Within the framework of its continued efforts to reduce food insecurity and alleviate poverty, the FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department encourages commercial or business-oriented aquaculture as a means of increasing food availability and accessibility, employment and income, and improving national economies, especially in developing countries. An issue for policy-makers is how to measure and compare the contribution of projects, including aquaculture, to their national economies, their poverty reduction efforts and to food security. This paper aims to help solve this problem by providing quantitative measures through an assessment framework and a useful methodology