In Cayar, women processors had been suffering the effects of the scarcity of fish resources for years. But their business is increasingly threatened by the installation of the “Touba marine protein” fishmeal factory. They rush onto stretchers.
Tables with holes in the pieces of wood are looking for occupants. An empty and deserted space that crumbles under the assault of the sun’s rays… In Cayar, there is fear and anguish among the transforming women. Maty Ndao has experienced the joy of marketing processed products. Nostalgic for her previous life, the president of the Cayar processing site, sitting next to two companions under a mat, three empty basins before her eyes, lives confined in happy memories of her and stares at her horizon, recounting these days gone by. . Yes, there is a shortage of fish, but of course there is competition from fishmeal factories. “Since the Barna factory was installed (which became Touba Protein marine in 2018), we have no longer been able to source fish. Even for the waste we used to buy in the factories we now have to face competition from “Barna” which has more resources than us. This happens with the complicity of some fishermen who go to sea exclusively on behalf of Barna who pays double the normal price,” complains Mrs. Ndao, her face marked by her wrinkles.
The municipality of Cayar, located in the department of Thiès, is located in the southern part of the great Senegalese coast, 58 km north-east of Dakar. At their site, where sea spray and the smell of rotting fish make breathing difficult, the processors’ activity slows. Except for Ndèye Diène who tortures dozens of juvenile species – struggling not to die in a basket – to make ‘keccax’ (smoked fish). His fragile depigmented face shows the repercussions of contact with iodized salt.
Sitting under a homemade tent pierced by the sun’s rays, the 50-year-old explains: “I only have small species like I no longer see the sardinella (yaboy) and the scraps that are purchased directly from the fishmeal factory. Today this job will allow me to earn from 1000 to 2000 FCFA. But I can go days without activity.
The businesses of over 300 women are in danger
Desolation is almost tattooed on the faces in this women’s gathering space that runs along the sea. The canvases and nets that cover the dozens of stalls show a cleanliness that illustrates a reality: times are hard. “There are 325 women processors working here, but we no longer see any fish to process. 80% of us are unemployed,” warns Maty Ndao who says he receives orders from the sub-region, especially from Burkina Faso. But today she is condemned to contemplate the sea and its movements, looking for a canoe that flies to her aid.
In this city, female workers hold their heads with both hands. “Factories are slowly killing us. Their competition is tough, unsustainable. I can’t buy a can of sardines for 40,000 FCfa,” explains Ndèye Fatou Ndiaye, with death in her soul. Now it’s everyday life for these women. An everyday life upset by their former sellers who no longer hide to negotiate directly with the managers of the fishmeal factories. “I only go to sea for fishmeal factories because I can sell them a can of sardines for 42,000 FCfa,” exults Mame Mor Tine, a fisherwoman from Joal and the Cayar countryside. Echoing this, fish trader Badou Seck adds: “The factories pay well. Female workers work in the bargaining sector, factories earn money. I used to sell my fish to factories that produce fresh fish and the waste was thrown away. Now I sell the waste to flour factories. So I win twice,” she says. Much to the chagrin of the female transformers.
RISK OF CONFLICT
It smells like dust
Marches, sit-ins, denunciations… the Taxawu Cayar Collective is determined to obtain the closure of the Barna factory.
The public transport has just passed Bayakh to Cayar when you are stunned by a nauseating smell of fish waste. The first instinct is to hold visitors’ noses. Indigenous people have been inhaling this air pollution for years, without batting an eyelid.
In Cayar, cool weather is approaching the end of November 2023 and villagers are reduced to enduring the intoxicating smells escaping from the “Touba marine protein” fishmeal factory, ex-Barna. Indeed, Mbawane, Keur Abdou Ndoye and Ndiokhob Guedj, three villages in the municipality, show signs of social chaos.
