Case 3-18 Adding value through label certification systems: case study of label certification research by PROCOVAL

label certification system, traceability, Ecolabel, IKA GEL, BëgEllëk, Label Steering Committee, Letter of Sectoral Policy of Development of Fishing and Aquaculture

Labels that support sustainable fishing and guarantee traceability³ are becoming increasingly common, especially in Europe. The obtaining and renewal of certification from a globally recognised label is expensive and an obstacle for Senegal. It is therefore more sustainable to launch Senegal’s own ecolabel in order to raise national and international awareness. The creation of Senegal’s own labelling system will guarantee the quality of fisheries products for both the domestic and international (European and Asian) markets, and will be recognised by the market and producers. To this end, JICA’s PROCOVAL project carried out activities to support the introduction of a label certification system, which would stabilise the quality of fisheries products in the department of Mbour at a high level, motivating the people involved and promoting fisheries resource management activities.

PROCOVAL visited the factory of IKA GEL, a partner company of the project, to verify the traceability of products bearing the ‘BëgEllëk’ label. It was confirmed that products bearing the ‘BëgEllëk’ label, introduced in 2016, can be traced at all stages of distribution. PROCOVAL used this label as a subject to study the design of the label certification system and how to inform and raise awareness among stakeholders.

The label steering committee made several changes to the standard for the label certification in consultation with the CLPA. The agreed terms of reference for the developed certification standard were as follows:

(1) The certification of the label is based on quality criteria, not only on fisheries resource management.

(2) Social and environmental activities are an optional rather than a mandatory criterion to encourage companies to enter the market.

(3) Unannounced audits are conducted during the certification process, independent of the initial audit.

Senegal’s own label certification scheme is advocated in the Senegalese government’s Letter of Sectoral Policy of Development of Fishing and Aquaculture (2018-2023) and has high expectations from fisheries stakeholders due to its market appeal. Although the activity has great potential in the medium and long term, the limited two-year period of the PROCOVAL pilot activity did not yield results.

In the limited time of the pilot activities under PROCOVAL, it was not possible to create a label of its own in Senegal. It is not easy to make the new concept of certification by label accessible to Senegalese fishers, and awareness-raising activities must be conducted in various ways. One of the most effective ways is to help stakeholders understand the benefits of the labelling system, respecting private initiatives and taking sustainability into account.

3.2 Measures to strengthen the sustainability of resource management

Use of product labels: labelled products can be linked to the added value of the product through the high-end image created by labelling, environmental considerations (e.g. eco-labelling), and the ‘visualization’ of the producer through traceability. These efforts will ultimately promote resource management practices and economic incentives.

The introduction of a label certification system will guarantee the quality of marine products, promote economic incentives by linking them to the added value of the product, and motivate people to engage in resource management activities. This case study provides many suggestions when implementing such initiatives.