Farmers and rural communities, beneficiaries of NACA projects
Ridma Dissanayake
Dr Sena De Silva. Picture by Samantha Weerasiri
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NACA means the Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific and it
has a history of 22 years. According to the NACA Director-General Dr
Sena De Silva it is an inter-governmental organization that promotes
rural development through sustainable aquaculture. NACA seeks to improve
rural income, increase food production and foreign exchange earnings and
to diversify farm production. The ultimate beneficiaries of NACA
activities are farmers and rural communities.
Dr Sena De Silva spoke to the Daily News when he came to Sri Lanka to
participate in the Asian Regional Ministerial Meeting on Aquaculture.
Dr De Silva said that Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Hong
Kong SAR, India, Indonesia, Iran, Korea (DPR), Lao PDR, Malaysia,
Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam
are the current members of NACA.
NACA’s structure, its duties
He explained about the NACA policy which is determined by the
Governing Council composed of high officials representing the member
governments. The Governing Council meets once a year and formulates
NACA’s five-year regional work programme. The Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) is a non-voting member.
NACA conducts development assistance projects throughout the region
in partnership with governments, donor foundations, development
agencies, universities and a range of non-government organizations and
farmers. NACA supports institutional strengthening, technical exchange
and the development of policies for sustainable aquaculture and aquatic
resources management, Dr De Silva said.
According to NACA sources, certain organizations such as the FAO,
United Nations Development Programme, the Asian Development Bank, World
Bank, World Animal Health Organization, the Mekong River Commission,
Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI), African Rainbow Minerals (ARM), the
South Asian Fisheries Development Centre (SEAFDEC), Asia-Pacific
Economic Cooperation (APEC), Association of South East Asian Nations
(ASEAN), European Union, Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA),
UK Department For International Development (DFID), Australian Centre
for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), Australian AID, Danish
Cooperation for Environment and Development (DANCED), International
Development Research Centre (IDRC), IFREMER, NORAD, the Asian Institute
of Technology, World Wide Fund for Nature, Mac Arthur Foundation and the
Rockefeller Brothers Fund are the partners which are also part of NACA.
Dr Sena De Silva said Sri Lanka is a country which had just started
development projects and programmes. The steps taken by the government
to develop the country should be appreciated. NACA has taken steps to
assist Sri Lanka in these development projects.
Sri Lanka had just started development programmes in aquaculture and
has achieved many goals in this industry. Because of that the greater
involvement of the international community is very important to Sri
Lanka. It will help identify modern technology and introduce better
techniques which help the country’s rapid development. Industries, such
as, fisheries and aquaculture will get more benefits with international
involvement. NACA will play a key role in this field, Dr De Silva said.
The local fisheries industry has great potential to develop
aquaculture. Sri Lanka has a great water resource and more modern
technology is needed to make the best use of that water resource for the
development of the country.
The fisheries industry is one of the most important industries in Sri
Lanka and it earns valuable foreign exchange by exporting its products.
Modern technology
Using modern technology and introducing new methods to provide
nutrition and protect the freshness of the product will help the
fisheries industry earn more revenue, Dr De Silva said. Providing
quality products and introducing new income generating products to the
world market should be the main aims of the local aquaculture industry.
The programmes which can emphasize rural development, focusing on the
social and environmental objectives of reducing poverty, ensuring food
security, enhancing livelihoods, managing aquatic resources, promoting a
healthy environment and healthy aquatic animals, improving manpower
management and technical skills should be introduced to the aquaculture
communities. It will help to achieve the goals of the aquaculture field. |