Support to the cooperative movement in the artisanal fisheries subsector in the Co-operative Republic of Guyana to promote decent work and food security

This project is a part of the Food and Agriculture Organization FAO’s Fish4ACP programme, active in twelve countries from Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific (ACP), it focuses on developing the Seabob Value Chain in Guyana. FISH4ACP is working towards a sustainable, resilient, well-managed and inclusive shrimp fishery in Guyana to strengthen its position as a leading exporter of seabob while ensuring long-term stability of stocks and bringing more benefits to local fisher folk, especially women.

The ILO has partnered with the FAO to lend its specialized support for the development of cooperatives in Guyana's artisanal fisheries, with a focus on the Seabob value chain.

The Project has been designed based on the needs that Fish4ACP has identified to address the underlying causes that limit the development of the social and solidarity economy, and particularly the cooperative movement in the artisanal channels of the seabob value chain in Guyana. ILO will support FAO and local stakeholders to strengthen business management capacities, stakeholder connectivity and governance mechanisms linked to the Seabob value chain.

The project has three key outcomes:

Outcome 1: Small-scale cooperatives and artisanal informal groups in Guyana's fishing sector, with a special focus on women, will have improved their organizational management capacities to become more relevant, efficient and financially viable.

Outcome 2: Dialogue focused on collaboration and coordination networks between fishing cooperatives, the government and other relevant actors linked to the fisheries sector in Guyana have been strengthened.

Outcome 3: Guyanese government staff have improved their understanding and capacities to generate an enabling environment for cooperative development and improve working conditions in the small-scale and artisanal fishery sub-sectors.