Annex VIII
General Overview of Aquaculture in Ruvuma Region
Report of Preparatory Workshop in Songea¹⁸

(27 – 29 August, 1992)

A preparatory workshop was held in Songea between 27 and 29 August, 1992. It was attended by 31 fisheries officers in Ruvuma region, staff of the Fisheries Division from Dar es Salaam and FAO staff from ALCOM. The following is the summary of group discussions held during the workshop on the review of aquaculture in the districts: Songea urban and rural, Mbinga and Tunduru.

1. Aquaculture in Ruvuma region

Aquaculture was first introduced in the region during the 1960s. A pond census was conducted in 1988; the number of ponds in the region was estimated to be between 3,000 and 5,000, of which 30 % were not operating. According to the estimate made by the Regional Fisheries Office, total production during the period 1987–1991 ranges between 11 and 15 tonnes.

2. Songea District (Urban and Rural)

2.1 Geophysical characteristics

Songea district lies in the centre of Ruvuma region with an altitude between 900 to 1,500 metres above sea level. In most parts of Songea district, brown loams, black clay and brown sandy soils are found. Ferrasoil is found in some parts of the district, which has a high content of iron and aluminium oxides but lacks nitrogen and potassium and offers poor fertility. The average PH of the soil in Songea is reported at 4.8.

The district has a reliable rainfall of about 1,200 mm per year. Rainfall is concentrated during the period November to May. The dry season occurs between June and October. The average day time temperature is 20–25°C and the night time temperature 11–17°C.

There are 22 wards and 122 villages in the district. Six fisheries assistants and six assistant fisheries officers are assigned to Songea rural and Songea urban districts. Three fisheries assistants are stationed in Hanga, Mpitimbi and Namtumbo, and the others are in Songea urban town.

¹⁸ This report was compiled on the basis of a draft prepared by Mr. Chingumbe and Ms. Ersdal.

2.2 Agriculture

Major cash crops are maize, tobacco, coffee and sunflower. Major food crops include maize, rice, beans, groundnuts and cassava. Agriculture is dominated by small holders with an average of 7 acres.

The prevailing farming system is traditional shifting cultivation. Maize is usually cultivated under mono-crop cultivation and sometimes intercropped with sunflower and cassava. Due to the unavailability of fertilizer combined with increased prices of fertilizer, more and more farmers are obliged to cultivate farms far away from their homesteads. The walking distance between home and field is as much as seven miles. Cultivation is done by the use of simple tools such as hand hoe. Crop residues are often burnt and seldom returned to the soil. Animal manure is not commonly applied. Some attempts were made to introduce a nitrogen fixing crop and rotating cultivation, but they are still in the experimental stage.

Household labour is mobilized for agricultural activities. The system of mutual help, “Ushirika”, is used during the peak period of planting, weeding and harvesting. Demand for agricultural labour is the highest from November to May.

2.3 Aquaculture

T. melanopleura and T. Ruvumae were introduced in the district. Because of their rapid reproduction cycle, ponds tend to get quickly over-populated. Consequently, fish attain their maturity stage quickly and get stunted. Fast growing O. niloticus was introduced recently.

Most fish farming units are family-owned. Household members are engaged in all aspects of pond operation: cleaning of ponds, feeding, fertilizing and harvesting. A daily checking of water, though recommended by fisheries officers, is not practised and fertilizer is seldom applied. Calcium carbonate (CaCo3) is recommended to ponds with acidic soil.

Fish from the ponds are sold fresh at the pond site. The price of tilapia species ranges from 40 T.sh to 100 T.sh per fish (farm gate price at pond side). Fresh fish can fetch a higher price at the market, since there are hardly any fresh fish available from lakes or small water bodies.

2.4 Problems

1. There is no reliable transport. Result: extension visits are sporadic. This makes distribution of fingerlings to farmers very difficult, and their interest flags.

2. Lack of specialised training in aquaculture for extension agents.

3. There is no reliable fish farming centre which can serve as a demonstration unit and supply good-quality fingerlings to fish farmers.

4. Lack of technical equipment for measuring and weighing fish

5. Lack of regular seminars, short courses and study tours for the fisheries extension staff and fish farmers.

3. Mbinga district

3.1 Geophysical characteristics

Mbinga is located in the west of Songea bordering Lake Nyasa. Most areas in Mbinga lie 900 to 1,350m above sea level; part of the highland reaches over 2,000m above sea level. The district has a high rainfall. The annual average rainfall is in the range of 1,200 to 1,500 mm. Average temperature ranges from 13°C in the highland to 30°C in the lake shore. The district covers 11,296 km² of which 3,000 km² is Lake Nyasa; 1,132 square km is under cultivation.

The district is divided into 32 wards and 116 villages, of which eight wards and 29 villages are along the lake shore. There are 20 fisheries assistants and 10 assistant fisheries officers. Four fisheries assistants are stationed in Rwanda, Makako, Litembo and Kingoli.

