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The cooperative of women fish processors in Côte d'Ivoire inaugurates a refrigerated container in San Pedro

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This 40-foot container was purchased through a fund set up in the framework of the EU-Côte d'Ivoire SFPA and was installed in an area that lacked conservation means and where large quantities of artisanal fisheries landings were thus lost

The women of Union des Sociétés Coopératives des Mareyeuses et Transformatrices des Produits de la Pêche (USCOFEP-CI) organized a ceremony to hand over a refrigerated container for fish conservation on August 8 in San Pedro (Côte d'Ivoire) in the presence of local and port authorities, and representatives from the Ministry of Fisheries and of artisanal fisheries. This 40-foot container was purchased through a fund set up under the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement (SFPA) between the EU and Côte d'Ivoire. San Pedro is a fish-producing area 300 km west of Abidjan, where the local cooperative lacked the means to conserve fish. With this container, post-harvest losses will be greatly reduced, and the additional quantities of frozen fish that can be marketed will also supply Abidjan's women's processing cooperatives during off-peak periods.

The president of USCOFEP-CI recalled the importance of the role of women in the fish value chain. Photos: USCOFEP-CI.

The president of USCOFEP-CI recalled the importance of the role of women in the fish value chain. Photos: USCOFEP-CI.

During her speech, the President of USCOFEP-CI, Ms. Micheline Dion, recalled the importance of the role of women in fisheries at the socio-cultural and economic levels. She presented the vision of USCOFEP-CI while emphasizing the importance of the partnership agreement with the EU for coastal communities. Indeed, after much sensitization, work and determination of these Ivorian women in the fisheries sector, the current protocol of the EU-Côte d'Ivoire Partnership Agreement for Sustainable Fisheries (SFPA) encourages EU ship owners to sell a certain amount of fish directly to Ivorian women, and the sectoral support of the SFPA includes a fund to help them buy the fish.

When the container was purchased in July, Ms. Micheline Dion also emphasized: "This is the first time that we see a concrete positive impact of the agreement with the European Union at the level of fishing communities.”

More on women and the EU-Côte d'Ivoire SFPA
To go far, you have to be together. The Ivorian women in artisanal fisheries can tell you how
To go far, you have to be together. The Ivorian women in artisanal fisheries can tell you how

This article by Andréa Durighello analyses, through the example of the Ivory Coast, the value of women's cooperatives and associations in African artisanal fisheries: in the professionalisation of the trade, in strengthening capacities, in representing women in professional organisations and, above all, in responding unitedly to the hazards of life.

Doors wide open for the San Pedro cold store
Doors wide open for the San Pedro cold store

The 40-foot container is the first real impact perceived by fishmongers and processors from the sustainable fisheries partnership agreement between Côte d'Ivoire and the European Union, but the women face another challenge: access to credit and thus to the liquidity needed to build up working capital, which is necessary to buy fish.

A local initiative to save turtles to turn into the biggest co-managed MPA in Côte d'Ivoire
A local initiative to save turtles to turn into the biggest co-managed MPA in Côte d'Ivoire

The Grand Béréby Marine Protected Area will cover about 2400 square kilometers of ocean and will include a 54 km stretch of coastal water, to be “free from industrial fishing”. Besides vital fisheries, the area is home to endangered populations of leatherback, olive ridley and green sea turtles and threatened populations of sharks and rays.

“Our business is to create jobs for our communities”
“Our business is to create jobs for our communities”

From Mombasa to Bamako, via Abidjan: a portrait of three African women leader in fisheries and their strife to bring innovation and employment for women and youth.

Something cool for Côte d'Ivoire women fish processors will give them more power in the marketplace
Something cool for Côte d'Ivoire women fish processors will give them more power in the marketplace

Access to refrigeration is difficult for women in fisheries in many West African countries. With a first trial in San Pedro which has guaranteed the supply of fish to women in Abidjan, now it’s the Grand Béréby women fish processors who are expecting a refrigerated truck, a container and an ice machine. An article by Rich Press.

“By coming together, we have been able to make women’s voices heard”
“By coming together, we have been able to make women’s voices heard”

In a webinar on mainstreaming gender for Sustainable Fisheries Development strategies, Micheline Dion, in charge of women’s program of CAOPA, talks about the challenges and successes in shedding light on women’s contribution and needs.

In Abidjan, women in the artisanal fishing sector offer work to young people
In Abidjan, women in the artisanal fishing sector offer work to young people

To prevent young people from turning to illicit activities such as drug trafficking, or taking the perilous route of migration, fishmongers and processors have sought to find a place for them in the industry, unloading catches and preparing the fish.

Affordable social housing to improve the living conditions of women fish processors in Côte d'Ivoire
Affordable social housing to improve the living conditions of women fish processors in Côte d'Ivoire

The USCOFEP-CI cooperative has signed an agreement with a property developer for the construction of 500 units that will be put up for rent-purchase for the affiliated women, with the possibility of purchase over 10 to 13 years.

USCOFEP-CI's refrigerated container guarantees a continuous supply of fish to Abdijan
USCOFEP-CI's refrigerated container guarantees a continuous supply of fish to Abdijan

This 40-foot container was purchased by the women fish processor cooperative of Côte d'Ivoire thanks to a fund set up under the EU-Côte d'Ivoire fisheries agreement.

"This is the first time fishing communities are seeing a concrete positive impact of the agreement with the European Union"
"This is the first time fishing communities are seeing a concrete positive impact of the agreement with the European Union"

Through a fund set up under the EU-Côte d'Ivoire SFPA, the women fish processor cooperative purchased a refrigerated container and placed it in San Pedro, a fish-producing area in the west of the country, which lacked conservation facilities and where large quantities of artisanal fisheries landings were lost as a result.