Empowering small-scale fishers to eradicate rural poverty

Introduction: Eradicating poverty and hunger appears prominently among the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In 2002, FAO estimated that 5.8 million small-scale fishers were under the poverty line (FAO 2002).1 This is a big number, and a global problem, which poses a major challenge for FAO and Member states. Therefore, the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines) (FAO 2015) has poverty and food security as their central focus. The SSF Guidelines also point to a number of ways in which poverty can be alleviated, of which one is to build organizational capacity among fisherfolk at local and regional levels. By coming together in formal and informal organizations, small-scale fishers and fish workers can gain joint access to resources, set up small enterprises, and work their way out of poverty (Kurien 2014)