CHAPTER III
Extension Worker's THIRD VISIT to Farmers

The extension worker returns to the village cooperative after one year, as promised. Firstly he arranges a netting programme for the bigger pond to ensure that the fish culture practice has been continued properly. By now the farmers from other villages have also gathered for the 2-week training programme. Before all the villagers, the big pond is netted thoroughly using a large-mesh (1 inch mesh) drag net. Fishes about and above 1 kg size are seen jumping over and caught within the net, some fishes have attained even 1½ to nearly 2 kg size also. The villagers are excited with the fishing sight and carefully all the marketable fish weighing around 1 kg and above are harvested and the remaining small ones are gently released back into the pond for further rearing. The most important precaution is about gentle and careful handling of the live fishes, otherwise due to careless and hurried removal of fishes, the smaller fishes will get badly injured, also the big fishes shall get hurt while jumping violently. As a result of the injury to the fishes due to careless handling, the fishes released back into the pond may get diseased and these fishes may infect other healthy fishes in the pond. Thus due to negligence a fish farmer may face a very serious problem of outbreak of fish disease which may even spread to neighbouring ponds and result in a big loss of fish and income.

After harvesting the marketable fishes, the extensionist adds up the total harvest from the pond (0.2 ha) which comes to 500 kg (around 2500 kg/ha/yr), and still there are marketable fish about 50 kg left back into the pond.

The farmers of the village cooperative, village Chief and farmers from the neighbouring villages are convinced that the simple technology of fish culture is working so well and the farmers can adopt it to produce fresh fish protein for themselves.

With full enthusiam, the arrangements to start parctical 2-week training programme are completed and the villagers have gathered to listen to the extension worker. The 2-week programme is outlined as follows :

1st day (Forenoon) - Brief talk on pond preparation.

A simple opening ceremony of the farmers' training course is organized and the Chief of the community village addresses the farmers about the purpose of the short training programme in fish culture and thanks the extension worker for all the efforts made in creating awareness among them to raise fish protein in the village ponds.

Without losing much time, the extension worker first of all thanks the village Chief and the farmers for their whole-hearted participation in the programme and for their cooperation.

The extensionist continues describing in brief how existing fish ponds can be properly utilized to grow fish and mentions about the demonstration programme already organized in the village.

Ponds are comparable to agricultural fields in producing food for people and there is always need to prepare them properly to have a good crop of fish from ponds as in the case of cereals from the fields. The preparation of fish ponds requires very good attention from the farmers because pond soil as well as pond water have both to be prepared and treated properly to produce plenty of natural fish food organisms in order to raise a good crop of fish.

(Afternoon) Practical work at the selected pond site.

The pond surroundings have to be cleaned up, the embankment and pond slopes have to be repaired and it is good to give a regular shape to the ponds for convenience of general management. As far as possible it is good to dewater the pond to remove fish enemies, predators, and weeds and to expose the pond bottom to sunlight to get dry as far as possible. Pond soil is thus improved to release the nutrients into the overlying water and rich crop of fish food organisms can thus be produced. This is the basic need to start fish farming on scientific lines. In case the pond soil is not properly prepared, release of nutrients into the water will not be efficient, thus production of fish food organisms will be very low and this shall adversely affect fish growth and survival. The farmers fully understand the importance of proper pond preparation and later they get involved in separate batches to clean and repair the various ponds in the village.

The practical work has been rather quite tiring in the beginning, but the entire area has been cleaned up, everyone feels happy to find the general surroundings much improved. This also creates an impact of awareness among the farmers about village sanitation and hygiene.

2nd day (Forenoon) - Practical work at the pond site.

After clearing the surroundings and properly repairing and shaping the slopes of the pond, the extension worker teaches the villagers to measure the size of the ponds, noting down carefully the length and width of the top measurements of the embankment and the actual water area. He then teaches the villagers to note down the depth of water of the pond by using a measuring pole, later calculating the average and maximum depths of water. He also enquires about the maximum and minimum water levels in the pond during rainy and summer seasons respectively. This information is also very useful for good management of the pond.

Now the farmers have already an idea of the size of the pond, which looks so nice after clearing and shaping the slopes. The inlet and outlet of the pond are clearly seen, the feeding and drainage channels are also cleared and repaired to ensure efficient supply and drainage of water. The extension worker explains to the farmers that the most important consideration at this stage is to carefully check the screens at the inlet and outlet to prevent entry of unwanted fishes, fish eggs and other fish enemies through the inlet and escape of cultivated fishes from the outlet. So the farmers check and fix up good and proper screens at the inlet and outlet.

(Afternoon) Talk on removal of fish enemies and water weeds.

The pond normally has many fish enemies like the predatory murrels (Pa kho), miscellaneous small weed fishes, harmful insects, etc. These have to be removed and best way is to remove these by dewatering the pond. The extension worker puts great emphasis on this point, because this step of pond preparation will alone ensure good survival of selected baby fishes when stocked in the pond.

