ASA/WISHH Executive Director Gena Perry served as a mainstage expert speaker on private-sector partnerships during a global aquaculture conference co-organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on March 18-20. The FAO’s Fisheries Division invited WISHH to take the stage its first global aquaculture conference, marking a milestone in WISHH’s work with FAO and progress in cultivating new business opportunities for U.S. Soy, supported by the Soy Checkoff. Gena capitalized on multiple opportunities to highlight the value of soybean meal at the program attended by more than 800 global aquaculture leaders, including the World Bank and others who are planning to increase their investments in aquaculture.
FAO has created the Global Sustainable Aquaculture Advancement Partnership (GSAAP) roundtable to build and leverage networks that will increase the efficiency of aquaculture production around the world. Currently, only two U.S.-based entities are a part of the GSAAP: WISHH and the Monterrey Bay Aquarium. Through the GSAAP roundtable, FAO connected Gena with countries participating in the FAO/International Fund for Agricultural Development/Global Environment Facility (GEF)’s Food Systems Integrated Program (FSIP). The FSIP includes 32 countries: 9 have a specific focus on aquaculture including the WISHH priority countries of Ghana, Nigeria and Kazakhstan.
During the roundtable, the GSAAP members met with the country delegations and discussed their priorities and constraints. Availability and use of high-quality feed was the No. 1 constraint. Gena explained WISHH’s strategic role with soy-based feeds and success growing partners’ businesses, such as fish farms and feed mills, that are key to building demand for soy in feeds. She also described WISHH’s success in launching aquaculture associations as well as WISHH-built partnerships for U.S. Soy.
WISHH is now following up, including connecting key contacts to WISHH’s in-country representatives.