The general discussions on the problems and prospects of aquaculture development in Africa highlighted two major constraints, viz., (i) the contradiction in objectives and evaluation of aquaculture programmes; and (ii) the absence of adequately trained personnel to undertake production programmes. While aquaculture, especially fish culture, is conceived and supported by governments as a means of producing cheap fish to feed the people in rural areas, the success of the programmes is evaluated on the basis of monetary benefits alone. The Workshop was of the view that fish culture should be organized either as a government-subsidized food production industry to feed the poor, like agriculture or even fishing in many countries of the world, or in the alternative as an economically viable industry that can make substantial contributions to the overall food production, economy and employment situation in the country. Combinations of these objectives in one and the same production programme can only be expected to yield indifferent results.
There is no conflict between the development of conventional fishing and aquaculture, as aquaculture is conceived and developed in the region as a complementary means of meeting the national deficits in fish production. The fish production requirements of the land-locked least developed countries of the region received special attention of the Workshop.
The small number of trained workers available in the region at present are mainly employed in research or administrative work and most of the production and extension activities are carried out by the staff of fisheries, agriculture or water and forest departments who may or may not have received even an orientation training in aquaculture. There was complete and unanimous agreement that the one aspect that required urgent attention, both on a national as well as on a regional basis, is the training of core personnel The need for extensive practical training to prepare the candidates to undertake production programmes was stressed time and again during discussions and it was agreed that training centres should have adequate facilities for this purpose and should have well trained training staff. While extension personnel may have to be trained on a national or group-country basis, regional cooperation will be necessary and economical for the training of aquaculturists who will be the key personnel for the implementation of production programmes.
In order to obtain adequate support of governments and the general public, a number of countries in the region need to undertake, on a high priority basis, demonstration of the technical and economic viability of aquaculture under local conditions. This is specially important because of the failure of many early attempts during the colonial period to introduce rural fish farming in Africa, without the necessary technical and economic appraisal of culture practices employed.
The mainstay of the industry in most countries in the immediate future is expected to be small-scale fish farming in ponds integrated with rural development programmes. The culture of Tilapia nilotica in ponds, fed on pelleted feeds made from locally available agricultural and industrial waste products, yielding three crops and a production of not less than 5 000 kg/ha/year, has already been tested and found to be perfectly feasible and economical in Central African countries. When combined with duck or pig raising, the income of the farmer increases two to three times. Experimental culture of grey mullets (Mugil spp.), tilapia (Tilapia spp.) and catfish (Clarias lazera) or common carp (Cyprinus carpio) in brackishwater ponds in deltaic areas in Nigeria and Egypt producing about 3 500 kg/ha, has served to show the feasibility of brackishwater farming. Rice field carp culture is an established practice in Madagascar. Stocking of small dams and reservoirs with tilapia has yielded very encouraging results in Kenya and Ghana. These culture systems can be tested under local conditions in other countries and used for large-scale production programmes.
The choice of species for culture is of special importance. Though tilapias may be the main group of species used for pond culture and stocking of reservoirs, the results in the majority of cases seem to depend on the species used. The best results so far obtained are in the culture of Tilapia nilotica. In order to increase the yields from ponds, appropriate arrangements for the production and distribution of fry and other inputs are also essential, This is necessary even for tilapia which breed prolifically; as in an intensive pond culture system the ponds will have to be drained before breeding occurs on any appreciable scale,
The lack of an effective extension service is a major handicap in all countries of the region. The establishment of suitable extension services manned by well qualified staff with the ability to work with farmers therefore assumes special importance in a strategy for aqua-Culture development in the region.
The Workshop placed special emphasis on the need for detailed feasibility studies to attract investment in the aquaculture sector. The services of an interdisciplinary team of experts will be needed to provide this much needed assistance to the countries of the region. Exchange of information and personnel between countries, and an expanded system of collection and dissémination of information, were Considered necessary to achieve the potential for aquaculture development in Africa.