Some farmers ask the same question at the same time that many ponds cannot be dewatered as they do not have the facility of an inlet and outlet, the source of water is only rain and in many cases pumps are not available or it is too costly to dewater. The extension worker arranges their questions in a proper sequence and answers them. It is best to dewater a pond initially or once in 4–5 years, but if the ponds are rainfed, dewatering can be done during summer months when the water level is lowest and all the fishes can be harvested. In case the ponds are too deep or it is too expensive to dewater them, the next choice is to do repeated netting of the pond with large-mesh as well as small-mesh drag nets to take out as much of fishes and fish enemies present in the pond as an initial step. This will help in clearing the pond as well as in reducing the population of existing fish stocks to the minimum possible. The most suitable time for such a clearing is during the hot summer months when the water level in the pond is at the lowest and the netting of the pond is quite easy and efficient. However, if the pond is too big and deep and dewatering or thorough netting are not feasible, it is advisable to stock such a pond with advanced fingerlings (15 cm size or above) or juveniles to avoid predation by the fish enemies which are always present in such a pond.

The extension worker continues to explain to the farmers that excessive growth of water plants (weed) in the pond is also harmful. These weeds utilize the nutrients of the pond for their own growth and adversely affect the production of fish food organisms (the plankton), also, these choke the pond area thus affecting fish movement, growth and even harvest. So the weeds (water plants) have also to be removed while clearing the pond, particularly the water hyacinth (Eichhornia) and water lettuce (Pistia) are not desirable as these cover the water surface and do not allow the sunlight to penetrate into the water, thus fish food (plankton) production is greatly hampered. In most cases manual removal of water weeds is most practicable.

3rd day (Forenoon) - Practical work at the pond site.

In the morning the farmers and the extension worker together start clearing of the pond of unwanted fishes and water weeds. Before starting clearing of the water weeds, some farmers fear itching on the legs, hands and body and do not like this work. So the extension worker immediately catches their mood and supplies them a little of vegetable oil to rub on their bodies and limbs before getting into the water. The farmers feel happy with the alertness of the extensionist in catching their mood and with a smile get to work together saying that it is after all their own work.

(Afternoon) - Practical work at the pond site.

The pond clearing operation is quite tiring and timetaking so the farmers appear tired, but they are curious and interested in knowing what all fishes and how much of fishes they get from the pond after netting and dewatering. Now by evening they start catching fishes, but get mostly the wild and predatory fishes like murrels (pa kho) and in much less quantity than they expected. However, it is enough for the community meal in the evening for a group chit-chat.

In spite of the fact that the farmers feel quite tired, particularly because they have not done this type of job before in an intensive way, but there is a glow of satisfaction on their faces that they have done the job by themselves and for their own mutual benefit.

4th day (Forenoon) - Short talk on drying of the pond bottom and lime application.

The extension worker explains to the farmers that drying of the pond bottom and exposing it to sunlight has many many advantages. After dewatering, the thick deposit of organic matter (humus) must be removed preferably to vegetable or fruit gardens as it is very fertile, but is not so useful in a fish pond as it accumulates lot of harmful substances which retard the growth of fish, check proper aeration of the pond soil by farming a compact layer over it. Also such a thick humus layer does not allow efficient release of nutrients from the soil into the water system and thereby retard the production of fish food organisms.

The extensionist continues the talk and informs that it is desirable to expose the pond bottom to sunlight for a week or so and the top soil is allowed to crack to ensure proper aeration and disinfection of the soil against harmful bacteria, etc. In case possible it is good to plough or loosen the soil, it will ensure good release of nutrients from the soil into the water when filled up. However, before filling in the water, it is important to apply ordinary powdered lime over the soil which can be done after dewatering the pond. Lime has many qualities to improve the pond namely, it builds up the calcium concentration in the pond, disinfects and improves the soil quality and helps in maintaining the pH range of soil and water on the slightly alkaline side (pH--7.00–8.4) and this condition is very suitable for proper release of nutrients from the soil into the water particularly in the case of phosphates which are so vital for production of fish food organisms.

(Afternoon) - Practical work at the pond site.

The farmers understand very well the idea behind dewatering the pond, removing the old thick layer of organic matter from the pond bottom, exposing the pond soil to sun for proper aeration and then liming the pond. Some of them say that it is almost like our preparing the agriculture fields and now we know how to take good care of fish ponds.

The farmers dewater the pond and collect ordinary lime to apply on the pond soil at the rate of 200 kg ha. They spread lime all over the pond bottom even when some water is left in the middle as this will kill some unwanted fishes and fish enemies still left inside the pond.

5th day (Forenoon and afternoon) Talk on role of soil and water quality in fish culture.

