Value chain and feasibility study to guide investment in fish processing & services sector and assessment of maximum carrying capacity

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Development of Seychelles’ Seafood Sector Value Chains

• Background

The development agenda of Seychelles is now firmly viewed through the lens of a blue economy, focused on the growth of ocean-based economies that are environmentally and socially sustainable. Reorientation of tourism and fisheries sector development, the two main pillars of the economy, is therefore a key strategy for meeting the goal of a blue economy. Since Seychelles is endowed with an extremely rich biodiversity, both marine and terrestrial, reconciling development with conservation objectives is a critical challenge. In the fisheries sector, considerable focus is placed on improved opportunities in the post-harvesting and service sectors, aimed at increasing employment and returns from the enhancement of value chains and full utilisation of the catch. It is critical that these opportunities are aligned with governance reforms to ensure that expansion and diversification of value chains are supported by fishery rebuilding plans.

The Ministry of Fisheries & Agriculture (MFA) and Seychelles Fishing Authority (SFA) are the principal institutions for the fisheries sector, overseeing policy, management, development, research and capacity building. The legislation governing the fisheries sector was recently modernised (Fisheries Act, 2014), while a number of other key policy instruments are currently being developed or are in the early stages of implementation. These include the Mariculture Master Plan and the Seychelles National Agriculture Investment Plan (2016-2020). Fisheries management planning is also developing with plans drafted for artisanal fisheries that are important for employment, food and nutrition security. Implementation of these instruments is aimed at providing a sustainable pathway to investment and growth in the seafood sector.

The fisheries sector is relatively well developed in Seychelles. Important fisheries in Seychelles currently include: the industrial purse seine tuna fishery that lands to the canning factory, or tranships, in Port Victoria for canned tuna markets in Europe; the artisanal line, trap and net fisheries supplying fresh finfish for mainly domestic markets; the semi-industrial longline fishery producing fresh tuna and swordfish for domestic and export markets; the sea cucumber fishery supplying processed product to Asian markets, and small invertebrate fisheries for mainly local markets. In spite of the significant contribution of the fisheries sector to GDP, improvements to business planning, production efficiency, technology transfer, product differentiation and quality are needed to develop both domestic and export markets. Moreover, services to the sector are lacking and rely heavily on government support.

The opportunities and challenges for diversification and expansion of the seafood value chains are recognised in the Seychelles National Agriculture Investment Plan (2016-2020). Examples of opportunities include increasing access to tuna fishery bycatch as a raw material for domestic value added processing, growth in production by local tuna fleets, and greater demand for processed seafood products by Seychellois consumers. However, numerous challenges to entering the seafood sector are faced by local investors, including limited access to affordable credit, lack of expertise in food technology and few opportunities for capacity building.

In addition to fisheries management plans, the growth of the post-harvesting and services sectors must also be aligned with the environmental, socioeconomic and cultural capacity to absorb such development. It is therefore vital that a strategy for intervention and investment in seafood is informed by other national development agenda, not least of which are the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The MFA is now recruiting a consultancy firm to map and assess the current status of value chains and to identify constraints and develop a strategy for intervention and investment informed by capacity limits.

• Objective of the assignment

The key objectives of the consultancy are:

• to identify opportunities for enhanced performance, expansion and diversification of Seychelles’ seafood [1]value chains, and

• to assess the current and projected capacity needs for seafood processing, including provision of public and private services to the sector and an assessment of carrying capacity.

• Scope of Work

The consultancy firm will undertake the following tasks

Process 1: Appraisal and selection of value chains for the seafood sector

• Undertake a rapid appraisal and synthesis of current value chains for the major fishery sub-sectors (artisanal, semi-industrial and industrial)

• Review the legal and regulatory environment for the seafood sector, including policies pertaining to employment, ownership, certification, quality control and competition

• Assess current and projected availability of inputs to seafood value chains based on trends and forecasts in fishery production, access to raw materials based on policy interventions (e.g. access agreements), potential for imports and utilisation of by-products

• Undertake a gender assessment for the post harvesting and service components of the value chains

• Prioritise value chains that offer the best opportunities for improved performance and expansion based on an analysis of drivers, constraints and competition impacting on the value chains. Hold workshop to validate prioritisation with stakeholders.

Process 2: Value chain mapping and analysis to define development opportunities and interventions

• Describe the structure and flow of selected value chains, identifying clusters of value chain actors and links from inputs (fishery production) through processing to markets, and then quantify the value chains in terms of volumes, sales, employment, markets etc.

• Validate mapping with stakeholders, identify key qualitative and quantitative indicators (e.g. time, cost, value added and productivity), and assess the performance and competitiveness of selected value chains in terms of socioeconomic and technological factors

• Based on prior analyses and stakeholder consultations, identify key constraints to seafood value chains and prioritise opportunities for development

• Develop a value chain development and upgrading strategy with prioritised recommendations on policy interventions to enhance competitive performance of the sector, and clearly defined investment opportunities (including an estimation of investment costs). The strategy will be informed by the outcome of Process 3

• In defining the strategy, additional emphasis should be placed on opportunities for investment in energy efficiency, promotion of renewable energy sources, waste reduction and treatment innovation, and value-added use of by-products derived from seafood processing. The strategy should also include provision for promoting gender balance

• Review the strategy with the Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture and then hold a validation workshop with stakeholders (the workshop will address the findings from all 3 processes)

Process 3: Assess the current and projected capacity needs for seafood processing and services

• Review existing and planned public and private sector capacity in support of the seafood sector, including infrastructure such as ports, transportation, industrial zones and utilities, processing capacity, services to the sector (financial and non-financial, harvesting and post-harvesting components) and regulatory control. The review should also consider the human capacity needed to support the sector.

• Map out the current procedures and requirements for the value chains including the shipping logistics and quality control requirements, identifying mismatches and bottlenecks and make recommendations to streamlining these for efficiency gains

• Consult with stakeholders and collate available data in order to assess carrying capacity for development of the seafood sector based on resource productivity, the environmental, socioeconomic and cultural impacts of development, capacity of regulatory bodies, public and private sector infrastructure (including energy and waste treatment demand) and conflicts with other key sectors (e.g. tourism)

• Develop recommendations for development of support services (e.g. extension services, technology promotion, R&D platforms), public infrastructure (e.g. ports, utilities) and policies (e.g. ISO, HACCP, environmental standards) for the seafood sector that aligns with the value chain development and upgrading strategy and carrying capacity. Investment costs should be estimated for support services and public infrastructure.

• Key deliverables

• An inception report detailing methods and approaches for the assignment, an agreed timeline of surveys, workshops etc., and a stakeholder analysis

• A technical report chapter focusing on appraisal and selection of value chains for the seafood sector (Process 1), including an executive summary

• A technical report chapter focusing on value chain mapping and analysis to define a value chain development and upgrading strategy (Process 2) , including an executive summary

• A technical report chapter focusing on current and projected capacity needs for seafood processing and services (Process 3), including an executive summary

• A final consolidated technical report (Processes 1-3), including an executive summary and record of the findings and contributions from workshops

• Duration

The consultancy firm will be recruited for a period of 60 days maximum allocated over a period of 5 months.