Development of fisheries sector :

KUDOS to co-operative organizations

I feel privileged to be present on this occasion, when the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is celebrating the 'World Food Day', an annual event dedicated to commemorate the need to eradicate global hunger, perhaps the biggest challenge before the humanity today. It is also fitting that the new Director General of the Organization (who I had the privilege of meeting recently in the course of the meetings of the Committee on Fisheries (COFI) at FAO Headquarters in Rome) has decided that the theme for the World Food Day this year will be 'Agricultural cooperatives: key to feeding the world'.

As the minister in charge of the subject of Fisheries, at the very outset, I wish to acknowledge with gratitude the enormous contribution made by co-operative organizations for the development of fisheries sector of this country. In fact fisheries co-operative organizations as such have been functioning in Sri Lanka for nearly eight decades, ever since the Fish Marketing Co-operative Societies were promoted in 1941 to ensure improved marketing of fish in Colombo and the suburbs in the context of wartime shortages.

In the immediate aftermath of political independence in 1948, Sri Lanka embarked on a programme for the modernization of the fishing industry, which included motorization and modernization of fishing craft and the introduction of new fishing gears and methods. In these programmes the governments of that era depended heavily on co-operative societies for the achievement of those development objectives. During the past eight decades the co-operative organizations have played a very constructive role in our sector just as in other food production sectors of the country.

Eradicate poverty

However this is not to deny that everything has not been perfect with co-operative organizations. They have in fact experienced quite fluctuating fortunes; some of the monopolies that co-operative organizations once enjoyed, whether in the distribution of consumer products or in agriculture or fisheries, have disappeared as a result of the new economic policies.

As a result co-operative organizations have had to compete on equal terms with private enterprise - the results have been a mixture of success and failure. Be it as it may, there is no denying that the co-operative system initiated by the efforts of Rochdale Pioneers in 1848 is still a form of organization which can and does provide yeoman services, particularly to the vulnerable segments of the society such as farmers and fishers, so much so, that it is often seen as a panacea to eradicate poverty and social injustice. Thus we are striving to ensure that the capacity of these organizations is enhanced, governance improved and made more efficient to enable them to deliver their services more efficiently to the fishing communities.

In the fisheries sector, we hope to reactivate and revitalize a phenomenon similar to the cooperative concept, and one which meets the expectations and aspirations of the present day fishermen, through the establishment of the 'National Fisheries Federation', which presently enjoys a membership of around 100,000.

The fisheries sector of Sri Lanka constitutes a very important sector in the socio-economic milieu of the country. Fish has always been the main source of animal protein for the people of this country, and the local fish production provides the bulk of the consumer demand. In addition, fishing has been the most important economic activity in the coastal areas of Sri Lanka since time immemorial and in more recent times inland capture fishing and aquaculture have also become important economic livelihoods in the hinterland areas; it is estimated that the fishing industry provides direct and indirect employment to over 600,000 persons. A further noteworthy contribution of the industry to the national economy is the considerable amount of foreign exchange earnings generated through exports of fish and aquatic products.

Annual fish production

While the above are no doubt impressive achievements, we are now in the midst of a development programme formulated under the guidance provided in ‘Mahinda Chintana Vision for the Future - the Development Policy Framework of the government of Sri Lanka’, which will ensure an accelerated development of the industry. Under this programme we are primarily seeking to increase our annual fish production - both in the marine and inland and aquaculture sub-sectors - to 685,690 MT by 2013 and thereby improve our daily per capita fish availability to 60 grams, increase our fish export volume to 37,000 tons by 2013.

With the cessation of the three decade long civil unrest in the Northern and Eastern Provinces, rich fishery resources in those areas have become accessible, and therefore the achievement of these targets will not be difficult. The advent of peace has also increased the investor confidence, and thereby, the potential in private sector investments in fisheries is more promising. Despite all this, our journey will be a difficult one and the challenges we need to overcome are many. Our coastal fishing effort in regard to several key species appears to be quite close to maximum sustainable levels, and we need to be more mindful of the need for resource management. In the offshore and high seas area where there is potential, we are handicapped by lack of appropriate vessels and technologies to fully utilize the resources.

In both coastal and high seas fishing high cost of fuel is affecting economics of fishing and also causing social tension. In inland fishing and aquaculture the availability of fish seed and extreme drought conditions continue to act as serious constraints. In addition to all this, the reservoir of external technical and financial assistance which has been a very useful source supporting the development of the fishing industry of Sri Lanka in the past is gradually drying up.

FAO assistance

In facing up to the challenges we are confronted with, we have often turned to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) for assistance. Sri Lanka has had a very close relationship with the FAO ever since the 1950s and a considerable part of our progress and accomplishments in fisheries, whether in fishing craft mechanization, introduction of fishing technologies, inland fisheries and aquaculture, social and community development, livelihood development have been supported by FAO assistance. In more recent years the quick recovery from the tsunami disaster of 2004 December was a good example of FAO’s quick and positive response.

I wish to express my gratitude to Patrick Evans FAO Representative and his able team for all the assistance and cooperation extended to our sector. I particularly welcome the Country Programme Framework (CPF) which I am sure will further strengthen the effectiveness, impact, and visibility of FAO assistance to member countries. In conclusion, I thank you for the invitation extended to me and fervently hope that our sector will continue to get support and cooperation from your Organization in the future.