When the farmers gather in the morning to listen to the talk on the above subject, the extension worker makes the farmers laugh by telling them that they already know about this subject while preparing the pond on the previous day. Then he elaborates the subject in a simple way that the soil and water qualities decide a great deal about the productivity of a pond. The pond water receives lot of nutrients from the soil and so the soil should be good having enough of major nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and calcium in it and in a condition that the soil is able to release it in the water from where the fish food organisms (plankton) can draw their nutrients for growth and multiplication. So the soil and water as such do not appear to be very important to a layman, but these are so vital in maintaining the productivity of a fish pond and an experienced fish farmer knows about it so well. The intelligent fish farmer will therefore go on adding lime or organic manures when he finds that the fish food (plankton) production is rather low in the pond and the stocked fishes do not have enough food for themselves. Liming and manuring will replenish the nutrients in the soil and the soil will release these nutrients slowly into the water to maintain the fish food production cycle in the pond. The soil which are very acidic (pH below 5 or so) or too alkaline (pH above 9 or so) are generally not good for fish culture. Quite often the acidic soils can be improved by application of ordinary lime, similarly the alkaline soils can be corrected by addition of organic manures and cheap acids (like sulfuric acid) and in alkaline soils we do not put any lime. The extension worker suggests to the farmers that he can test the soil qualities for the farmers initially and later occasionally and they should not worry about it.

The water quality which is mostly determined by the soil quality is equally important. The water should have enough nutrients to produce enough fish food on one hand and at the same time should have good oxygen concentration for the fishes to breath and there should be no accumulation of harmful gases on the other hand. So the best water condition for fishes to live happily is when there is enough food and oxygen for them and remember too much and too little of food and oxygen in water indicates an unfavourable condition. Also, water temperature and water depth are other important factors for fish life. Generally, oxygen levels in water between 4–10 ppm, water temperatures between 20–30 C° and average depth of water between 1–2 meters are considered good for the fishes. The water depth actually is very important because it decides the living space for growth and movement of the fishes. The extension worker again assures the farmers that they should not worry about the scientific names mentioned by him in his talk and he himself shall take care to determine these for them and also train some of their young educated farmers in studying the simple soil and water qualities. This idea gives a good relief to the farmers. However, in the end the extension worker sums up his talk in such simple words that if the pond soil does not give bad smell of acid or so, the pond water too is not having bad smell and thick dirty greenish-blue colour, and the fishes do not come up to the water surface in early morning hours before sunrise, we can safely presume that the soil and water qualities of the fish pond are all right. Now about enough fish food, if the growth and health of the growing fishes are found to be good there must be enough food for them. These simple field judgements are enough for a fish farmer and the extensionist concludes by saying with a smile that the best fish farmers are those who love their fishes and even do not know how to read and write, it is their experience which is most important.

6th day (Forenoon and afternoon) - Practical demonstration of good and bad soil qualities from existing ponds in and around the village.

The villagers already discussed among themselves on the previous night about the extension worker's talk on the subject and so in the early morning itself they themselves take the extension worker to such ponds. They walk first to a small pond where water is having thick greenish blue colour (algal bloom) and they see some of the fishes coming up to the surface in distress gasping for oxygen, also, the water smell is bad. When they collect the soil from various corners of the pond, it is dirty black with too much organic matter and smelling bad. The extensionist explains to the farmers that even such a pond can be improved and made fit for fish culture. The old water can be pumped out into the nearby vegetable garden, the top soil can be removed and also put around the fruit trees, the pond bottom exposed to sun, lime is applied, manure is put again and fresh water is filled in. These things he has already explained them earlier and the farmers and a loud “YES” to this.

Next the farmers walk to the other ponds where they themselves cultured fish during the second visit of the extensionist. They find the water has light brownish colour, no bad smell and no surfacing of fish in early morning hours. Later, they net the pond and find the fishes in good health, growing well. The soil of the pond is also brownish dark, no bad smell and appears rich in nutrients.

The extension worker feels fully rewarded for his efforts as the farmers' themselves can judge between a good and bad soil and water condition of a fish pond.

7th day (Forenoon) - Talk on fish food organisms (plankton).

The extensionist starts the talk by saying that he has already mentioned many times about fish food organisms (plankton) and today he wants to give some interesting information on this subject. Majority of the fish food organisms (plankton) are minute microscopic organisms of plant and animal origin which cannot be seen by the naked human eye. Such small organisms of plant origin are called phytoplankton and those of animal origin are called zooplankton. Most of the phytoplankton belong to the group known as algae, and most of the zooplankton belong to the groups of protozoans, rotifers, cladocerans and copepods, etc. The phytoplankton are generally smaller in size than the zooplankton and the zooplankters generally feed on phytoplankters, so in water these small organisms also follow a food cycle. First of all he shows the magnified figures of some phytoplankters and zooplankters with a slide projector as they look under a microscope. He explains to the farmers that the different colours of pond water are often due to the type of plankters. The farmers watch the slides with full attention and they now understand how the nutrients released from the soil and manure are utilized by the phytoplankters, then the phytoplankters are consumed by the zooplankters, in turn the Asiatic carps consume both phyto-and zooplankters as their main food and finally the human beings consume the fishes. He draws a simple food cycle diagram for the farmers to remember.