The district has a total of 1,331km of roads including 176km of main road (being paved), 198km of regional road, 937 km of village road and 20 km of town road. Most of these roads become impassable during the rainy season.

3.2 Agriculture

Coffee is the major crop cultivated in the highlands. In the lowlands, maize, cassava, beans, wheat, rice and tobacco are widely cultivated. Coffee and tobacco are major cash crops. According to the recent livestock survey, there are some 191,000 livestock in the district: 41,000 cattle, 93,000 goats, 15,000 sheep and 41,700 pigs.

Cultivation is done by both men and women using hand hoes. In addition, women are responsible for weeding, harvesting and clearing the fields. Most of the cultivation is done during the rainy season, while during the dry season most people are busy rehabilitating their houses, building new ones, making and collecting grass for houses. Coffee growers pick coffee during the dry season.

Table 1 :Seasonal Variation Of Agricultural Tasks In Mbinga District

PR: preparation,
PL: planting,
HA: Harvesting,
w: women,
m: men

3.3 Aquaculture

Most ponds in Mbinga are stocked with T. mwanza. Maize chaff, wheat chaff, grass and vegetable leaves are used for feeding fish. Animal dung and grass are also applied. Beach seines are used for batch harvest and handline for intermittent harvest. Hand hoes, spades and earth pans are used for constructing of ponds.

Fish farmers in the district tend to be the old and the poor who can pursue few other economic activities. They are often small-scale subsistence farmers who cultivate mainly maize.

Fish from batch harvest are sold on the pond side. Fish are sold in exchange for cash or bartered with commodities such as oil, sugar, salt etc. Fresh fish from ponds are preferred to processed fish from the lake.

3.4 Problems identified by fisheries officers:

1. Lack of transport facilities for fish culture extensionist. Inadequate technical support is provided to farmers as it is difficult to reach them when required.

2. Lack of material and financial support; consequently, farmers construct ponds of very small size leading to low harvests.

3. Lack of genuine fingerlings of proper species.

4. Predation by animals (otters), birds, frogs and snakes due to poor upkeep of fish pond surroundings.

5. Extensionists and fish farmers are not well trained. They have not had the benefit of very many seminars, study tours or training courses.

4. Tunduru district

4.1 Geophysical characteristics

Tunduru district is situated in the eastern side of Songea district, and is 272 km away from Songea town. Tunduru town is a drive of 8 to 10 hours from Songea. During the rainy season, some parts of the road become impassable.

The Ruvuma river flows into the southern part of the district bordering Mozambique. There are five important rivers for fish farming in the district: Masoya, Naluwale, Nanjoka, Mlingoti and Mhuwesi. Masonya river joins with Nanjoka river, which again joins with Naluwale. Naluwale River joins Mlingoti which leads to Muhuwesi river which flows into the Indian Ocean.

4.2 Agriculture

Major crops cultivated in the district include maize, cassava, rice, millet, cashewnut, groundnuts and beans. Average agricultural land holding for cereal production is lower in Tunduru (less than 5 acres) than in other districts (more than 7 acres) (Sangana, 1988).

Preparation of land is done by both men and women. Harvesting of maize, weeding of rice fields, and harvesting and processing of cassava is done mainly by women. Processing of cassava and weeding of rice is considered a heavy workload for women. Cultivation of groundnuts is considered to be a women's activity. Cooperative labour (“ushirika”) is commonly organized for weeding of maize fields.

Table 2: Agriculture calendar for Tunduru District.

PR: preparation,
SA: sawing,
SP: spraying,
FE: fertilizing,
WE: weeding,
HA: Harvesting,
MA: marketing,
w: women,
m: men,
a: all family,
u: ushirika

Comments: Harvesting of maize takes 2 days - 2.3 weeks. Weeding of rice fields is regarded as heavy work.

4.3 Aquaculture

Pond construction is carried out during the dry season. It is considered to be easy to dig soil during the dry season, and farmers, particularly male farmers, have more time. Hoes and spades are used for digging ponds. Few use wheel barrows.

During the rainy season, ponds are often not fed -- both because of lack of time owing to heavy work in the farm, and lack of feeding materials.

Recently a number of ponds have been abandoned. Major reasons: damage by theft and predation by otters.

4.4 Problems

1. Lack of improved fingerlings. Funds for running government ponds are no longer available, so government ponds are not active. Farmers have to buy fingerlings at higher prices.

2. Predation by otters.

3. The soil lacks natural nutrients because of its sandy nature, so the yield is not high without sufficient fertilization.

4. Theft discourages fish farmers.

5. Extension agents are unable to pay frequent visits to farmers because of lack of transport in the district as well as poor working conditions.

6. Lack of proper training for fisheries staff and fish farmers in the form of seminars, study tours and short courses aimed to develop the aquaculture industry.