Viability assessment for commercial wild-harvested cinnamon production in Seychelles

Our consultant Brett Pringle was contracted by the FAO to conduct an analysis of South Africa’s fisheries data systems as part of the Norway-funded Nansen programme.

Our Jim McCafferty was recently contracted as an international fisheries and aquaculture expert as part of the FAO’s Blue Transformation Programme in the Western Indian Ocean Region.

Advance Africa has been contracted by Liberia’s National Fisheries and Aquaculture Authority (NaFAA), as part of the World Bank-funded Liberia Sustainable Management of Fisheries Project (LSMFP), to support the sustainable development of the country's fisheries and aquaculture sectors.

Advance Africa has been contracted by Karingani Game Reserve to develop a fit-for-purpose fisheries management framework for Massingir Dam, founded on the principles of social, ecological, and economic sustainability.

Our managing member, Fred Formanek, prepared an action plan and recommendations for the development of the cinnamon sector in Seychelles for GOPA Worldwide Consultants as part of the European Development Fund's Long-Term Technical Assistance to Support the Economic Partnership Agreement Implementation in Seychelles.

Advance Africa was tasked with conducting a kelp market assessment and value chain analysis, towards understanding the economic viability of commercial kelp farming in the South Africa.

We were tasked with undertaking the first five-year revision of the Land Use Plan for Liuwa Plain National Park. The LUP is designed to support the Park’s General Management Plan, by balancing conservation, social and economic (tourism) objectives in a Park characterised by concerted rewilding and conservation efforts alongside a growing human population.

Advance Africa developed an aquaculture Database Management System (DBMS) for Seychelles’ Aquaculture Industry, as part of our contract as Programme Managers to the Seychelles Fishing Authority (SFA) for Seychelles Aquaculture Industry Implementation Phase I.

Our Professor Tom Hecht was appointed by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Secretariat to develop a set of regional harmonised guidelines for hatchery and broodstock management, gene banking and stock enhancement.

Our Professor Tom Hecht was contracted by the Seychelles Ministry of Fisheries and Blue Economy to review the Fisheries Sector Policy and Strategy (2019), as part of the World Bank-funded Third South West Indian Ocean Fisheries Governance and Shared Growth Project (SWIOFish3).

Advance Africa were appointed by the FAO’s Subregional office for Southern Africa (SFS) to support aquaculture management, strategy, visibility, planning and project formulation in the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

Our James McCafferty was appointed by the FAO’s Subregional office for Southern Africa to formulate fisheries and aquaculture fact sheets and policy briefs for 13 Southern African Development Community (SADC) Member States.

Our James McCafferty was appointed by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Secretariat to prepare a final report on progress in implementation of the SADC Protocol on Fisheries and development of policy briefs and related advocacy materials. This included the development of (i) a report on domestication and implementation of the Protocol on Fisheries; and (ii) a policy brief to further promote domestication and implementation of the Protocol on Fisheries, and related advocacy materials in the form of factsheets and success stories.

Advance Africa were appointed by the National Empowerment Fund (NEF) to conduct a feasibility study for the establishment of a tomato processing facility based in Limpopo Province, South Africa.

Advance Africa were appointed by the FAO to support a project aimed at increasing resilience to climate change in the fishery sector of southern Lake Malawi and Lake Malombe.

We were contracted by Farm Africa to conduct a high-level Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) for the Kenya Market-Led Aquaculture Programme (KMAP). The KMAP was developed in response to a decline in wild fish stocks in Lake Victoria and an increase in demand for fish in Kenya. KMAP aimed to support farmers and traders with technical and business support training as well as link them to markets and service providers to ensure sustainable growth of their business and develop a vibrant aquaculture industry.

The FAO contracted our Professor Tom Hecht as Aquaculture Sector Analyst to improve the understanding of the governance of aquaculture employment in South Africa, with the purpose of learning from positive and negative lessons and suggesting possible corrective measures for substandard practices to improve the public perception of aquaculture.

Advance Africa was appointed by the Seychelles Fishing Authority (SFA) as Strategy Specialist and Project Leader for the development of a Mariculture Master Plan (MMP) for Seychelles.

We were appointed by SiVEST SA (Pty) Ltd to develop a financial model for the refurbishment of a cotton gin in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

We were contracted by MMG Kinsevere Mine in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as project managers for establishing a Farmers Assistance Programme and a conducting feasibility study for a large-scale farming project in Katanga Province.

Our Professor Emeritus Tom Hecht was contracted by the South African Development Community (SADC) Secretariat to develop the SADC Aquaculture Strategy and Action Plan (RASAP).

Advance Africa was contracted by the WorldFish Centre to develop an Aquaculture Evaluation Tool for the SADC Region. The tool was presented by Advance Africa at the SADC Aquaculture Science-Expert Working Group Meeting, held in Harare, Zimbabwe, in December 2016.

Advance Africa were contracted by the South African Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries to evaluate the technical and financial feasibility of Mediterranean mussel, Pacific oyster, Atlantic salmon and dusky kob aquaculture in South Africa. In 2008 Advance Africa was contracted by Basileus Capital to assess the biological and economic viability of integrated abalone, finfish and seaweed aquaculture in South Africa.