Now the farmers also appreciate why the extensionist calls the fish pond a ‘biological kitchen’, they understand that with the help of nutrients, water and sunlight, a great variety of food items are cooked in the pond system and different types of fishes consume different kinds of foods. Later, the extensionist also mentions that apart from the small microscopic organisms, there is a rich population of larger organisms at the pond bottom and on the margins like worms and insects, etc., also larger water plants and these also form the food of fishes. For example the name grass carp itself suggests that this fish consumes grasses and water plants etc. The farmers are happy to know about the new world of living plants and animals inside the water and to understand that how science is helpful to them in doing proper fish culture in ponds.

(Afternoon) - Collection of plankton from ponds and showing these under a microscope.

The extension worker in the afternoon goes to different village ponds and collects a sample of plankton by filtering through some 50 litres of water with a one litre mug through a plankton net made of cloth of very fine mesh. Collection from different ponds are kept inside separate sample tubes. Now he fixes a school microscope and puts a drop from the sample of plankton on a glass slide and focuses different plankton organisms. Phytoplankters of beautiful colours are seen moving about and so also the zooplankters and even inside the body of some zooplankters are seen phytoplankters. The farmers watch these plankters with lot of interest and understand clearly that the phytoplankters are consumed by zooplankters as food. Also, the farmers find that the colour of water from different ponds is so different from each other because of the colour of the plankton organisms present in the different ponds.

8th day (Forenoon) - Talk on role of pond manuring to grow fish food organisms.

The farmer trainees are still thinking of the beautiful fish food organisms they saw under the microscope for the first time - so new and exciting! They already know that application of manure is important for the growth of plankton. So manuring of fish ponds with cattle/pig dung or droppings of chicken or ducks in addition to application of lime to the ponds plays an important role in supplementing the major nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus and calcium in a fish pond. These nutrients are constantly used by the plankton, the plankton is consumed by fishes which are harvested as a regular source of protein to our daily diet. Hence production of adequate quantity and quality of plankton in a fish pond is managed by following a proper manuring programme. The abundance of plankton in a pond can be roughly judged by the colour of water, by filtering water through a piece of fine cloth and observing the quantity of plankton. However, the extension worker explains that the best test is to check the growth of stocked fishes, if the growth is good there must be enough food in the pond.

The farmers are anxious to know as to how much of lime and manure they should put in the pond, how often they should do manuring and what is the best way to apply the manures. The extension worker has already guessed their questions and explains to them that lime can be applied at 200–250 kg/ha in one or two instalments; and the fresh cattle/pig dung can be applied at the rate of 10,000 kg/ha or the droppings of ducks chicken at the rate of 800–1000 kg/ha, but this total dose can be divided into 3–4 instalments. It is advisable to apply the manure on the pond corners or margins. The quantity of lime and manure can be altered according to the condition of the pond water and abundance of fish food organisms as already explained earlier. At no cost the water should get polluted by over manuring which can cause mass mortality of the stocked fishes.

(Afternoon) - Talk on integrating fish farming with livestock and crops.

When the extension worker mentions about the above topic, the farmers look a little surprised and puzzled as they cannot think how fish farming, livestock raising and crop cultivations can be integrated. Their looks are quite revealing, thus catching promptly the expressions in the eyes of the farmers, the extension worker makes a simple start in a relaxed mood by saying that crop/livestock/fish farming are all very important for the villagers. In his talk he only intends to emphasize upon the fact that all the above three activities of crop livestock/fish farming are inter-related among themselves. The crops need manure and water which can be supplied by livestock and fish pond; the livestock raising needs feed and water which can be supplied by crops and fish pond; and fish pond needs manures, feeds and good water which can be supplied by the livestock, crops and irrigational water supply respectively. The anxiety of the farmers seems to be settling down and they come to realize that all the above three activities crop/livestock fish farming can be made comlementary instead of making them conflicting or competitive with each other So in a good planned programme the waste products and by-products of crops like rice bran, oil cakes, broken rice and spoiled cereals, etc. can be suitably used as feeds for the livestock and fish; the livestock solid and liquid wastes can be profitably utilized for manuring fish ponds and crops; and the pond water and bottom mud (which are so fertile) can be used to irrigate and manure the crops fruit trees and vegetable gardens, also, the pond water is used as drinking water for livestock and for their bathing. The pond water in many cases is used by human beings for washing and bathing purposes and even for drinking purposes where there is no other better source of water supply to the villages. At this moment the extension worker stresses on the point that in many cases the washings from agricultural fields/orchards/ vegetable gardens often carrying lots of insecticides are drained into fish ponds which is a dangerous practice. This water is used by livestock and human population as explained above and so it should not have chemical insecticides in it otherwise, it may prove hazardous.

