The present UN fish culture extension programme has made good progress in establishing fish culture as a reliable, cheap means of producing a much needed, quality food in the Central African Empire. The aim of the extension programme should always be to improve the nutritional level of the farmer's family, even though the possibility of a monetary benefit from a fish harvest will remain important to the rural farmer.
Nevertheless, work remains to be done in such areas as improving fish production, economics and improving the farmer's basic understanding of what fish farming is all about. Of primary importance is the selling of the programme to the local government as a worthwhile investment on its part.
Extension agents need to be more involved with the farmers. More practical demonstrations should be given. Monthly contact with each farmer should be considered a necessity by the agents. A long-range goal to consider is the setting up of extension offices in certain areas of town to improve contact between the agent and farmer. Such offices would give the agent a home base recognized by the farmers from which to better organize his demonstrations and make regular contact with farmers.
Extension agents need to be dynamic and polyvalent in their roles as field workers. They should be able to perform their duties alone without assistance from station personnel for sampling or harvesting ponds. Equipping each agent with a 10-metre tape for measuring ponds, a small cast net and suspension scale with bucket for sampling and harvesting prepares him to do this. All such equipment is easily transported on the agent's motor cycle.
Expansion of the audio-visual aids programme of extension work needs attention. Cooperation with community development projects provides an excellent opportunity to pursue this goal. To projection of films may be appropriate for such situation and visits to the station by invited groups. Efforts using slides to explain the extension programme to rural farmers were poorly received, but posters and handouts explaining various basic ideas about fish culture should be made available. Large posters placed in impact areas could increase the number of farmers who contact agents before constructing their ponds. Most construction problems stem from the farmers not contacting the agents until after construction is finished.
Between the FAO and the U.S. Peace Corps projects some 1 000 farmers are presently receiving assistance in fish farming in the CAR. A simple analysis of a typical farmer with a one-are (100 m2) pond, indicates 22.7 kg/are/yr of fish (Table 6) can be obtained. Assuming these 1 000 farmers obtain such production, 22 700 kg of fish per year are presently being produced in family ponds in the CAR. Most of these fish are eaten by the farmers' families, but their monetary value at 200 F CFA/kg equals 4 540 000 F CFA. Such data is an aid in demonstrating to the government that fish culture extension is worthwhile.
The old problem of forming cooperative work groups among the farmers still exists in most areas. Cooperation among farmers could help solve the major problem of stealing by having the farmers act as watchmen for a group of ponds. Team effort in such activities as maintaining stream beds open may prevent the ever prevalent flooding of ponds during the rainy season. The agent can serve as the catalyst for such cooperation.
Cooperation between the extension agents and the FAO personnel working in the extension programme brought about the success of this programme. A programme laid out by an FAO member can only be activated by the extension agent. He plays the key role in its success or failure. The contributions made to the extension programme by the two UN volunteers, Messrs. Christopher Nugent at Bambari and Kieran Kelleher at Bouar, can only be considered exceptional. Their national co-workers have, likewise, pursued their work with interest and enthusiasm. The volunteers have performed outstanding jobs under difficult living and working conditions. They have accepted a great deal of responsibility, and overall, their performance can be rated at the level of expert. The need for more UN volunteers in future extension projects should be considered a necessity.
There is potential for expansion of the existing fish culture extension programme in the CAR. There are still abandoned ponds to be renovated, and many good pond construction sites are readily available. Fish culture will remain a means by which the rural population can benefit and profit from a natural resource requiring minimum input to produce satisfactory results. Government concern and support for rural fish farming plays the primary role in tapping this natural resource.
