The Director General of the National Aquaculture Agency (ANA), Dr Tening Séne, launched a tour in different localities in Senegal in order to support oyster farming stakeholders, with an emphasis on capacity building technical and material support.
The tour began in Dissilamé Sérère, in the commune of Mbam, where Dr Tening Séne met the women oyster farmers who benefited from this support program. They received production equipment, including 2,500 garlands per group, oyster growing funds, basins, scales, boots, as well as a cart and a horse for transporting the products.
A program which is part of the instructions from the Senegalese authorities, in particular from President Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar Faye and the Minister of Fisheries, aimed at developing aquaculture as a source of job creation. It is also carried out in cooperation with ENABEL, the international cooperation agency, which allocated a donation of three million euros to set up the Mbélakadiaw aquaculture center on 67 hectares.
Dr Tening Séne underlined the importance of this project, she said: “helping women oyster farmers increase their income, strengthen their technical capacities and produce better quality oysters. Practical training was organized for women so that they could master the making of garlands and bags, essential for oyster farming. »
At the same time, a project with the FAO also aims “to guarantee the health quality of oyster production sites, with tests carried out on 50 sites to assess health standards, contamination and the presence of bacteria. This will make it possible to certify sites capable of producing consumable oysters in a fresh state, thus improving the competitiveness of the products on the international market. »
Dr Tening Sene concluded by emphasizing the ANA’s commitment to « supporting women oyster farmers throughout the oyster value chain, with the aim of enabling them to earn a decent living through oyster farming. »
