predatory species aimed at controlling overpopulation. The beneficiaries are planning to sell the fish in December once the fish reach full maturity.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of International Organization for Migration (IOM).

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Source: APO Group – Africa-Newsroom: latest news releases related to Africa

Open Day on the implementation in West Africa and the Sahel of the United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1325 (2000) and subsequent on women, peace and security: United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS)
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The United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and UNWOMEN in partnership with the Government of the Republic of The Gambia, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Article 19, the G5 Sahel and the Mano River Union (MRU) are organizing on Tuesday 08 October 2019 in Banjul (The Gambia), the Regional Open Day on the implementation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000) on Women, Peace and Security.

Chaired by HE Adama Barrow, President of the Republic of The Gambia, the open day will be an opportunity for the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for West Africa and the Sahel, Mr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas, to discuss with women and young leaders of the region the challenges and synergies needed for an effective implementation of the Resolutions 1325 (2000) and subsequent in the region.

In preparation of the commemoration of the 20^th anniversary of UNSC Resolution 1325 scheduled for 2020, the 2019 edition of the regional open house will be devoted to of the implementation and perspectives of the Resolution 1325 (2000) and subsequent resolutions on West Africa and the Sahel the assessment the implementation and the perspectives of the Resolution 1325 (2000) and subsequent resolutions on West Africa and the Sahel.

Journalists and representatives of news agencies are invited to cover the opening ceremony of the Open Day, which will see the participation of:

HE Adama Barrow, President of the Republic of The Gambia
Mr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General for West Africa and the Sahel,
Mr. Jean Claude Brou, President of the ECOWAS Commission
Ms. Medina A. WESSEH ESQ., Secretary General of the MRU

Where: Hotel Coral Beach (Banjul – The Gambia)

When: Tuesday, 8 October 2019, 8:30 a.m.

Contacts: Kouider Zerrouk, UNOWAS, – zerrouk@un.org

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS).

Source: APO Group – Africa-Newsroom: latest news releases related to Africa

New District Task Forces to strengthen Counter Human Trafficking in Sierra Leone:

Sierra Leone is a source, transit, and destination country for thousands of children and women trafficked for forced labour and sexual exploitation every year. Although no official database exists to accurately measure the scope of the phenomenon in the country, it is believed to be affecting mostly children who are taken from their homes and forced to beg on the streets, or work in homes as houseboys, in mines or in plantations.

Human trafficking also affects young Sierra Leonean women and girls who are scammed into paying hefty sums of money for fake employment offers in foreign countries – in the Gulf for instance – only to be coerced into modern slavery or sexual exploitation.

In 2005, three years after the end of a civil war which cost more than 50,000 lives and set the ground to human trafficking networks, Sierra Leone passed the Anti-Human Trafficking Act, thus recognizing the phenomenon as a major national issue.

A National Task Force on Human Trafficking was established with the responsibility to coordinate the implementation of this Act, especially with regard to the enforcement of the law against trafficking.

However, in 2017, only 9 per cent of the victims of trafficking identified by the Sierra Leone Ministry for Social Welfare, Gender and Children Affairs (MSWGCA) came from the Western Urban District where Freetown is located.

“Criminal cases rely on victim testimonies, but this can be difficult to access since the Task Force is located in Freetown and most victims come from far away provinces,” explained Marian Harding-Tommy, Senior Social Welfare Officer for Human Trafficking at the MSWGCA.

“Because victims of trafficking often cannot afford the expensive trip from their district to the capital to testify or present evidence, their cases are closed,” she added.

But this will soon change. Last week, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) supported the MSWGCA in the decentralisation of the National Task Force in 14 of Sierra Leone’s districts to increase victims’ and potential victims’ access to information, protection and justice mechanisms, and avoid procedural delays related to prosecuting traffickers.

The new district task forces will be co-chaired by the MSWGCA and the Office of National Security (ONS), and composed of traditional and religious authorities, the police’s Family Support Unit, youth committees, motor bikers’ union, teachers’ guild and radio journalists.

“Our aim is to bring the lifesaving services of the Task Force closer to the populations by bringing together key community members,” said Mangeh Sesay, National Project Officer for IOM Sierra Leone.

Through monthly meetings, it is expected that these new district task forces will contribute to collecting more data and testimonies to assess the scope of human trafficking in the country. In the future, task force members will also be trained in identifying, referring and providing immediate assistance to victims of trafficking.

IOM’s counter-trafficking activities in Sierra Leone are implemented in the framework of the Africa Regional Migration Programme funded by the United States Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM).

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of International Organization for Migration (IOM).

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Source: APO Group – Africa-Newsroom: latest news releases related to Africa