A high-level Egyptian Aquaculture delegation arrives here Wednesday.
Monrovia, Liberia, January 21, 2025, The Director General of the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Authority has disclosed that a high-level technical delegation of Aquaculture Experts from the Lake and Fish Resources Protection and Development Agency of Egypt is expected to arrive in Monrovia on Wednesday, January 22, 2025, to assess Liberia’s Aquaculture sector needs.
A press release from the Liberian Fisheries Authority quotes Director General Emma Metieh Glassco as saying, the Egyptian delegation will be in Liberia to tour Aquaculture facilities in Bomi, Grand Cape Mount, Montserrado, Margibi, Bong, Numba, and Lofa counties to conduct a comprehensive need assessment of the aquaculture sector.
In 2024, Madam Glassco signed a Memorandum of Understanding on behalf of the Liberian government with Egypt on a Technical Cooperation Agreement for the provision of Fisheries governance and Monitoring, Control, and Surveillance and Aquaculture development with an Egyptian Corporate Agency, the Lake and Fish Resources Protection and Development Agency.
The primary aim of the MoU is to strengthen technical cooperation between Liberia and Egypt for mutual benefits, enhance fisheries governance capacity development, and facilitate trade.
The release added that the specific objective of the MoU is to engage in trade facilitation, link Egypt’s private sectors to Liberia, and collaborate on monitoring control and surveillance services while sharing technical knowledge and expertise and building institutional capacity in aquaculture.
Madam Glassco stated that Liberia is poised to leverage Egypt’s experiences in its step-by-step approach to developing its aquaculture sector through the bilateral MOU on technical cooperation.
Moreover, as a practical step towards fulfilling the objectives of the MOU signed in 2024 on technical cooperation, Madam Glassco further disclosed that the three-man technical delegation from the Lakes and Fish Resources Protection and Development Agency, comprising experts in aquaculture, fisheries, and veterinary affairs, will be led on tour from January 22 to 30, 2024, in Bong Mines Reservoirs, Lake Piso, Gbedin Lowland, and the Foyah Lowland.
She added that the Egyptian team will first conduct a stockholder consultation with an array of donors, farmers, tertiary institutions, and other value chain actors to gain full insight into the current status of aquaculture and future interventions.
The Liberian Fisheries Director General added the Egyptian aquaculture experts will also conduct a specific assessment of aquaculture management areas identified under the aquaculture zoning and spatial planning exercise carried out under the Liberia Sustainable Management of Fisheries Project in 2024.
Meanwhile, the Liberian Fisheries DG stated that the overall purpose of the MoU Liberia signed with Egypt is to develop a national Aquaculture Strategy that will inform investment decisions, identify short-, medium-, and long-term goals, and address the fish deficit in Liberia’s domestic market. Press Release