The creation of active Tilapia fingerling producers has the following advantages:
The establishment of widespread sources of fingerlings where farmers can regularly purchase fish knowing when, where, and how much they cost.
Increased income generation for fish farmers in fingerling production.
Teach farmers better management techniques: there should be a multiplier effect of increased management capabilities transferred from the fingerling production ponds to grow-out ponds.
Widespread availability of Tilapia fingerlings at a reasonable cost should boost the overall number of fish farmers and ponds in the region, with the consequent increase in the food supply to the community.
The eventual introduction all-male Tilapia culture.
The eventual introduction of faster growing strains of Tilapia through control of the broodstock.
At this point, one can ascertain some of the problems that will arise in the development of rural Tilapia fingerling production, both in Migori district and the whole of Western Kenya. The producer is likely to have a surplus of fingerlings at some times, a shortage at others. Transport of the fingerlings will be a problem if any distance is to be covered. The following steps, in chronological order, should be followed.
Initially, very few farmers should be approached to begin Tilapia fingerling production. The initial consideration is the potential market: these farmers must be located in an area where there are already a large number (50+) of active fish farmers. Secondly, these potential producers must have at least 4 or 5 ponds, 2 of which would be available for fingerling production. Finally, they must be active, not passive, in their fish farming activities, willing to listen to advice, and willing to try a new venture.
The project staff should determine, through actual field experiments, the interaction of the parameters of time, temperature, numbers, total weight of fingerlings, fingerling size, water volume, container design, etc. on the transport of Tilapia fingerlings on bicycle, public transport, or similar means.
In addition to formal training, the core producers need to be actively supported at their own farms, even on a weekly basis, by qualified extension staff. This is crucial, the mistake made previously where farmers were simply trained at a central location and no follow-up support was given has proved somewhat of a failure.
Intensification of production requires a lot of assistance from qualified project personnel. The farmers will undoubtedly begin with lower than possible production levels, and this can be increased over time as the farmer becomes more and more adapt at the process of producing fingerlings. This again requires further transfer of information and technology, which should be done at the particular farm.
The project needs to support the Tilapia fingerling producers by helping them obtain the necessary equipment (nets, transport cans, etc.) needed in the operation. Support is also needed in publicity; the project should actively assist the producer to meet his potential clients, either through meetings, field days, or other activities.
Initially, considerable assistance will be needed when the farmers began to transport fish from one farm to another. It would be advisable that project staff assist (not do it for them) in the early stages and continue until the farmer is willing and capable of doing it on his own.
After the fingerling producer has been established and is actively producing mixed sex Tilapia fingerlings and actively selling them, the idea of all male, sexed fingerlings should be introduced. This will require more equipment such as holding pens, dip nets, and more containers, and the farmer will need to be competent in selecting the males and discarding the females.
The production of Tilapia fingerlings is a chain of events including spawning, incubation, release of fry, initial feeding on zooplankton, growth to 500 mg, seining, transfer to a fingerling pond, rearing to 15 – 29 g, and removal for stocking or sale. If any one of these links in the chain is broken, the whole system slows down and may even collapse, resulting in far lower production than possible. Seining of fry at a bi-weekly interval should continue in spite of the lack of orders; if this is interrupted the next 2 or 3 seining will yield far less fish.
If the production chain is managed properly, there will be occasions when there are excess fingerlings. If all male fingerlings are sold, then there is the question of what to do with the small females that are left.
There are two options. The farmer can simply eat the excess female fingerlings, however it is not now common practice to consume such small fish. Appropriate cooking techniques for such small fish can be demonstrated.
The other option is to use the small female fingerlings as a protein source for other fish on the farm. The farmer could have a separate pond, well apart from the fingerling production ponds, stocked with clarias. The small females and excess fingerlings can be put in this pond as a food source for the catfish, or the small fish can be dried in the sun and ground up and fed to the tilapia.
The goal of the project is to establish private, independent, economically viable fingerling producers. The project can not, and should not, continually support him; he must eventually be able to produce and market his own wares.
The fingerling producer will, by nature of his training and experience, be far more knowledgeable about fish farming than many of his customers. The fingerling producer should then be able to advise his clients, the rural fish farmers, on better rearing techniques, such as all male culture or polyculture with catfish, and at the same time sell his produce.
