The United Nations has renewed calls for a rapid expansion of fish farming across Africa, warning that the continent risks worsening food insecurity unless aquaculture production is significantly scaled up to meet rising demand. Africa is lagging behind the rest of the world, with only 18 percent of its fish coming from farms, compared to around half elsewhere. Sub-Saharan Africa’s fish production will need to grow by 68 percent between now and 2050 to keep pace with its rapidly growing population, the Food and Agriculture Organization(FAO) declared.
Manuel Barange, director of the FAO’s fisheries division, framed the moment as an opportunity Africa cannot afford to miss: “It’s an opportunity waiting to be exploited, but it’s whether the timing is sufficiently fast to catch up with that demand. Aquaculture can actually be a game-changer. If we manage to develop aquaculture in Africa, there’s a lot of opportunities.”
How Wide the Gap Is
Africa has the lowest availability of aquatic animal foods per capita globally, yet these foods still provide about 19 per cent of animal protein consumption across the continent. The sector faces a significant investment gap of $12 billion annually, hampering its potential to create jobs and economic prosperity for the continent.
The good news is that growth is already underway. Aquaculture is expanding at the fastest rate in the world in Africa, growing to over 2.4 million tonnes in 2024. The sector is growing at an annual rate of 11 percent, nearly double the global average, though experts suggest a growth rate of 15 percent or higher is needed to match the demands of an expanding population.
What Governments Need to Get Right
Barange was direct about what governments must do: they urgently need to create regulations and incentives to attract investors. Aquaculture employed just 0.6 million people in Africa’s primary sector in 2024, compared to a global total of 23.1 million fish farmers, with most of those engaged being small-scale operators.
A market-led approach is the reason for the thriving aquaculture sectors in Egypt and Nigeria, the two countries producing most of Africa’s 1.7 million metric tonnes of farmed fish. Egypt is the third-largest producer of tilapia in the world, and Nigeria has consistently been the leading aquaculture producer in sub-Saharan Africa.
What the FAO Is Trying To Say
Abebe Haile-Gabriel of the FAO put the stakes plainly: “When accounting for the full value chain, including informal and subsistence activities, the sector supports tens of millions of livelihoods across the African region, both directly and indirectly. Strengthening fisheries and aquaculture will be essential to meet growing demand, improve food security and sustain livelihoods across Africa.”
The findings were presented at the 11th edition of the Our Ocean Conference in Mombasa, Kenya, marking the first time the gathering has been hosted on the African continent. (Tribune Online) For a continent whose population is set to nearly double by 2050, the message from the FAO is unambiguous: aquaculture is one of the clearest paths to feeding that population, but only if investment and policy move as fast as the need demands.
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