The Fisheries and Aquaculture Division of the FAO contracted our senior consultant Jim McCafferty to conduct a South African case study to inform the chapter on Disasters and Climate change Impacts on the Fisheries and Aquaculture sector for the flagship publication “Report on the impact of disasters and climate change in agriculture and food security”.

Various members of the Advance Africa team have been contracted by GOPA Worldwide Consultants to provide specialist consulting services under the EDF-funded project “Long-term Technical Assistance to Support the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) Implementation in Seychelles”.

We were contracted by Vector Works (USAID) and Johns Hopkins University to carry out a study on the use of insecticide-treated mosquito nets (ITNs) for fishing purposes in freshwater and marine habitats throughout sub-Saharan Africa.

We were contracted by SiVEST SA (Pty) Ltd to prepare a bankable feasibility study for the establishment of an atchar (mango and vegetable pickle) manufacturing plant (a National Empowerment Fund funded project for Okubabayo Atchar).

Advance Africa was contracted by the Seychelles Department of Blue Economy to assess the economic and social importance of Seychelles’ sport and recreational fishery, as part of The World Bank-funded Third South West Indian Ocean Fisheries Governance and Shared Growth Project (SWIOFish3).

Advance Africa were contracted by the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority (LHDA) to establish the Biodiversity Management Unit (BMU) as a specialised unit within the LHDA responsible for monitoring and evaluation of water quality, integrated ecosystems management and the conservation of biodiversity in the Lesotho Highlands.

We were contracted as project and development managers for Pure Ocean. The Pure Ocean facility is a land-based, recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) for marine finfish in East London, South Africa.

Advance Africa conducted a feasibility study for the Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC), for a land-based, integrated multi-trophic abalone, seaweed and finfish aquaculture facility in Algoa Bay and Qolora, South Africa.

We were appointed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to (i) undertake an assessment of suppliers’ capacity, private sector market requirements, and capacity and needs of recruited suppliers/beneficiaries, and define a capacity building and support programme for project beneficiaries; (ii) undertake a digital finance ecosystem assessment in Lesotho to support integration of innovative digital and green technology solutions to link producers to consumers and access to service; and (iii), based on the findings of these assessments, design a support programme and facilitate development of requisite digital and green technology solutions and innovations.

We were contracted by the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) to conduct a scoping study and needs assessment to identify data sets and a suitable data platform for tracking AGRA’s performance under the 2023-2027 strategic plan.

Advance Africa was appointed by the Seychelles Fishing Authority (SFA) as the programme managers for the establishment of an aquaculture industry in Seychelles over a 5-year period.

Advance Africa was contracted by The World Bank under the Kenya Marine Fisheries and Socio-Economic Development (KEMFSED) project to compile a roadmap for developing and unlocking mariculture potential in Kenya, with a particular emphasis on promoting a business-oriented approach and creating opportunities for coastal communities and producers to engage in aquaculture and share benefits.

Advance Africa was contracted by The World Bank Group to develop the Global Guide for Aquabusiness Investment, to promote aquaculture growth through sustainable aquaculture business development and investment.

We were appointed by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Secretariat to profile the value chains within eight aquaculture species clusters in the SADC Region, and develop a roadmap for their development.

Advance Africa were contracted by the Seychelles Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture to conduct a study on the prevalence the cinnamon tree on the the inner islands, to determine the quantum of biomass available for the establishment of a unique and niche branded product for wild-harvested, organic cinnamon from Seychelles.

Advance Africa were contracted by African Parks to develop a land use plan for the Liuwa Plain National Park in Zambia and its immediate surrounding regions, to assist with conservation planning and socio-economic development activities that are aligned with the organisation’s conservation goals.

From 2010 to 2016, Advance Africa was responsible for the planning, development, implementation and operation of Highlands Trout, a 2 000 tonne per annum fully integrated rainbow trout farming operation at Katse Dam, Lesotho.

We were contracted by The World Bank to conduct a study of fish trade of Lake Victoria and Lake Tanganyika. The study area included the countries of Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, and Zambia.

Advance Africa has conducted several studies on behalf of the Copper Development Association Africa (CDAA) to assess the utility and viability of copper cage technology for the African aquaculture sector.

We were contracted by the Conservation International Foundation to develop a platform to store and visualise key data to support the development of the Kenyan aquaculture sector.

Advance Africa was contracted by African Parks to conduct a baseline fisheries survey of the Shire River in Liwonde National Park, Malawi.

Advance Africa was contracted by the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority (LHDA) to develop a Conservation Action Plan for the endangered Maloti minnow (Red List category: IUCN B2ab).

Advance Africa was contracted by Seychelles' Ministry of Finance, Trade and Economic Planning to conduct a value chain study to guide investment in the fish processing and services sector, as part of The World Bank-funded Third South West Indian Ocean Fisheries Governance and Shared Growth Project (SWIOFish3).

As part of the EU-funded Go Blue initiative, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) in Kenya contracted Advance Africa to design and implement a comprehensive aquaculture training and capacity-building programme to support and strengthen coastal aquaculture value chains in Kenya’s Coastal Counties Economic Block.

Advance Africa was contracted by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) to conduct a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and policy review for coastal aquaculture in Kenya.