Further, the extension worker explains to the farmers that in a good well established cooperative, it is important to calculate the area of land which must be put under agriculture, vegetable growing and as pasture for the livestock, how much area to be allotted to livestock establishment and how much area is to be maintained for fish culture. These estimates shall give a sound basis for initiating integrated crop/livestock fish production systems and in this way these activities shall become complementary to each other. Thus the basic food needs of the entire village population can be adequately met and the income from these farming activities can be properly utilized for the overall improvements in the health, hygiene, educational and recreational aspects of the community life in the cooperative.

9th day (Forenoon) Construction of a pigsty/poultry or duck house over the pond or along the pond margin.

It is a good idea to construct a pigsty/poultry or duck house over the pond or along the pond margin, because it will be both convenient and useful to put these livestock near the pond. It is easy to wash into the pond directly the solid and liquid wastes and spilled feed of the livestocks, no need to carry these to long distances from the house to the pond site. Also, the spilled feed which is quite costly is immediately utilized by the fishes and it is easy to supply drinking water, washing the pigs and providing natural area for ducks to swim over. Over and above all, there can be a common watch and ward of the livestocks and the fishes. The livestocks are kept for fattening and later after these are of suitable size for marketing and the birds have finished or reached low rate of egg laying, it is wise to replace these with the young fast growing stocks.

Most of the Lao people already know how to construct pig, poultry and duck houses with wood and split bamboos and that too at a very low cost but beautiful to look at. All that the farmers have to do is to make small repairs from time to time.

(Afternoon) - Construction of pigsty poultry or duck houses (continued).

Now the extension worker requests the village trainees to go and clear suitable areas on the pond site and the villagers are keen to construct two types of pig poultry/duck houses, one type which is on pond margin and another type hanging over the big and small ponds which are already underfish culture. The trainees divide the work of construction among themselves and they decide to complete these within 2 3 days by working a few hours extra after the daily training programme.

10th day (Forenoon) - Diverting the animal wastes to fish pond for manuring it.

This topic is already covered in brief on the previous day and the extension worker allows more time to the trainees for constructing the pig poultry duck houses already started. The most important aspect of this subject is to impress on the village trainees that while they can easily wash the animal wastes and allow the spilled feed to fall into the pond water as fish feed, the quantity of these wastes that should go into the pond is a vital consideration. This means that only suitable number of pigs/poultry ducks can be put inside each house, so that the water of the pond does not get polluted or these are not too few to meet the optimum manure requirements for the pond. This can be regulated by observing that enough of plankton is produced in the pond, but at the same time the water should not become foul otherwise fishes may die in the early morning hours due to depletion of oxygen in the water. This point now leads to another important scientific information that even if there is lot of fish food in the pond for the stocked fishes, the fishes will not grow properly in case the oxygen level in water is low (below 4 ppm), the oxygen cencentration has to be optimum (between 4–10 ppm or so) during the night and the day. This is same situation as with human beings, such as we may eat lot of good nutritious food, but if put into a room where there is poor ventilation and low oxygen, we will fall sick and we cannot utilize the nutritious food for our health building.

The next information which is useful for the farmers is to have a general idea about the number of livestock/ha pond area, which is suitably adjusted from time to time according to the growth of fishes and condition of water as explained above. In the case of pigs 30–50 pigs (on average size 10 kg or so) can be put for 1 ha water area, the density adjusted as the pigs grow and according to water condition. As regards ducks about 500 800 ha pond area may be good to start with because apart from manuring, feeding of fishes with cheap locally available feeds and that of grass carp with vegetation shall be carried out. Similarly, the number of chicken ha of pond area can be 500–600. The extension worker removes the anxiety from the trainees and they seem to have fully appreciated this planning which is so reasonable and simple. So before closing this topic the extensionist repcats that they can always adjust the number of livestock ha of pond area with their good interest and experience in fish culture.

(Afternoon) - Practical work (application of manure to fish pond).

The extension worker spares enough time for the village trainees to go ahead with the construction of pig/poultry duck houses. However, this activity is directly related to pond manuring, so he calls all the trainees and asks them to bring some baskets and spades and takes them to cattleshed, pig, poultry and duck houses and suggests them, also joins them, to fill the baskets with the animal dung and bird droppings and carry them to the pond for manuring. The trainees make faces and murmer that this job is very strenuous, difficult and even dirty. Ofcourse, they do it with lot of reluctance and talk among themselves that the idea of keeping the animals at the pond site is better in every respect. They also realize that this way even the liquid wastes of livestock shall directly fall into the pond, otherwise they have to make a drain up to the pond or wash it into the neighbouring vegetable garden. Catching their extreme reaction and reluctance of the trainees in carrying the animal wastes to the pond, the extension worker politely explains them that a farmer cannot avoid cleaning the livestock establishments, they have to handle the animal wastes and carry these to the agricultural fields and thus housing the livestocks near the ponds is to minimise their work load to the extent possible. Farmers suddenly realize that their extreme reaction to this work of collecting and carrying the manure to the ponds is unjustified as they understand that farmer cannot remain away from soil, mud and manure.

