Africa

A two day capacity building workshop was organized for community information officers in the project catchment area at Elmina and Moree. The workshop was attended by officers of community information centers and radio stations. The purpose of the workshop was presentations and discussions centered on the meaning of child labor, child trafficking, and worst form of child labor. Videos, pictures and illustrations were shown to give true picture of CLaT issues in the fisheries communities. Another presentation was done on post-harvest value chain which comprised of hygienic fish handling, improved packaging, value addition and Class one recognition standard. The representative of the Fisheries Commission also presented on the efforts of Fisheries Commission in the scale up of the Ahotor oven.

This work plan provides an overview of activities scheduled for the terminal phase of the project including amended activities in the last part of Year 5 and extending into the No-Cost Extension period as well as an extension based on achieving the goal of the SFMP COVID-19 response initiative . Year 5 work was heavily impacted by two slow down notices from USAID that restricted funding availability in the first three quarters of the workplan year. With the no-cost extension approval and receipt of funds up to the agreement ceiling in the third quarter, some Year 5 activities that had been delayed previously have now been refined and captured in this amended Year 5 workplan period below (June – Sept, 2019). Work for the No-Cost Extension Period (Oct 2019 – Sept 2020) is also included. A portion of the work covered in this workplan is also part of the USAID’s Learning Initiative on Women’s Empowerment, Access to Finance, and Sustainable Fisheries. On May 28, 2020, the SFMP Cooperative Agreement with URI was modified to provide a 7-month cost extension through April 2021. A supplemental Program description was provided with the following result areas elaborated to achieve the goal of the SFMP COVID-19 response initiative: “To prevent the spread and mitigate the economic effects of COVID-19 among vulnerable households in fishing communities in Ghana.”

This progress report details activities, results, and lessons learned during the third quarter of Project Year 6 (FY20). It also explains how partners contributed to the achievement of targets and how these achievements will be sustained to meet the overarching goal of SFMP.

This progress report details activities, results, and lessons learned during the second quarter of Project Year 6 (FY20). It also explains how partners contributed to the achievement of targets and how these achievements will be sustained to meet the overarching goal of SFMP.

The SFMP case study examines learning questions on two hypotheses in two contexts: (1) small-scale estuarine ecosystems that applied community-based approaches to the management of finfish and oysters, and; (2) a large-scale fishery of migratory small pelagics, consisting mainly of anchovies and sardinella species that is under a national scale and centralized management regime. Interventions implemented through the Learning Initiative in Ghana for both types of fisheries included: • Improving access to finance for women fish processors and traders through the establishment of Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLA), and facilitating the acquisition of low interest loans from the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre; • Developing women’s leadership skills and promoting gender inclusion in fishery decision-making and benefit sharing; and • Improving businesses of women processors and traders through business, literacy, and improved post-harvest training.