The establishment of a valid fish farming extension programme with an organized based has been accomplished by the UNDP/FAO project with the Water and Forests Department extension agents in the CAR. To ensure the continued success of an animal husbandry such as fish culture, in a country where animal husbandry has not been traditional, additional long-range programmes and persistent input is called for.
To achieve this goal the following recommendations are presented:
(1) An intensive refresher course for existing extension agents would be timely for the already established programme
Such a short course would include pond renovation and construction, fish handling, sampling methods, fish production, feeding, composting and presentation of demonstrations. To be well-qualified personnel, the agents must be informed of new, improved methods found to be beneficial and they must share individual methods from their own experiences that have been found to be effective. A well-qualified extension agent, up-to-date on extension methods, has a direct relation to production results of the farmers that he serves.
(2) It is recommended that an official government fish culture extension service be formed to effectively manage an expanded extension programme in various impact areas in the country (Table 11)
Previsions for the first year's budget for this service are provided in Table 13. And Table 14 presents an estimated return of 25 000 000 F CFA from this 21 000 000 F CFA investment.
(3) Such a service should have a director qualified to coordinate extension work in all regions of the country including assistance by different agencies such as the FAO and the U.S. Peace Corps
Government support for the director in the form of funds and a vehicle for making regular tours to each impact area will be needed to effectively manage such a service.
(4) For an initial phase of two years a team of 25 full-time extension agents to work in the various impact areas is recommended to launch the new service (Table 11)
After the initial phase this team could be enlarged according to the growth of the programme. By assigning the agents to work in the different areas each agent would depend upon the local, fish culture station to supply the extension programme with fingerlings. Each agent could effectively handle the management of up to 200 private ponds (Table 14)
(5) The station located in the impact areas should receive government financial support and be provided with basic equipment necessary for their effective management
A list of such equipment and cost is presented in Table 12; estimated station costs for the first year's operation are included in Table 13.
(6) Each extension agent should be provided a means of transport such as a bicycle or motor cycle in order to carry out extension work in his area
Funds for fuel and maintenance for such vehicles should be provided (Table 13).
(7) To assist the extension agents with their field work a guide to fish culture extension should be provided
One such manual already published is the “Manuel de Pisciculture Tropicale” by Bard, de Kimpe, Lemasson and Lessent of the Centre Technique Forestier Tropical, 45 bis, Av. de la Belle-Gabrielle, 94130 Nogent-sur-Marne, France.
(8) Government funding should be provided for audio-visual aids, mainly in the form of posters and small handbooks for distribution to the farmers (Table 13)
Such small publications can provide basic “how to do” information on fish culture in illustrations and terms understood by the farmers. Radio and television offer possibilities for the extension programme and could be used effectively to offer advice to private farmers.
| NO. | AREA | NUMBER OF AGENTS REQUIRED | PRESENT SOURCE OF ASSISTANCE PROVIDED BY |
| 1 | Bangui/Landjia | 5 | FAO |
| 2 | Bouar | 3 | " |
| 3 | Bambari | 3 | " |
| 4 | Alindao | 1 | " |
| 5 | Ippy | 1 | " |
| 6 | M'Baiki | 2 | Peace Corps |
| 7 | Boda | 1 | " |
| 8 | Bossembela | 1 | " |
| 9 | Yaloke | 1 | " |
| 10 | Bocaranga | 1 | " |
| 11 | Grimari | 1 | " |
| 12 | Berberati | 2 | None |
| 13 | Bria | 1 | " |
| 14 | Ndress/Bangui | 1 | " |
| 15 | Bossangoa | 1 | " |
| TOTAL | 25 |
| ITEM | F CFA1 | |
| (a) | Office supplies - year supply | 10 000 |
| (b) | Pond Seines | |
| 1 – 20 m × 2 m with bag; 2.5 cm mesh | 30 000 | |
| 1 – 6 m × 1.5 m with 0.5 cm mesh | 10 000 | |
| (c) | Cast Net - 2.5 m long; 1.0 cm mesh | 5 000 |
| (d) | Dip Nets | |
| 2 - small mesh (0.5 cm) | 4 000 | |
| 2 - large mesh (2.5 cm) | 4 000 | |
| (e) | Scales | |
| 1 – 20 kg balance | 7 000 | |
| 1 – 1 kg balance | 5 000 | |
| 2 – 10 kg pocket spring scales | 4 000 | |
| (f) | Tubs - 4 - 30–40 lt, metal | 12 000 |
| (g) | Buckets - 4 – 10 lt, metal | 8 000 |
| (h) | Sorting Table - fabricated locally | 3 000 |
| (i) | Measuring Board - fabricated locally | 1 500 |
| (j) | Hand Tools | |
| 4 shovels | 4 000 | |
| 4 picks | 5 000 | |
| 4 earth packers | 8 000 | |
| 2 wheelbarrows | 26 000 | |
| 4 machetes | 2 000 | |
| 1 hammer | 500 | |
| 1 saw | 1 000 | |
| TOTAL | 150 000 |
| ITEM | ANNUAL AMOUNT F CFA1 | |
| (a) | Director | 1 500 000 |
| Office Personnel | 500 000 | |
| Office Supplies | 100 000 | |
| Vehicle - 404 Peugot pick-up | 1 500 000 | |
Fuel - 400 1/mo at 95 F CFA/l | 456 000 | |
Maintenance - 15 000 F CFA/mo | 180 000 | |
| (b) | Extension Agents (25) - 30 000 F CFA/mo | 9 000 000 |
| Motor Bikes (25) - at 100 000 F CFA/each | 2 500 000 | |
Fuel - 30 lt/mo | 990 000 | |
Maintenance - 20 000 F CFA/yr | 500 000 | |
| (c) | Equipment for 15 fish culture stations | |
| - 150 000 F CFA each (See Table 12) | 2 250 000 | |
| (d) | Operating Budget for Each Station | |
| 4 labourers at 250 F CFA/day | 312 000 | |
| 1 night watchman at 250 F CFA/day | 100 000 | |
| Materials | 50 000 | |
| Feeds, Fertilizers | 75 000 | |
| (e) | Audio-visual Aids - posters, handbooks, manuals | 750 000 |
| (f) | Miscellaneous | 237 000 |
| TOTAL | 21 000 000 |
| INVESTMENT: | 25 agents manage 200 lt/are ponds each |
| 25 × 200 = 5 000 total private ponds | |
| PRODUCTION: | Each pond produces 25 kg fish/year |
| 25 × 5 000 = 125 000 kg of fish | |
| MONETARY VALUE: | Value of fish at 200 F CFA/kg |
| 125 000 × 200 = 25 000 000 F CFA |