At the entrance to Cayar, near Edk station, the fishmeal factory stands on land that resembles a “no man’s land”. The few shacks that surround it have painfully endured this coexistence since 2018, the year in which this infrastructure was created, the aim of which is to feed aquaculture species and animals. “We are more than determined to remove this factory that pollutes our city and threatens the business of women processors. When I went to the mosque this morning, I had breathing problems due to the bad smell. 3 km away I can smell the nauseating smell of the factory,” says Mor Mbengue, coordinator of the Taxawu Cayar Collective. Lying languidly on the ground in the company of his fellow fishermen near the coast, Mr Mbengue denounces the smells emanating from the factory. “We organized marches, sit-ins and filed a complaint in October 2022 against this factory. Even if the court verdict is in his favor, we will continue the fight until Barna leaves,” he denounces in a voice verging on bitterness. We have contacted Babacar Diallo, General Director of “Touba Protein Marine” several times. But he did not respond to our requests for an interview.
THIAROYE-SUR-MER
Over 200 women on probation
Pure air is an illusion despite the sea, this great blue as far as the eye can see. In Thiaroye-sur-Mer the sand is dirty with plastic, pieces of cloth, wood and broken bottles. A cocktail of waste that has blackened the sea water. The nauseating smell of fish residue attacks the nostrils of the “Pencum Senegal” processing site. Here some canaries where fish products are boiled give off repellent odors. The working environment is messy, dirty, next to the bank which threatens to invade the premises. In this place where chaos is at its peak, some 217 women are riding a wave of worry. In Thiaroye-sur-Mer, where we also produce “gejj” (salted and then dried fish) which we put in savory dishes to enhance their flavour, it is in stasis.
Now they observe with a feeling of bitterness this body of water that has nourished generations. This ocean, which lets its waves crash on the shores, has become the symbol of their disillusionment. “The flour factories are hurting us a lot. At the central fish market in Pikine we can no longer have waste due to the flour factories that abound in the town. If the situation continues, the female worker profession is destined to disappear this year. Of course, there is a crisis with the scarcity of the resource, but the flour factories have come to give us the final blow,” complains Diaba Diop, president of the Women’s Network of Artisanal Fishing (Refepas).
MULTIPLICATION OF FACTORIES
A threat to food safety
According to the FAO, in the 2020s Senegal will experience a deficit of around 150,000 tonnes of fish per year. The organization believes that the presence of flour factories could worsen the country’s food security situation.
If “ceebu jen” is a UNESCO intangible heritage site, it is partly because fish plays an important role in food security in Senegal. In 2018, FAO estimated per capita consumption of between 25 and 26 kg of fish while the global average was 20.5 kg in the same year. According to global projections from the United Nations, the demand deficit to be covered in Senegal in the 2020s is estimated at approximately 150,000 tonnes per year. According to Gaoussou Guèye, president of the Association for the Promotion and Responsibility of Artisanal Maritime Fisheries Actors (Aprapam), 46% of global flour production is destined for aquaculture, 24% for food pigs, 22% for ruminants and the rest to pets and pharmaceuticals. “Fishmeal is used to feed both land animals (pigs, chickens, etc.) and marine animals,” he said. Therefore, an increase in flour and oil production could probably further aggravate the already critical fish shortage and cost situation.
In 2016, a study by the Senegalese Institute of Agricultural Research (Isra) entitled “Fish meal and oil, reminder of basics and risks in Senegal”, revealed that on average 5 kg of fish, generally pelagic, are needed. produce 1 kg of fishmeal and 20 kg of fish for one liter of fish oil. “In Senegal, as in many West African countries, fish represents more than 70% of protein intake. But artisanal fishing, a pillar of food security, faces numerous threats, including the installation of fishmeal and fish oil factories,” underlines Gaoussou Guèye.
The export market
Fishmeal produced in Senegal is mainly intended for export. According to data from the International Trade Center, the volume of fishmeal exported increased from 9,906 tonnes in 2012 to a peak of 17,289 tonnes in 2015. Then, after a significant decline in 2016, it has recently hovered around 10,000 tonnes per year. year. As far as destinations are concerned, notable changes have been observed in the last ten years. According to the FAO, in the early 2010s, three African countries purchased the majority of the fishmeal exported from Senegal: notably Cameroon, whose market share reached 57% in 2012, and, to a lesser extent , Togo and Benin.