Now the extension worker explains another form of manuring the fish ponds. This is called “liquid” or “carbon” manuring. In this method, the animal dung is put inside an old large drum, an earthen pit or a discarded cement cistern. The quantity of manure (fresh/dry) can be put up to ⅓ of the capacity of the container and now the other ⅓ of the space is filled with water and the water and manure are thoroughly mixed with an wooden pole. This semi-liquid manure is allowed to stay for 5–6 days after mixing up the manure and water 1 or 2 times a day. Now this manure is allowed to settle down and the supernatant liquid is collected in buckets and sprayed over the pond surface after sunrise. This practice of applying liquid manure is also called “carbon” manuring and it is extremely efficient in increasing plankton production in the pond within a very short time. The farmers are further instructed to add more water everyday, mix it thoroughly with manure daily and go on using the liquid manure daily. Nearly after two weeks of use, the old manure can be replaced partially or fully thus ensuring a regular supply of nutrients to the pond. Further, this practice is extremely useful in the case of nursery management where the baby fishes need lot of planktonic food.

The farmers carry out this practical work while being explained the manuring programme by the extension worker. Thus the farmers now slowly realize that fish farming shall need their constant interest and attention, though may not need as much of time as for other agricultural activities.

11th day (Forenoon) : Talk on suitable species for fish culture.

The farmer trainees gather to listen to the talk of the extension worker and by now the farmers have become very friendly to him. So before the talk starts, one of the trainees asks the extensionist that why he is talking about the suitable species now as he has already started culturing fishes in the ponds long back under the demonstration programme. The extension worker with a pleasant smile replies that first he wants them to see the results of a successful fish culture programme and then to understand the reason for selecting the suitable species. Here he explains that those species of fishes which feed on the natural food produced in the pond ( plankton, bottom biota, marginal fauna, detritus and the vegetation) are easy and cheap to grow, also, they are mostly fast growing species such as the Asiatic carps and common carp. These species do not eat each other ( non-predatory ), have different feeding habits and so do not compete for same food, have high quality of flesh and good taste, thus having a high market demand. In addition to the above species, Tilapia nilotica ( pa nin ) is another good species for culture, but we get best results when we put some Notopterus chitala ( pa tong ) to regulate tilapia population in the pond by eating away the plentiful of tilapia young ones which shall otherwise overcrowd the pond and not allow themselves to grow to proper market ( table ) size. So chitala is also called commonly a “police fish” or a biological minor predator and this species is also very useful in controlling the population of wild or weed-fishes which get entry into the fish pond.

To inform the farmers, the extension worker explains that culture of the cat-fish clarias spp. ( pa duk ) is also very good for them in small ponds, but they have to take more care and supply animal protein feed to get good growth.

(Afternoon) : Talk on supplementary feeding of fishes.

The extension worker later explains to the trainees that in addition to natural food (plankton, etc.) produced in the pond, it is good to provide some supplementary locally available and cheap feeds like rice bran, oil cakes, broken or spoiled cereals, boiled tapioca, kitchen wastes, silk worm pupae, brewery and slaughter house wastes along with fodder grasses, also, Ipomoea, Leucaena, banana leaves, etc. for grass carp. This additional feed will ensure good growth of the fishes and the diet of the fishes will be more balanced. However, it is essential to remember that supplementary feeding is very essential for proper survival and growth of spawn, fry and fingerlings (the baby fishes), so also, for the brood fishes. He repeats that small quantity of supplementary feed is always good to provide to the growing fishes. It is better to follow some fixed timings for feeding and the fishes will get trained to come for food at the fixed time. By this simple way one can judge the health and population of the stocked fishes. In addition to this, it is in itself a good recreation to watch the fishes feeding and one would love them more and take better care during the culture period.

Now he tells about the rate of supplementary feeding for the market fish, mainly with mixed rice bran and oil cake in equal ratio.

He further mentions that the grass carp have to be fed adequately with vegetation. And he cautions that the rates of feeding are tentative which have to be increased or decreased according to the growth and health of fishes on one hand and the condition of water on the other hand. Ofcourse, he has already mentioned this point earlier.

12th day (forenoon) : Cultivation of some fodder grasses, leucaena, etc. for feeding the fish.

These feeds are mainly for the herbivorous fishes like grass carp. As already explained before, he repeats that proper feeding of grass carp is essential to get good growth of the fish and that of other fishes stocked in combination. Nearly, 40–50 percent of the fecal matter of grass carp is semidigested vegetable matter which forms the direct food for the fishes that are bottom feeders, like common carp and mrigal and indirectly the pond is also manured and plankton production increases which supplies more food for the surface feeders like silver carp, big head and catla and column feeder like rohu.

