Fish-farming operations in Zambia may be categorized into three groups:
village or family fish-ponds
small-scale fish-farms (up to 5 ha)
commercial fish-farms (above 5 ha)
With a view to launching an intensive programme to develop village level fish culture operations coming under the first category, a new ziba programme has been worked out by the FAO/GRZ Fish Culture Development Project based at Chilanga, Chipata and Mwekera (near Kitwe). The basic aims of this programme are to promote establishment of family-level fish-ponds in villages and encourage integrated fish culture with growing of pigs or ducks or chickens and agriculture operations.
The ziba (pond)
A fish-pond is not just an excavation in the ground. It must be constructed properly after selecting a suitable site, with favourable soil conditions and adequate water supply.
Area of 1 ziba: 500 m2
This size has been found to be economically suitable for the rural sector, where labour is generally available for digging the pond.
Guidelines for construction
| Embankment: | 3–5 m at the bottom and 1 m wide at the top |
| Minimum depth at shallow end: | 50–70 cm |
| Maximum depth at deepest end: | 120–150 cm |
| Estimated earth movement: | 200–300 m3 |
Selection of site
The ziba should be near a stream, a spring, a canal or in marshy ground where the water in the soil will fill up the pond. The soil in the place chosen should have sufficient clay to hold water. Bad soil with sand or gravel in it will not stick together and so will not hold water. A test hole about 1 m deep may be dug at the site to test the soil column. If the soil samples from the surface and bottom of the hole are good and sand or gravel is not present, then the area may be considered suitable, provided the water supply is also good. A golden rule to remember: the total amount of water available during the year will be one of the main limiting factors in fish-farming.
The total water requirement for 1 ziba under GOOD SOIL CONDITIONS for 1 year:
Amount of water needed to fill the pond = 500 m3 × 2 = 1 000 m3
Amount of water needed to compensate for seepage and evaporation losses = 2 800 m3
Inlet structure. Water may be taken into the pond through a furrow 10–20 cm deep and 30 cm wide. A screen made of any suitable material may be provided at the place of entry into the pond.
Outlet. An outlet pipe of 10–15 cm diameter may be fixed at the deepest part of the pond, across the embankment. The pipe may be of any suitable material (even bamboo) and should have a simple closing mechanism.
Overflow. In order to avoid the embankment being damaged by flooding, a simple overflow gutter or pipe may be provided to allow excess water to flow out of the pond. This overflow facility should also be provided with a screen.
Stocking. The best fish for stocking is the 3-spotted bream (njinji), Oreochromis andersonii. The stocking rate should be approximately 1 250–1 500 per ziba (500 m2), the average weight of a fingerling being between 10 and 20 g.
Manuring
To make available more food in the water for the fish, the pond must be fertilized. This can be done by adding compost. A crib (cage) may be built with bamboo or other wooden poles in the shallow part of the pond. This crib may be filled with animal manure and leaves in alternate layers or ready-made compost. The water in the pond will become green, which indicates presence of more natural food in the pond. About 5 buckets of compost (or 5–8 buckets of manure and green matter) may be added in the crib every week. Chicken manure is a very good fertilizer for the fish pond.
In integrated fish-farming, pigs or ducks or chickens are grown in conjunction with the fish-pond. In this system, the animal wastes fall into the water and act as manure and feed for the fish. The ideal number of pigs for a ziba is four. The pigsty may be built with local timber and fixed on stilts above the water surface. In the case of ducks, the ideal number is 25 and the duck-house may be built on the embankment. During the day the ducks will swim in the pond and feed on larvae of aquatic insects, tadpoles, molluscs and a few varieties of aquatic weeds. Thus they do not compete for food with the fish. Additional feeding necessary for the ducks may be done on the embankment. During the night the ducks may be kept secured inside the house. The droppings collected from the duck-house may be thrown into the pond at intervals. Droppings of 50–150 chickens may be necessary to fertilize the pond. The actual number will depend on the condition of the pond-water.
Taking care of the fish
If any dead fish is found floating in the pond, the same may be removed immediately. If the fish are seen coming to the water surface gasping for air, it is advised to stop adding manure in the pond for a few weeks and the water in the pond may be changed at least partly. For this the inlet may be kept open for 2 to 3 hours daily for a few days until the fish are normal. The old water in the pond will drain out through the overflow during this operation.