However, while the market shares of these three African countries have gradually declined, new customers have appeared in recent years and have become important destinations, FAO notes. This is notably the case for Turkey, which held 26% of the market share in 2018, and Vietnam, which has become the largest importer with 36% of the total fishmeal exported from Senegal. In addition to fishmeal, in 2019, Denmark imported 528 tonnes from Senegal, or 60% of total fish oil exports. Spain follows with 216 tonnes, 25% of total fish oil exports.
SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACTS
Factories employ less
The comparison is unbalanced: 45,000 women processors of fishery products are registered by the Network of women processors of artisanal fishing while the 6 factories in Senegal employ fewer than 400 people. Data confirmed by FAO which registered a total of 129 permanent workers and 264 temporary workers in fishmeal and fish oil factories in 2018.
IMPACT ON FISHERIES
Researchers for a wave of regulation
At the Thiaroye Oceanographic Research Center in Dakar (Crodt), researchers favor regulating the supply of flour factories. For Dr. Fambaye Ngom Sow, small pelagics represent an important component of Senegal’s policy for food security and the fight against hunger. “This strategic role of small coastal pelagics in the diet of the Senegalese is threatened by the orientation of a significant part of these species towards the African market (exports) and towards non-food uses (fishmeal) in the face of a continuously growing population, ” she said.
Dr Sow recommends banning the creation of new fishmeal factories and the recovery of waste from the fishing industry. The researcher supports a ban on the use of small pelagics for fishmeal production. Finally, we want “regulation of the supply of fishmeal factories based on the principle of surplus production after satisfying local demand and diversifying their activities for the needs of the local market”.
Almost ten years ago, scientists from the Institut de recherche pour le développement (Ird), associated with Crodt researchers, raised the alarm in Senegal, foreseeing the dangers that fishmeal factories could cause to the balance of fisheries artisanal in Senegal. “A glimmer of hope is emerging with initiatives such as the use of insect meal to replace fish meal in aquaculture and poultry feeding,” predicts IRD researcher Patrice Brehmer. However, she adds, the solution will come through monitoring and regulating the control of these factories, on a sub-regional scale.
NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF FACTORIES
Greenpeace’s disconcerting data
Notoriously known for its hostility towards the presence of fishmeal factories, the NGO Greenpeace believes that the impacts of fishmeal factories are multiple. “In 2020, 7,521 tonnes of fishmeal and 2,069 tonnes of fish oil were produced, for a total of 9,590 tonnes. If we multiply this data by 5 we obtain exactly the quantity of fish used, i.e. 47,950 tonnes of fish transformed into flour, which represents 10% of the total fish landed in Senegal; in 2021 with Covid-19 there was a slight decline in flour exports with 5,353 tons of flour and 1,266 tons of fish oil exported for a total of 6,619 tons equal to 33,095 tons of fish reduced to flour and fish oil ; in 2022, 9,968 tonnes of fishmeal and 2,905 tonnes of fish oil were exported, for a total of 12,873 tonnes exported, representing 64,635 tonnes of fish processed into fishmeal and fish oil,” observes Abdoulaye Ndiaye, Ocean Campaign Manager by Greenpeace.
According to him, if we take the total of these 3 years, “Senegal transformed 145,410 tons of fish into fish meal and fish oil (i.e. approximately 1/3 of the annual landings) intended for feeding its population and exported it to feed pets and other fish around the world. Ndiaye, starting from the postulate that “consumption in Senegal is approximately 29 kg of fish per inhabitant per year”, underlines that 5,014,100 people have been deprived of their basic food, fish, which will have a negative impact on food security of millions of Senegalese.
ABDOULAYE DIOUF, DIRECTOR OF FISHERIES PROCESSING INDUSTRIES
Fishmeal factories are a necessary evil
The issue of setting up fishmeal factories is a “very sensitive issue,” acknowledges Abdoulaye Diouf, director of fisheries processing industries at the Ministry of Fisheries and Maritime Economy. Competition with women processors, usefulness of fishmeal factories, impact on food security, Mr. Diouf dives in and reveals the truths of him.
How many fishmeal factories are there in Senegal?
