President's Column - June 2022

Finally, after 22 months confined in France, I am back in Bangkok waiting for my visa to go home to Laos. Those 22 months seem so long and yet time flies. During that time, I have discovered a new word in the French vocabulary — localism. Localism is the attitude of giving priority to what is local by opposition to an overall global conception of society. While it should remain cosmopolitan and diverse, it consists of reorienting human life on an autonomous and self-managed territory with a local circular economy.

After facing the Covid health crisis, described in the media as unprecedented, mankind is definitively amnesic. We have been forced to question many aspects of our social organization, to refocus our consumption and to review our eating habits to focus more on local production, may it be industry, agriculture or aquaculture.

If we look back on the many lockdowns we experienced, depending on where you live, we all remember the rush to the supermarkets as soon as we were allowed to go out. Even if governments explained that food shortages were not going to be a worry, this did not prevent panic purchases in food stores, people stocking up so as not to run out of food.

This pandemic has highlighted the fragility of our food system and supply chain. In fact, interest in recirculating aquaculture systems (including aquaponics) has increased significantly in recent months after most supply chains were disrupted around the world. Significant investments have been raised by companies involved in food self-sufficiency and supply chain vulnerabilities, trying to ensure a safer, more sustainable and fairer food system for the future.

Several studies in different countries have shown that an average meal travels an average of 3,000 km, 25 percent more than in 1980. It is therefore time to encourage the consumption of local products for farmers and for the planet. As an example, the average food autonomy of cities in France is about 2.8 percent, with Avignon at the top of the list with only 18 percent. The European Union, like other major world organizations, is now seriously addressing these issues with a green deal demonstrating new concerns that have been highlighted by the Covid-19 crisis:

  • Supply chain resiliency — urban farming will provide peace of mind as fresh produce is being grown on-site.
  • Reduced food waste — highly-perishable produce can be harvested as needed and not wasted through time-consuming transportation.
  • Improved nutrition — RAS and aquaponics usually produces much higher quality food that is free from pesticides, herbicides and antibiotics and that provides customers with high-quality diets.

 

Up to now, exportation/importation of food had been a driving force of aquaculture production worldwide. However, importing shrimp from Thailand to the US or tilapia from China to Europe has become a practice that is frowned upon. Unfortunately, temperature in Europe for instance is not really ideal for tropical species and the cost of production is prohibitive due to the energy price surge following world crises. It is therefore extremely urgent to re-think aquaculture production to make it more resilient and sustainable, i.e. socially supportive, commercially competitive, environmentally sound and resource-conserving.

With the latest world events, energy has become one of the major concerns to maintain numerous activities. Agriculture and aquaculture production of warmwater species in colder climates or coldwater species in hot climates have become an economical challenge and we have seen many greenhouses stop production in early spring in colder climates due to the cost of heating associated with increased cost of oil.

It has become obvious that the integrated multitrophic aquaculture concept must be extended to multiple integrating activities, including agricultural, industrial and urban activities, to optimize resource utilization. It is now urgent for the private sector to engage in an interprofessional approach to develop a network between agriculture, livestock, animal feed, processing industry, distribution and industry, improving collaboration between all stakeholders.

Together, industries, farmers, breeders, fishermen, large-scale distribution and traders, services (energy, transport, technologies, etc.), trade unions, employees, consumer associations, NGOs must develop a roadmap of local vital food production. It is a question of substance, of structural reforms, of societal choices that requires a regional consensus that creates conditions for a balance between imports, import substitution and local production.

However, today, on a global level, producers in agriculture and particularly in aquaculture, are trying to produce what people want to consume, although I believe we should rather consume what we can produce, implying it is our own consumption habits that need to change. This is an important societal evolution that we must consider if we are really serious about solving the environmental challenges our civilization is facing. Producing coldwater salmon in the Middle East and warmwater shrimp in Europe, while perhaps economically viable, are not really examples of net zero carbon production or environmentally sound systems, considering the huge amount of energy required to create the proper conditions for optimal growth rate. The truth is that we must support all forms of circular economy and work according to regional climate and local environmental conditions if we want to seriously improve aquaculture production sustainability.

Yesterday, I finally reached my home in Laos. It was my first really long trip since Covid, and looking at the streets of Vientiane, I realized how much some countries have been hurt by the pandemic. So many businesses I used to know are closed and many streets are only the shadow of what they had been. But one thing has struck me, the quantity of seafood street vendors had really gone up. If you can’t export your production, you must sell it at home. And obviously, it is a perfect example that the world is going local. In fact, Laos has implemented some new regulations restricting importation of agriculture products that can be produced locally. It is still difficult to know if this trend will continue, but is certainly going to change the food production systems and supply chain in the years to come.

Singapore in November, it seems that all restrictions for travelling will be just some bad memories. It is easier by the day to get onto planes and cross borders. Last week, in Bangkok, the first trade show (HortiAsia) I attended was smaller than the pre-Covid era, but it happened and was overall a success. So, let’s make sure WAS Singapore is a success and start preparing your trip. To all the aquapreneurs, I wish you great success with your projects and I hope to see you in November in Singapore.
— Jean-Yves Mével, President

Tags