THE U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on Thursday, Feb. 22, set a target to further increase aquaculture production to meet a rising demand for seafood and to fight global hunger and undernourishment.
The FAO hopes to see 35 percent growth in the sector by 2030, according to a report adopted at the end of a three-day Asia and Pacific regional conference in Sri Lankaâs capital, Colombo.
Officials said the worldâs aquaculture production has increased by 54 percent since 2011 and remains one of the fastest growing agricultural producing sectors.
The new target is part of the FAOâs âBlue Transformationâ road map, which seeks to transform the worldâs aquatic food systems by the start of the next decade.
Itâs projected that nearly 600 million people in the world will be chronically undernourished by 2030. But progress is expected in Asia and the Pacific, where the number of undernourished is projected to fall from the current 371 million to 202 million people by 2030.
Angela Lentisco, the FAOâs Fisheries and Aquatic officer, said the fisheries and aquaculture sectors âplay a very important role in addressing food insecurity in the region,â and added that the FAO is helping member countries to develop this sector.
In Sri Lanka, the FAO has helped with several projects in a bid to improve Sri Lankaâs fishing industry, which plays a key role in the island nationâs economy and provides livelihoods for more than 2.5 million people. (Associated Press)
