The Lake Victoria Fisheries Organization (LVFO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) held a bilateral meeting on 10 September 2026 to discuss opportunities for strengthening cooperation in the sustainable management and development of fisheries and aquaculture in the East African region.
The LVFO delegation was led by Mr Mukasa Tom Bukenya, Executive Secretary, accompanied by Dr Edward Rukuunya, Director of Fisheries Management and Development. The FAO delegation included Mr Manuel Barange, Assistant Director-General and Director of the Fisheries and Aquaculture Division, Ms Vera Agostini, Deputy Director, and other senior fisheries and aquaculture experts from FAO headquarters and the Regional Office for Africa.
During the discussions, LVFO highlighted its mandate as an institution of the East African Community (EAC) responsible for coordinating the management and development of fisheries and aquaculture resources across the region. The Organization also acknowledged FAO's longstanding support to regional fisheries and aquaculture programmes.
The meeting focused on a number of priority areas for enhanced collaboration, including strengthening regional fisheries data and stock assessment, supporting community-based fisheries management, advancing aquatic animal health and biosecurity, improving the availability of quality aquaculture seed and feeds, and mobilizing resources to support future regional interventions.
LVFO emphasized the importance of restoring regular regional stock assessment and monitoring programmes, including hydroacoustic and frame surveys, to strengthen the scientific evidence available for fisheries management and regional decision-making. The discussions also considered opportunities for LVFO to engage with the Fisheries and Resources Monitoring System (FIRMS), an FAO-supported network for sharing fisheries information.
On aquaculture development, the two institutions discussed cooperation in aquatic animal health, quality seed, aquafeed and biosecurity, including opportunities to promote locally produced aquaculture feeds using locally available raw materials.
FAO reaffirmed its support to LVFO and welcomed continued collaboration through strong regional institutions and Partner States. The meeting further explored opportunities for joint resource mobilization to support the next phase of regional fisheries and aquaculture interventions.
The discussions also identified opportunities for closer cooperation through the Committee for Inland Fisheries and Aquaculture of Africa (CIFAA), particularly in advancing regional collaboration on capture fisheries and aquaculture.
Among the key follow-up actions agreed were further technical engagement on a joint stock assessment for Lake Victoria, follow-up on LVFO's participation in the FIRMS network, continued cooperation on aquatic animal health, feeds, quality seed and biosecurity, and joint exploration of opportunities for resource mobilization and collaboration through CIFAA.
The bilateral engagement reaffirmed the shared commitment of LVFO and FAO to strengthening regional cooperation, science-based fisheries management and sustainable aquaculture development in support of food security, livelihoods and the sustainable use of aquatic resources in the East African region.
