FOOD SAFETY STANDARDS AND FISHERY LIVELIHOODS IN EAST AFRICA

1. FOOD SAFETY STANDARDS AND FISHERY LIVELIHOODS IN EAST AFRICA R.M.J. Kadigi N.Y.S. Mdoe E. Senkondo Z. Mpenda Book chapter 8 (162 – 183pp) Project Conference & Book Launching – SAFE, May 31st – June 2nd 2010, Oceanic Paradise Hotel, Zanzibar

2. Introduction • The export fishery industry in East Africa has experienced a number of important challenges over the past two decades • Most dramatically - those associated with the new generation of food safety standards imposed by Northern countries

3. Pessimistic views …. • … that the new generation of food safety standards are a barrier to high-value agro-food exports from this & other low income regions (e.g., Rahman, 2001; Otsuki et al., 2001; Wilson and Otsuki, 2003; Zaramba, 2002)

4. … that where exports do continue - are associated with highly skewed benefits, such that around the Lake deterioration occurs in living standards, the environment and even in food security (Jansen, 1997; Abila, 2000; Bokea & Ikiara, 2000) • Most comprehensively incarnated in the award-winning documentary - Darwin’s Nightmare - directed by Hubert Sauper

5. Our position … • … is more in line with that of Buzby (2003), Unnevehr (2003) and Jaffee & Henson (2004), who argue that emerging food safety standards work as a catalyst for modernisation and contribute to the creation of competitive advantages, resulting in increases of exports as well as improvements in the livelihoods of local communities

6. Livelihoods improves much more … • Where standards are complied with and implemented in ways that preserve the inclusion of small-scale producers in export chains • We demonstrate this argument using evidence from a survey conducted in 2006 on the Tanzanian shores of Lake Victoria, with a total sample size of 522 – complemented with previous findings in Kenya & Uganda • We use a ‘Livelihoods Analysis and Change in Net Income (CNI) ’approach

7. Research findings

8. Livelihoods assets… • Household of those categories of operator most closely integrated into the Nile Perch global export chain have the greatest assets

10. Mean household land holdings

11. BUT, this pattern is not repeated with the same consistency in relation to household livestock ownership and not repeated at all in relation to mean householdhuman capital endowments, where there is only slight variance between categories

12. Mean household livestock holdings

13. Mean household adult labour equivalent level

14. Mean value of households’ other assets

15. Livelihood activities and net income portfolios

16. Specialisation in fishing activity is considerably greater for households involved in Nile Perch, irrespective of whether they are fishers or boat owners

17. Net income portfolios for fishers & crews Other fisheries Nile perch fishery

18. Net income portfolios for boat owners Other fisheries Nile perch fishery

19. Both the households of Nile Perch fishers and boat owners have fishery-related net incomes more than double those of households of fishers and boat owners of tilapia, dagaa and so on

20. Mean annual household net income for different groups of actors

21. There is uneven distribution of mean household net income from fishery activities within the Nile Perch global export chain

22. Net incomes of households with boat owners are three timesgreater than those of households of ordinary fishers • Net incomes of households with collectors using fish vans are four times greater • Those of households with factory agents are ten times greater

23. Higher net incomes in the Nile Perch global export chain reflect the superior prices paid by the factories for fresh Nile Perch

24. Comparative findings

25. In Uganda … • … the study by Odongkara (2002) conducted in 2001/02 reports similar results with mean monthly earnings for Nile Perch fishers (at Ush. 279,473) more than double those of Tilapia (at Ush. 129,278) - (those of dagaa fishers averaged at Ush. 207,742) • The mean earnings for fishers concealed a large difference between those working on motorised boats (Ush. 436,530) and those on non-motorised boats (Ush. 187,223) • Similar findings are reported in the later surveys (e.g., by Namisi, 2002a;b; & Odongkara, 2002; 2005).

26. In Kenya … • Henson et al. (2005) in a study of two landing sites - a major export site & a site less integrated into the Nile Perch export chain, concluded that both fishers and artisanal processors/ traders in the major export site had significantlyhigher household incomes than the same groups on the site less integrated into the export chain for Nile Perch

27. These studies show that the processing factories have provided better prices and guaranteed cash payment on delivery • They again also indicate that the export industry directly and indirectly supports the livelihoods of many groups including owners of and workers in kiosks, bars, eating places, tailoring businesses and video halls, etc

28. Conclusion • There are major impacts in terms of income and welfare, despite the challenge of compliance with the new generation of standards • This has been demonstratedrelative to the outcomes associated with chains not linked to global markets • There are important differences in the asset stocks of those participating in these two different types of chain

29. Given the fact that exports have been taking place for well over a decade it seems probably that differences in asset levels also reflect the benefits of participation • All this suggests that it is worth supporting the maintenance of compliance to EU food safety standardsin the Nile Perch value chain, in order to avoid loss of markets and to thus forestall any reversal of the positive impacts on the livelihoods that have been witnessed so far

30. We suggest a need for more effective and coherent planning in order to safeguard the future of the fishery sector in East Africa • This will involve adopting an appropriate regulatory framework and strengthening the capacity of the stakeholders to manage the resource sustainably, while at the same time maintaining a broadly based fishery

31. Ahsanteni sana!