Therefore, to ensure adequate supply of feed for grass carp, it is good to grow fodder grasses enough in quantity for the cattle and the fish. Leucaena is becoming a very popular feed for animals and fishes, it is easy to grow and the leaves contain almost 38–40 percent protein. In the case of fishes, it is important to remember that leucaena leaves have a chemical called “mimosine” which is not good for development of gonads. So it is better that leucaena leaves are not supplied to the brood stocks of the fishes, though the “mimosine” can be easily removed from the leaves by soaking it in water for 48 hours or so as a precaution.

The extension worker also explains that under a well-integrated fish/crop/livestock production programme, it is useful that the farmers carefully decide the variety and quantity of fodder they may need for feeding the cattle and for the fish. Accordingly they may allot land for growing the fodder grasses/leucaena, etc. Suitable waste lands and pond embankments can also be properly used for this purpose. Also, fruit crops like banana, and the tuber crop like tapioca are useful items of supplementary feed for the grass carp. The leaves and tuber can be fed to the fishes and the fruits and the tuber are consumed by the human population.

(Afternoon) : Practical demonstration of feeding the fishes at the big pond.

The farmer trainees quite like the idea of practical work as they appear somewhat bored with the theoretical talks. This is a good feeling among the farmers that they like to do practical work. The extension worker goes to the nearby area where some guinea and napier grasses are growing and with the help of the trainees cuts about 30–40 kg of these grasses and throws into the big pond inside the marked feeding area with a bamboo frame. He suggests the farmers to relax and make no loud talking or noise and watch for the fishes of grass carp to come to the feeding area. The time for feeding is kept almost the same as done on previous days. In about 15–20 minutes of waiting, the movement of fishes is noticed and gradually the fishes start gathering in the feeding area. Many fishes of grass carp are seen catching the leaves, dragging these down in water here and there. This sight is so pleasing and the farmers continue to watch the fishes feeding on the vegetation. Many farmers say that it is so nice to watch them feeding and they are also able to judge the health and size of the fishes. A feeling of love and concern for the stocked fishes is clearly visible in the eyes of the trainees.

13th day (Forenoon) : Talk on fish pond management during the following culture period.

By now the extension worker has given the basic knowledge of fish culture to the farmer trainees and he continues the talk by saying that for further management of the fish pond the farmers have to use their experience in the following way:

1. Go round the pond in the early morning and make sure that no fishes are seen surfacing in distress due to oxygen depletion in water. Also, he warns that the normal swimming of the stocked fishes in a shoal on pond surface is not to be confused with the fishes coming to surface in distress. Normally, the healthy fishes will soon go down inside water after hearing noise near them.

2. While going around the pond the farmer is to observe that the water does not give bad smell and the colour is not dark blue-green or with bluish green or brownish scum. If the water smell and colour are not good, it is better to remove some old water and let in fresh water if possible, and stop feeding and manuring for sometime, till the water quality improves.

3. Manuring of pond is to be done once every 2–3 months according to the need and abundance of plankton food.

4. Supplementary feeding to the fishes is to be given regularly at a fixed time as far as possible. However, feeding too much will spoil the water quality, it is a waste and is harmful for fish growth

5. It is good to net the pond once in two months or so, remove the marketable fishes, restock same number of fingerlings, if available, and check the general health and growth of the stocked fishes.

6. Harvest most of the market fish when there is a good demand preferably around the Lao New Year (April), and it is good that the quantity of fish is less in the pond when the water level is low during the hot months of the summer season.

7. After removing most of the market fish or dewatering the pond after the culture period, it is the right time to prepare the pond properly for the next stocking with small fishes.

8. When the fishes have attained market size, it is good that the village members organise a proper watch and ward arrangement, however, this is needed throughout the year where fish culture is integrated with livestock production. Also, it is important that proper care is taken of the livestock housing, hygiene and feeding by the village members.

At this point, the extensionist decides to tell the farmers in the afternoon something in more detail about the common fish diseases and the precautions to avoid or control them.

(Afternoon) : Taking care against spread of fish diseases.

The extension worker starts the subject by explaining to the farmer trainees that fish diseases may occur mostly due to mishandling of the fishes and mismanagement of the water quality. This can be checked effectively by the fish farmers by carefully handling the fishes during harvest, packing and transport, always using clean water for transport purposes. It is good to give bath to the baby fishes in dilute acriflavine solution in a basin. The next important care is that the water quality of the pond where the fishes are grown should be good, not polluted. Ofcourse, almost all pond waters will have some population of disease causing agents like bacteria, fungus etc., but if the fishes are not injured during handling, no major problem of fish diseases will occur.

In case fish diseases like virus, bacteria, fungus, etc. are caused by the water entering into the pond, it becomes a more difficult problem to control. In such a situation also, if the pond water is kept well-oxygenated and free from organic pollution, the intensity of the disease is greatly reduced.

The extensionist repeats at this point that it is always better to take precaution than to cure the diseases which are often very difficult and expensive to control.

