Aquaculture Africa conference attracted almost 1,200 delegates

The second Aquaculture Africa Conference (AFRAQ23) held last month in Lusaka, Zambia hosted nearly 1,200 delegates, organisers have said.

The conference programme featured 44 sessions, 225 abstracts, and 49 posters, and the accompanying trade show featured 55 booths with businesses from 22 countries.

Zambia’s fisheries and livestock minister, Makozo Chikote, visited the conference along with other state dignitaries from Zambia and other African countries.

The conference was organised by the African Chapter of the World Aquaculture Society (WAS-AC) and took place on 13-16 November at the Mulungushi International Convention Centre. The attendees were from industry, academia, and government, and included development partner delegates spanning from 73 countries around the world, but mostly Africa.

President honoured

The opening ceremony included the inaugural WAS-AC honours and awards ceremony, which saw Dr Sherif Sadek (Egypt) being recognised for his role in serving as first president of the African Chapter (2018-2022), as well as chairing the inaugural Aquaculture Africa 2021 (AFRAQ21) held in Egypt in 2022.

Themed “Resilient value chains in the blue economy”, the scientific and technical programme was packed with multi-sessions that reflected sustainability and balanced global and African perspectives. Programme chairs were Professor Peter Britz (Rhodes University, South Africa) and Professor Cyprian Katongo (University of Zambia, which was also the hosting institution).

Several developmental organisations hosted special side-sessions and workshops covering some various key thematic areas. These included the African Union Development Agency, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), World Bank, WorldFish, Aquaculture Network for Africa (ANAF), the American Soybean Association’s World Initiative for Soy in Human Health Program (WISHH), the German Society for International Cooperation, the Common Market for East and Southern Africa (COMESA), Aquaculture Without Frontiers (AwF), and others.

Major industry players such as feed producer and event sponsor Aller Aqua, African tilapia farmers Yalelo and Lake Harvest Aquaculture, and Netherlands-based sustainable aquaculture investor Aquaspark were also present.