Ghana Sustainable Fisheries Management Project
8 September 2017
International Students Arrive at URIFaculty and staff at the Coastal Resources Center (CRC) welcomed 13 ...read more25 November 2016
CRC Joins Hundreds of Fishers for World Fisheries Day Celebration in Ghana The Coastal Resources Center (CRC), through its USAID-supported ...read more12 October 2016
US EPA Administrator lauds SFMP Smoker Initiatives during visit to GhanaAdministrator Gina McCarthy of the US Environmental Protection Agency, ...read moreThe FFP is a savings-plus-insurance scheme. It was launched and refined through a pilot stage in three coastal communities in Ghana (with two scale-up communities added in a second phase). Fisherfolk were directly involved in designing and refining the FFP product through collaborative workshops, community meetings, focus groups, and consumer surveys. To make the FFP more scalable and sustainable, private sector partners are delivering the insurance and savings plan via a digital mobile money platform, provided by Vodafone. FFP customers pay their premiums and receive claims payments and receipts via their mobile phones through a mobile money wallet. This allows fisherfolk to make continuous, small contributions, even while migrating frequently along the coast for their work.
read moreResonance conducted a Rapid Partnership Appraisal to identify companies and organizations whose interests and operations could be leveraged by the USAID/Ghana Sustainable Fisheries Management Project (SFMP) to support project goals. As part of this assessment, Resonance met with over 70 companies and organizations, including Tigo, a major mobile network operator in Ghana. Through a series of meetings and ideation discussions, SFMP and Tigo determined that they would work together to create a mobile platform tailored for fisherfolk – providing mobile services, digital financial services via Tigo Cash, as well as a means of information sharing between the Government of Ghana’s Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development/Fisheries Commission (MOFAD/FC) and the country’s fisherfolk.
read moreSFMP (led by Resonance) conducted a study to explore TFN performance from customers’ perspectives and Airtel-Tigo general services among fisherfolk (TFN customers and non-customers).
read moreSNV has worked closely with the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development (MOFAD), the Fisheries Commission (FC), Ghana Standards Authority (GSA), Food Research Institute (FRI), and other stakeholders to develop the improved Ahotor oven. This oven improves upon traditional methods of smoking fish, which have been found to raise health and environmental concerns for both the fish smoker and consumer. For instance, the continuous exposure to smoke triggers asthma and causes cancer in some cases while the smoked fish also contain PAH levels that are well above those recommended for human health, with the widely used Chorkor oven producing PAH levels 7-10 times above the EU standard. Despite the benefits presented by the Ahotor oven, its uptake among fish processors has been marginal. The objective of the Market Development and Financing Strategies, is to lay out the factors that are impeding the adoption of the oven – including constrained enabling environment, weak supply chain, and a lack of consumer awareness – and outline strategies to address them, including effective financing methods.
read moreThe FFP is an affordable life insurance package for fisherfolk, coupled with a mobile money platform for premium payments and receipt of claims. The package is tailored to the needs of Ghana’s fisherfolk, allowing savings for retirement, future consumption and partial withdrawal during lean seasons or closed seasons for fisheries. The FFP uses Vodafone Cash for premium collections and claim receipts.
read moreThe newly formalized Fishers Micro-nsurance Partnership brings together Millennium Insurance, UT Life Insurance, Vodafone, BIMA, and SFMP to create a micro insurance scheme for fisher folk (both fishermen and fish processors). This insurance partnership, formally entered into with a Letter of Collaboration in October 2016, seeks to overcome the reluctance of traditional insurance firms in Ghana to cover artisanal fishermen and fish processors in order to improve the livelihoods of fisher folk by reducing their risks and providing a means of saving for retirement. This partnership also serves to complement existing government efforts to provide micro insurance for fishers.
read moreStrategic Partnerships bring together SFMP project resources with leading multinational and Ghanaian companies, business associations, foundations and government agencies in a collaborative effort that advances SFMP project goals. Resources from both SFMP and partners may come in the form of funding, expertise, technology, human resources, or brand leverage. Strategic Partnerships will be governed by Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs), which will define overall partnership goals, resource contributions, responsibilities and partnership governance.
read moreWorkshop report details a workshop conducted by the ICT group formed to advance SFMP objectives and support Government of Ghana goals.
read moreOutline of strategic partnership plan with descriptions of possible partners.
read moreStrategic partnerships with the private sector have the potential to play a critical role in helping Ghana SFMP meet its goals. In May-July 2015, SSG Advisors conducted a Rapid Partnership Appraisal (RPA) in the Greater Accra, Central and Western Regions of Ghana in order to identify high-value public-private partnership opportunities for Ghana SFMP. Through the RPA, SSG aimed to identify partnership opportunities with companies and other key stakeholders in Ghana, to leverage additional resources for the sustainable development of the country’s fisheries sector. As part of the RPA, SSG conducted over 70 interviews with multinational and Ghanaian companies, business associations, development projects, Non-Governmental Agencies (NGOs) and government institutions to better understand the interests and challenges of potential partners vis-à-vis SFMP objectives, and to begin to formulate possible partnership opportunities. SSG also interviewed each of the SFMP implementing partner organizations, to better understand project goals, vision, and priorities.
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