Fish growing period
Under normal conditions the fish will be ready for harvesting in about six months. Thus two growing cycles will be possible in each ziba during one year.
(The above description is extracted from a pamphlet issued by the FAO/GRZ Project.)
The cash flow projections presented in Appendix 4 are based on the three possible modes of operation for the ziba fish-farm, namely:
manuring system
integrated farming with ducks
integrated farming with pigs
MANURING SYSTEM
The amount of loan that would be necessary to finance the initial investment (viz., pond construction + first batch of seedlings + initial working capital until the time of the first harvest) is K 1 000. It could not be repaid within 5 years.
Therefore, this type of operation does not actually warrant credit. This does not mean, however, that it should thus be written off as an uneconomic option (especially in locations, where manure is readily available - on a year-long basis - from near-by supply sources).
It simply means that the manuring system is an option for rural self-sufficiency in terms of protein supply.
Aid in grant form may be given with advice to focus on such an option.
INTEGRATED FARMING WITH DUCKS
Of the two options which warrant the use of credit, this is the lower capital-intensive, and arguably the less risky.
The amount of loan needed in this case would be K 2 000.
Looking at the operation from the viewpoint of fish production resulting from the investment, it may be observed that the investment brings back a 75% return in fish sales (in constant Kwacha terms) in any one year after the first harvest.
Conceivably (within the range of interest rate tested in Appendix 4, Table 4, i.e., from 10 to 20%) credit could be repaid from the first harvest onwards (i.e., without a period of grace).
However, it is proposed to adopt a more cautious approach and to delay payment of the first instalment on the loan by 12 months (i.e., the first payment would take place only 18 months after the date of the initial disbursement).
This solution would allow for more time to be spent on pond construction, which then can be phased out more appropriately, from a supervisory viewpoint.
Also, the first harvest would be considered as a test run and not be accounted for in cash flow terms, again, as a useful precaution to take to ensure adequate technical supervision of the whole operation. The frequency of repayments should be geared to the harvesting cycle so that two semi-annual instalments would take place respectively 18 and 24 months after the date of the initial disbursement, thereby permitting the loan to be liquidated within two years.
INTEGRATED FARMING WITH PIGS
The initial capital investment here is K 3 000. This is potentially the most profitable type of operation, but also the riskiest, since it is simultaneously:
more capital-intensive
less productive, in terms of fish sales in relation to the amount initially invested (the “fish return” on total investment being only 62% in this case).
As a matter of principle, it can be argued that this option reverses the original concept: fish-farming here becomes an ancillary activity to pig-raising.
Given the relatively greater riskiness of this operation, it is advisable to also grant a 12-month moratorium to the borrowers in this case. In addition, the repayments can be stretched over a 12-month period (in three instalments, taking place, respectively, 18, 24, and 30 months after the date of the initial disbursement) so that the total duration of the loan becomes 2.5 years (30 months) for this option.
As a result of the previous cash flow analysis the suggested credit terms can be spelled out as follows:
| Option | Grace period | Delay for first repayment (1) | Interest rate (2) | Frequency of repayments | Number of instalments | Total duration of loan |
| Fish + ducks | 12 months | 18 months | 16% | semi-annual | 2 | 24 months |
| Fish + pigs | 12 months | 18 months | 16% | semi-annual | 3 | 30 months |
NOTES: (1) From the date of the initial loan disbursement
(2) Calculated on the unpaid balance (in equal instalments)
Since the type of loan envisaged cannot realistically be secured by guarantees (in the form of land or other traditional collaterals), this issue must be otherwise guaranteed, that is, the farmer's own contribution in the investment.
Shared labour (for pond construction) may in this respect induce an adequate form of collective responsibility for loan repayment. The amount of family labour included in the construction package may also be accounted for as the borrower's share of the investment.
Finally, part of the credit could also be supplied in kind (especially that part which represents the cost of the tools) and some of these tools (the wheelbarrows, for example) could be used collectively.
The whole subject of guarantees and of the ways and means to enforce loan repayments will be examined more thoroughly in section 5 of this report.
It is proposed that the loan be disbursed in two instalments, the first before work on the pond starts, the second after completion of the construction.
FAO staff should inspect the site to issue a satisfactory inspection report before the second instalment can be made. The first instalment would cover only the cost of the tools required for constructing the ponds (K 300/pond maximum) and the second would amount to the loan balance (K 1 700 minimum). The tools can also be provided in kind.
