8. The Secretariat introduced document CIFA/83/2 which stressed the importance of the small-scale fisheries of inland Africa and emphasized the need for strong and efficient fisheries extension services to maintain their development. It was pointed out that while the total fish capture production in inland Africa was approximately 1.5 million tons per year, the production of aquaculture contributed only a relatively minor fraction of the total. However, in the long term the principal opportunity for increased production lies with aquaculture. Nonetheless, in the short term, important net gains in fish protein production can come both from small percentage increases in fish capture and from reduction of post harvest losses, which are now perhaps 20 percent of the total catch, or 300 000 tons per year. As a consequence, discussion dealt extensively with extension work in aquaculture, fish capture and processing and marketing.
9. Thirteen papers were then presented by participants dealing with various aspects of the operations and problems of aquaculture extension and capture fisheries extension in inland Africa. The papers and discussions identified a number of problem areas and difficulties facing the extension services which could be grouped into four categories, as follows:
Definition of objectives, policy and strategy for the fisheries extension service:
management and enforcement functions are often mixed with development functions of the extension service;
the objectives and possible internal self-contradictions (increased production, equity, lower prices to consumers, higher prices to fishermen, self-reliance, subsidies, etc.) are not always clearly faced and resolved;
too often an extension service exists, but it is notguided in its operations by a realistic integrated fisheries development programme;
when plans are made, they are often done without adequate participation by the local target populations;
higher level fisheries officers are often in need of additional training in methods of integrated development planning for fisheries.
Extension organizational structure and its relation to the extension strategy:
attempts are made, without notable success, to use the same extension structure and officers for both aquaculture and capture fisheries extension, despite their radically different organization of production and the technical knowledge required. A complete, integrated technical production package can usually be offered by an aquaculture extension service, but the nature of capture fisheries production generally precludes this type of approach;
very often extension services remain organized in the isolated “fish warden” type of structure inherited from earlier colonial era enforcement models, but which may not be suitable for development work;
extension services often lack sufficient planning, supervisory, and administrative personnel;
effective interaction and mutual support with the extension services of other governmental agencies (agriculture, community development, health, etc.) are usually lacking;
aquaculture extension services appear to often be reasonably effective, while capture fisheries extension undertaken by individual extension officers appears to have seldom yielded very significant results;
there is a need for training higher level fisheries officers in alternative organizational structures for fisheries extension, especially in conjunction with multidisciplinary extension teams and the use of community fisheries centres;
good two-way channels of communication for identifying what applied research needs to be undertaken, and for applying the results of that research in the field, seldom exist;
some schools which train government fisheries officers do not yet include courses and practical training in extension methods;
too many extension services are organized in such a manner that underpaid field officers are outposted to remote locations and then virtually forgotten in terms of possibilities for further training, responsibility, and promotion. Often even good men thus get discouraged and quit;
clear job descriptions, based on development needs and local reality, are often lacking;
very few extension services presently include the various multi-disciplinary specialists (aquaculture production, fish capture, socio-cultural aspects, economics, processing, marketing, participatory planning) who are needed to plan and carry out an effective rural development programme.
Setting up and support for the extension service-recruitment, training and logistical support;
it is difficult to choose the right people for extension work, even with examinations and interviews, before seing their performance under field conditions.
secondments from paramilitary agencies (forestry, etc.) do not seem to be suitable for technical extension work at the grass root level;
many fisheries departments seem to be in a quandary with respect to what types and duration of training are required for their extension service, and where the training can be obtained. This applies to all levels: village cooperant, extension generalist, technical extension officer, supervisors, planners and administrators;
frequently the funds needed for equipment, supplies and transportation to effectively utilize extension agents already on the payroll are not adequately budgeted and thus the extension agents cannot work;
facilities and funds for extension field aids (audiovisuals, pamphlets, etc.) are often lacking.
Operation of extension services:
there is often inadequate and not frequent contact between extension agents and their supervisors;
much time is lost by extension agents on monthly trips to the district centre to obtain their salary;
there is a lack of good short-term courses for recycling and upgrading field extension personnel;
programmes of credit and supply for fishermen and fish farmers, a necessary complement to implementation of the techniques transferred through extension, are often lacking;
adequate evaluation and periodic participatory revision of the development programme being implemented by the extension service is seldom undertaken;
inadequate two-way communication between extension agents and the local target population remains one of the biggest obstacles to effective extension work.
Recommendations
10. Possible actions which can be undertaken to deal with the problems identified above include the following:
Responsible government agencies should review their fisheries development programmes to be sure that the objectives, official policy, and planning procedures for fisheries development and management are clear, not self-contradictory and in reasonable agreement with objective reality, especially with respect to the operation of extension services;
Where these do not already exist, responsible government agencies should evolve, using their extension services, integrated small-scale fisheries and aquaculture development plans, with maximum feasible participation by the local target population concerned;
Since the organization of production and the required technical knowledge base are so different in aquaculture from that needed in fish capture, there are strong arguments for having extension workers specialized in either aquaculture or capture fisheries;
In most circumstances the extension officers would be seriously impeded in their development work if they are also given enforcement and statistics collection duties. Therefore serious consideration must be given to the possibility of having enforcement and statistical collection duties undertaken by personnel other than those of the extension service;
In order to assist governments in concentrating available funds on the logistical support essential to the effective operation of their extension services, consideration should be given to making some presently government-supported functions self-financing. Possibilities include fish hatcheries, ice plants and fishing gear supply;
Careful attention must be given to improving the employment situation of rural extension officers, in terms of career opportunities, logistical support, timely payment of salaries and adequate supervisory attention;
Training and practical experience in the effective use of extension methods should be included in the curriculum of national fisheries or other technical schools. In many cases this will require additional training in both extension methods and teaching methods for the instructors charged with delivering the extension part of the curriculum. This aspect can often be undertaken by a national project for establishing or upgrading fishery extension services;
Some of the training needs of West African upper-level fisheries officers, extension service officers and instructors in extension methods, participatory planning, and the operation, supervision and evaluation of extension service work, should be met by intensive short courses and practical attachments offered through the new FAO/DANIDA/Norway Programme for the Integrated Development of Small-Scale Fisheries in West Africa to be based in Benin. Similar assistance is required for East and Central Africa;
A need has been identified for coordination and mutual support among the countries of the region in the preparation, production and distribution of printed matter, audio-visual aids and other instructional materials required by the fisheries extension services. Such coordination could be carried out by the FAO/DANIDA/Norway Project for West Africa, and by a similar project in East Africa, provided one can be established;
Every effort should be made to establish for East Africa a regional project patterned on the model of the FAO/DANIDA/Norway West African Programme which can offer not only the training assistance, but also the assistance in project identification, participatory planning and backstopping to associated national projects in the region.
