Ivorian women processors continue to warn of the effects of the pandemic on the fish value chain and call for help from their government and the European Union
"If artisanal fishers and women processors are not helped quickly, the whole sector will decline," warns Micheline Dion, representative of the women fish processors of Côte d'Ivoire grouped in the USCOFEP-CI cooperative. "This will also affect the long-term prospects for the country's food security.” Last week, USCOFEP-CI held a press briefing to explain how measures to fight the pandemic are affecting the artisanal fisheries sector.
A particularly difficult measure for women is the system of rotating access to the port to buy the raw material to be processed. Used to accessing the port every day, they can now only access it every two weeks to avoid crowds. This is impractical as they cannot afford to buy in bulk the amount of fish they would require to keep the processing business for 15 days.
Donation of handwashing kits to one of the sensitization events of the USCOFEP-CI Women's Cooperative of Women Transformers. Photo: USCOFEP-CI.
Today, artisanal fishing provides a significant quantity of fish to the population, a source of protein and essential amino acids. But the closure of some markets and restaurants complicates matters. In the "garbadrômes", restaurants serving processed tuna "garba", customers are becoming scarce as a result of social distancing measures. The stocks of processed fish are not sold, the tuna remains unsold. Distribution difficulties, with restrictions on movement, are added to this. The women of USCOFEP-CI propose: "If the government could provide a van to the cooperatives or if it could buy the processed product and distribute it to the needy...", this is a request that other women processors in the region, such as in Senegal, have also made.
Then there is the question of fishing trips, largely pre-financed by women. If they no longer have customers or income, they can no longer pay for fuel. Even if the curfew has been relaxed (it starts at 11 pm now), many fishermen stay ashore. As a result, there is even less fish available. "If we are not helped, Côte d'Ivoire will import even more than the current 400,000 tonnes, because the entire artisanal fishing sector will be devastated," explains Ms. Dion. "There is already a real food crisis in the artisanal fisheries sector, and before even thinking about investing in hygiene kits, women processors must first think about feeding their families every day.”
USCOFEPCI has called on the government but also on the country's partners in the fisheries sector, notably the European Union: "We have taken up the cause of the European Union through the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement ," continues Micheline Dion, "because there is transparency in their partnership agreement, the communities have been informed and certain measures in the agreement, such as sectoral support or the encouragement of “faux thon” landings for women processors, can help us.” But for the moment, they see no concrete action. "With the crisis we are experiencing, the EU cannot sit back and remain silent," she said.
USCOFEP-CI's action plan to ensure that women transformers can survive the Covid-19 crisis and sustain their activities has been shared with the Ivorian government as well as EU partners.
Source and photo from the banner: USCOFEP-CI.
This article by Andréa Durighello analyses, through the example of the Ivory Coast, the value of women's cooperatives and associations in African artisanal fisheries: in the professionalisation of the trade, in strengthening capacities, in representing women in professional organisations and, above all, in responding unitedly to the hazards of life.