We currently have 6 fishmeal factories spread across the Senegalese territory. There are them in Saint-Louis, Joal, Cayar, Dakar… Given the scarcity of resources, these factories work slowly. Originally these factories were set up to absorb waste from industries. We have factories that produce fish fillets, others deal with the preservation of fish. Since these are processed products, there is inevitably some waste. They had to be recycled to avoid dispersing them into the environment. I often say that fishmeal factories are a kind of necessary evil. If they weren’t there, the waste would cause quite a few difficulties. There was a time, 2 or 3 years ago, when these factories no longer worked and the canning industry had enormous difficulty disposing of waste. Given the scarcity of resources, activists, NGOs and the population are beginning to denounce the existence of these factories. For NGOs, such as Greenpeace and others, factories are considered structures in competition with the good ladies who work in the processing.
In fact, there are 45,000 female processors nationwide who no longer see waste. Are they being sacrificed with the existence of fishmeal factories?
I’ll tell you an anecdote. A port president rejoices in the existence of these factories because he says that when there was an abundance of fish, people threw them on the beach and he was forced to pay not only to clean the beach but also to manage this waste. With the presence of factories, he says, not only are products no longer thrown away, but they generate additional resources because they can be sold. Fishmeal cannot compete with the local market. The margin is not that high.
Meaning what
The margin that these factories can earn from processing sardinella, the fresh fish, is not that high. So if they try to compete with the local market, they won’t succeed.
The women processors we met foresaw the demise of their business. Are you in denial?
The threat is general because the resource is becoming increasingly scarce and the market rule is that when supply is greater than demand, there are no problems. But when demand exceeds supply, there is bound to be competition. But I tell myself that the purchase prices that the good ladies charge, if the mills adapt, I don’t think they will be able to cope.
How long have these factories been active?
Currently the factories work for 3 months, 4 months or even 5. It is during the cold periods, with the phenomenon of the rising and rising of cold waters, rich in micronutrients, that causes these species to migrate from the North, Mauritania, to reach in Senegal and head south. When the heat period arrives, it is the opposite movement. So, factories operate at most between December and April. Now, beyond this period, the factories that have the privilege of having a contract with the canning industry will continue to operate because they produce waste intended for flour workers. But I have to admit that flour factories don’t employ many people.
Do these factories pose a threat to fisheries and food security?
There is some truth to this given that everyone needs the resource. There are suspicions linked to these factories that finance canoes that will sell all their production exclusively to them. If normal operation is respected, they will not pose a threat to food safety. Now, if they do subterfuge by financing canoes that they think they owe, that’s a real threat.
We noticed this in Cayar…
I haven’t seen it yet.
What is the export volume?
In the last 5 years, these factories have exported 6,000 to 6,500 tons. For flour they are around 6,000 and for oil they are between 1,000 and 1,500 tonnes. In monetary terms, this is less than 3% of the volume of fish exports. In exports of fish products we are around 250,000-260,000 tonnes per year. The commercial value of fishmeal and fish oil is around 3-4 billion per year.
Ird and Crodt researchers call for regulation. Do you agree with them?
Why was Ndam fishmeal factory established?
Ndam factory is dedicated to fish feed. Furthermore, when I was recently installed as head of the DITP, there were some misunderstandings because the owner had not exported fish feed since he took office. I have the impression that he wants to do something else because I told him that his vocation is not to make flour. I have therefore suspended its approval. Additionally, researchers from the Institute for Development Research, Gaston Berger University in Saint Louis, and the University Institute of Fisheries and Aquaculture in Dakar are studying fishmeal substitutes. Some use bovine blood meal, others use insect meal or agricultural byproducts. These researchers will make comparisons from the perspective of resistance and growth.
Are you investigating the existence of this type of case?
Unfortunately, I didn’t do a survey, but we can position students to conduct surveys. The role of the Ditp is not to go into the field to carry out socio-economic investigations but researchers can work on these issues. But if these practices exist, the authority will not hesitate to adopt sanctions. As for bad odors, with current technology, if we install filters, we can reduce them.
2024-01-06 02:12:01
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