Ghana and Italy undertake to strengthen institutional capacity in the fisheries and aquaculture sector, improve fisheries governance and fish stock recovery systems.
By Blue Africa News
Ghana and Italy are establishing a strategic partnership aimed at advancing sustainable fisheries management, aquaculture development, research and training, institutional capacity building, private sector investment, and strengthening blue economy development.
The partnership was preceded by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the country’s ministry of fisheries and aquaculture and the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari (CIHEAM Bari) on February 2026, in Italy, under the institution’s AREA Africa Program.
Emelia Arthur, Ghanaian minister for fisheries and aquaculture signed the MoU on behalf of her government, while the Director of CIHEAM Bari, Dr. Biagio Di Terlizzi did it on behalf of the organisation, cementing a new cooperation framework between Ghana and Italy.
According to a dispatch from the Ghanaian ministry, the parties now undertake to strengthen institutional capacity in the fisheries and aquaculture sector, improve fisheries governance and fish stock recovery systems and promote aquaculture innovation in the West African nation.
The MoU also gives a leeway for supporting research collaboration and postgraduate training, encouraging private sector partnerships and investment and enhancing climate resilience and blue economy development.
“The ministry of fisheries and aquaculture will work closely with CIHEAM Bari and other stakeholders to develop an implementation roadmap to operationalise the partnership and ensure that its outcomes contribute meaningfully to Ghana’s fisheries reform and blue economy agenda,” said the ministry.
“CIHEAM Bari reaffirms its commitment to promoting innovation and the sustainable development of local agri-food systems, including coastal and inland areas across the country,” the organisation stated in a separate media statement.
Before signing of the MoU, the Ghanaian delegation held meetings and technical engagements in Bari, Monopoli, Tricase, Gallipoli and Torre Suda with Italian maritime authorities, fisheries cooperatives, aquaculture operators, seafood processors and training institutions.
The engagements provided members of the delegation led by the minister with information on community-led fisheries management approaches, offshore marine aquaculture systems, modern fish processing, cold chain and traceability systems, maritime safety, vessel monitoring and surveillance technologies and marine protected area (MPA) governance and ecosystem restoration.
AREA refers to Agro-Food Ecosystems in Africa co-financed by Italy’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI).
Subsequently, the AREA Africa Ghana project now forms part of Italy’s broader international cooperation program, implemented within a balanced public–private partnership framework, under the Mattei Plan for Africa framework.
Besides Ghana, CIHEAM Bari in collaboration with other partners supports projects in several African countries, including the go blue program in Kenya and enhancing farming employment for migrants, supporting agriculture, and fostering social cohesion in Libya.
Kenya’s go blue project, according to the United Nation Environmental Program (UNEP) is a joint initiative advancing the blue economy agenda across all six counties in Kenya’s coastal region.
The counties are Kilifi, Kwale, Lamu, Mombasa, Taita Taveta and Tana River. The program is supported by the European Union, and implemented at a cost of EUR25 million for a period of 4 years. The implementing partners include four-member state agencies from Germany, Italy, Portugal and France, and two United Nations agencies: UN-Habitat and UNEP, each implementing specific components of the project in collaboration with the county’s leadership.
It is structured around three components: Go Blue Growth, Go Blue Environment and Go Blue Security, with the third component seeking to ensure safe and secure Kenyan maritime territory is key to further develop and expand a sustainable thriving blue economy, while improving the lives and livelihoods of the coastal communities through new income-generating activities and opportunities.
Go Blue aims at enhancing maritime governance through integrated and effective maritime law enforcement, hence contributing to regional and global security and creating a favourable environment for the economic development of the region and beyond.
It entails capacity development of the Kenya Coast Guard Service to develop a maritime strategy supportive of economic blueprints and sea-land plans; support to implementation of the maritime strategy related to effective and integrated maritime law enforcement capability in connection with the justice chain and the judicial system including information exchange, standardised equipment, training, combined exercises and operations, vessel maintenance and repair.
Oliver Ochieng, Blue Africa News