FG Pushes to Remove Finance, Barriers for Women, Youth in Fisheries Sector

The Federal Government has renewed its call for the elimination of financial and market constraints hindering the full participation of women and youth in Africa’s fisheries and aquaculture sector, stressing that empowering these critical groups is essential to unlocking the opportunities as presented by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, FMMBE, Mrs. Fatima Sugra Tabi’a Mahmood, made this known on today in Abuja during the AfCFTA–ECOWAS Regional Workshop on Women and Youth in Fisheries and Aquaculture Value Chains. Mahmood described the fisheries and aquaculture sector as a strategic driver of food security, employment generation, poverty reduction, and economic diversification across the continent.

Represented by the Director, Marine Abiotic Resources, FMMBE, Mrs. Angela Okereke, she highlighted the indispensable role of women and youth across the value chain from production and processing to distribution and marketing, emphasising that women dominate post-harvest activities, while youth are increasingly spearheading innovation and expansion within the sector.

Despite their contributions, she noted that both groups continue to grapple with structural barriers, including limited access to finance, inadequate infrastructure, high post-harvest losses, restricted market access, and weak integration into formal trade systems.

“These challenges must be collectively addressed to unlock the sector’s full potential under the AfCFTA framework,” she said.

The Permanent Secretary, reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to repositioning the sector through sustainable fish production, improved value addition, strengthened regulatory systems, and enhanced access to domestic and regional markets.

She further underscored the need to harmonise standards, strengthen sanitary and phytosanitary measures, improve trade facilitation, and leverage digital technologies as regional integration deepens.

Also speaking, the Director, Business Competitiveness at Trade Mark Africa (TMA), Anataria Uwamariya, revealed that an initiative soon to be launched will create over 280,000 jobs for women and youth in Africa’s fisheries value chain, with more than half expected to come from West Africa.

She explained that the pilot programme is designed to boost intra-African trade under the AfCFTA by increasing participation of women and youth in fish trade, improving access to fish feed and inputs, enhancing cross-border trading conditions, and strengthening institutional capacity.