Thanks to all who presented or participated in the Small Fish Seminar!
Seminar video recordings
Final program
About the Seminar
In line with 2025 global nutrition targets The Global Nutrition Report 2020 calls on societal parties to “to step up efforts to address malnutrition in all its forms and tackle injustices in food and health systems” (2020:8). It points out that progress towards this end is slow as well as highly unfair, with developing countries bearing the brunt of the problem. Fish is noted as one of the most nutrient-dense foods, for which more public investment is required (ibid.:94). Small fish, particularly when consumed whole, are very rich in micronutrients and aid in the absorption of nutrients from plant-based foods with which they are eaten. Small fish are still a relatively ‘cheap’ food in most countries of the world when compared to other animal-sourced foods, and can be purchased in small quantities, making them more accessible to the poor (ibid.:85). The event is a follow-up on the theme of World Food Day 2020, ‘Grow, Nourish, Sustain. Together.’
Small fish, particularly when consumed whole, are very rich in micronutrients and aid in the absorption of nutrients from plant-based foods with which they are eaten.
Global Nutrition Report 2020
This 3-stage event focuses on the contribution of the class of what are commonly known as ‘small fish’ (mainly epipelagic forage fish) to the food and nutrition security of poor and undernourished populations of the developing world. Small fish species are numerous in oceans and freshwater environments, and often make up the less expensive varieties of products in aquatic food marketplaces. They frequently end up on the plates of low-income households.
We take a food system approach to examine the role of the various segments of the small fish value chain in meeting the four dimensions of food and nutrition security – availability, accessibility, quality (utilization) and stability (FAO 2006). We recognize the direct nutritional contributions of small fish, but also the indirect contributions, through employment, that participation in small fish value chains provide. While our ambition is global in scope, the evidence presented derives from a more limited set of country settings in South and Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Four ongoing international research projects on the role of small fish in providing food and nutrition security provide empirical inputs and analyses, as do a set of relevant FAO-led efforts.
Thanks to everyone who joined us on February 15 & 16!
Small Fish Around the World
Partners
The Dried Fish Matters partnership brings together experts on fisheries, food security, and livelihoods to generate the first detailed study of the dried fish economy in South and Southeast Asia.
This transdisciplinary effort will identify the overall contribution of dried fish to the food and nutrition security and livelihoods of the poor, and examine how production, exchange and consumption of dried fish may be improved to enhance the well-being of marginalized groups and actors.
The Fish for Food project aims to understand how low-price fish chains contribute to urban food security in India and Ghana and to identify policy and business interventions that have potential to improve them.
City regions in LMIC are expanding and so are the food security problems of their poorer inhabitants. The nutritional properties of seafood make it vital to the health and food security of millions of poor urban consumers. This project studies the food systems that service low-income consumers in selected city regions of South Asia (India) and West Africa (Ghana), with the aim of improving their quality and scope. These food systems – in which women entrepreneurs often play an important role – derive produce from small-scale as well as industrial (distant water) fisheries, which possess various degrees of environmental sustainability. The project gathers relevant fisheries and food security expertise, pilots new business approaches and investigates their relevant policy environments. The governance lessons gained from the two regions are generalized and fed into the international debate on fish-related food security.
‘Although poorer consumers can still get their hands on small fish, that may not be the case for much longer’, warns maritime geographer Maarten Bavinck
Small Fish and Food Security: Towards innovative integration of fish in African food systems to improve nutrition
The SmallFishFood consortium aims to shift small fish – including sardines and small indigenous species (SIS) – to the forefront of the global food security agenda.
SmallFishFood aims for transformation to ecological sustainability and food security by asking: How can socio-cultural, economic and institutional transformations of the fish value chain, as well as technical and infrastructural innovations, contribute to improved, sustainable utilization of small fish resources for Africa’s low-income population?
Innovative Knowledge About Networks – Fish for Food
Small, low priced, fish – either dried, fresh or conserved – are vital for the nutritional security of poor people in rural areas in Indonesia and are an important source of livelihood for millions of coastal fishing families and – often female – processors and traders. Due to climatological changes and market challenges (i.e. increased catch fluctuations and processing of small fish for fish meal) the supply of affordable small fish is under threat. Meanwhile, changing diets and food programs affect the demand for small fish. Considering these fluctuations in supply and demand, IKAN–F3 aims to study the food system that services low-income consumers in three selected rural regions in Indonesia with the aim of improving their quality, resilience and scope. It builds on ongoing research on this topic in various parts of the world, and aims to develop innovative insights and lessons relevant to Indonesia.