**Conflict of interest**

*Regional Development in Africa*

economic growth.

**3. Conclusion**

who so to say exploit it to intervene on government's behalf. The donors use the open window to advantage to establish criteria and objectives they deem fit for achieving anticipated rapid gains against rural poverty and hunger. The role of international donors and development agencies appears to hinge more on technology transfer and capacity building that are not compatible with local needs and traditional experiences of the beneficiaries. Instead of promoting in funded projects the development of value chains and sustainable support systems (extension and credit), emphasis is placed on the promotion of technologies that require inputs (labor, feed, and fertilizers) that are probably not locally available and that are often prohibitive where they are available and beyond the means of the beneficiaries. Delgado et al*.* [29] suggested the replacement of foreign donor priorities (e.g., poverty alleviation among the poorest of the poor; cheap food for low-income urban consumers) with those of local decision-makers and farmers. Delgado et al. [29] pointed out that a supply-side with emphasis on aquaculture as a commercial venture (at a variety of scales and intensities) will serve to generate income and create secondary business opportunities and generalized

Aquaculture has a big future in Africa that could well surpass the achievement of the Asian countries provided the right investment options and technologies are made available. The expectation from the sector, as a growing food production enterprise is, great. Importantly, the sector is expected to bridge the gap between fish supply from capture fisheries and the demand for fish by the rising African population. Increase in population and acute competition for resources and the need for food security is making it imperative for aquaculture to fulfill its longforeseen role as an important contributor to increased nutritional and economic well-being. It is equally important to mention that Africa has substantial market to satisfy; this coupled with available abundant water and land resources that could enhance production is a tempting incentive. The expectation from the sector will however be a mere daydreaming if aquaculture development is not redirected and refocused. To achieve the role of aquaculture, African government has critical roles to play with respect to the formulation of policies that are pro-aquaculture and creation of good financial environment for would-be investor in the sector. The government is well aware of the challenges facing the sector and these challenges need to be addressed adequately if the sector is to go forward. Public sector is encouraged to complement the efforts of international donors and development agencies by devoting more resources to policy research for the facilitation and promotion of aquaculture. There is also the need for public sector agencies to improve on their investment in aquaculture research and education. International donors and development agencies' role should not be limited to that of hiring foreign consultants, technology transfer, and capacity building, but they should team up with host government to develop innovative financial models that favor sustainable aquaculture enterprises. Innovative financial models will help to fill the gap between traditional

The author acknowledges with thanks the various authors and books consulted

**176**

banking and grant-based donor finance.

in the course of drafting of this review work.

**Acknowledgements**

The author has no conflict of interest to declare. All citation used in the review have been duly referenced and author(s) of the work have been acknowledged for excerpting materials from their publications.