As a general principle, whenever a diseased fish is located, it should be segregated. If the infection is slight, the diseased fish can be given bath in a solution of common salt potassium permanganate copper sulphate/acriflavine, etc. and later kept in clean water for proper recovery. However, the badly injured fishes are better removed and destroyed. At this stage some of the farmer trainees raise their hands to ask a question that what can happen to them in case they eat a diseased fish by mistake. The question is interesting and the extension worker replies that in general no badly diseased fishes should be consumed, but in case it happens accidentally, one should ensure that the fish is always well cooked for about 10 15 minutes to be on the safe side to avoid any ill effects on the consumers. However, rotten fishes and those cooked improperly are harmful to human beings like any other food commodity. Now the extensionist describes some common fish diseases to the farmers just for their information :-

1. Fungal diseases : These mostly attack the gills and the common disease is “gill rot” which occurs mostly due to bad handling during transport.

2. Bacterial diseases : The common disease is “fin rot” when the fins get affected, and also by the bacteria Aeromonas causing big injuries or ulcers on the body and the tail of the fishes.

3. Protozoan disease : The disease is caused by Ichthyophthirus which causes pimples on the gills, body and fins of the fishes.

4. External parasites : These are mostly the lice (Argulus) which get attached to the body of the fishes.

5. Worms : Two common worms namely, Dactylogyrus and Gyrodactylus get attached to the gills of the fishes and the infected fishes start losing weight.

In the end while summing up this topic, the extension worker explains that quite often two to three types of infections can be seen on the diseased fishes. He however informs the trainees that they can contact him whenever there is incidence of fish disease in their ponds and he shall try to help them by recommending proper methods of treatments.

14th day (Forenoon) : Brief talk on selection of site for constructing new ponds.

The farmers are keen to know something about this new topic and they also have the feeling that this day is the last day of the training programme. Ofcourse, the farmer trainees have the satisfaction that they have received some good knowledge about this new field of fish culture and at the same time some relief that the school-like programme is going to be over. In the midst of this mixed feeling, the extension worker decides to talk in a general and light attitude. He begins by saying that the new fish ponds farms are to be constructed based on the need for these and better after the farmers have properly utilized the existing ponds. The farmers if decide to make new ponds, the site for these has to be carefully chosen and it is better to avoid any competition with agriculture for land. However, good fish ponds will need good land which is fertile (soil not too acidic or alkaline), preferably there is a good source of water for the pond and the soil should retain water properly (not too sandy with seepage loss too high).

The other important point about site selection is that it should not be too far or isolated from the village to avoid any problems of effective supervision, safety and management. Also, the site should have enough land around for any future expansion/construction of new ponds and for growing the fodder fruit crops, etc. Although left out lands unsuitable for agriculture can be utilized for fish culture, but if high production of fish is the aim, fertile land is needed for fish ponds farms. Also, good accessibility to the fish ponds farms is very important by way of having a proper road or wide path so that efficient management of fish culture is possible. The extension worker repeats that good fish ponds have to be provided a proper shape and with inlets and outlets. It is useful to construct a “catch box”, preferably located outside the pond at the outlet to facilitate proper handling of the fishes during harvests. The soil bed of the new ponds has to be properly compacted before filling in water and the slopes of the embankments are preferably gradual to check soil erosion, provide more area for natural food production in the pond and to facilitate fish harvest during netting.

In the end he asks the farmers if they have any questions to ask or doubts to clarify. They reply together that they have now clearly understood the entire subject of aquaculture. They thank the extension worker for his talks and the practical work and feel convinced among themselves that fish culture can get them a good protein diet and extra profits to meet their daily needs.

(Afternoon) : The closing ceremony :

The preparation for the closing ceremony are completed, a covered area and the dias are decorated with flowers, music band of the village cooperative is already arranged, the village Chief with the district Chief, other distinguished guests and the extension worker come to the main platform; the farmers, ladies and children gather to watch the ceremony. The nice smell of good Lao food is filling the atmosphere of the dining room and bottles of the local drink “Lau Lao” are arranged to promote the mood for rejoicing.

Formal thanks giving ceremony is over and the extension worker has already arranged certificates for the farmer trainees. The Chief of the district is requested to chair the function and he explains to the farmers how they can improve their daily diet, particularly for the growing children, and income through fish culture. He distributes the certificates to the farmer trainees who have to act as village extension workers in their respective cooperatives and villages. The sound of clapping fills the air followed by loud laughters during taking food mainly the fish preparations to mark the occasion. Gradually ‘Lau Lao’ has its effect, dancing and music starts and continues till late in the evening.

The extension worker politely takes leave of the distinguished guests, village Chief, trainees and farmers to pack up his things for departure next morning. He feels confident and victorious in his efforts and plans to move to other areas with assured success in his extension work.

He says “Good Bye” to all and completes his THIRD VISIT with the promise for a short FOURTH VISIT to evaluate the results of the fish culture programme at the cooperative.