Bangladesh
Egypt
Ghana
Indonesia
Kenya
Nepal
Nigeria
The Philippines
Sri Lanka
Thailand
During country problems discussions and in response to a prepared questionnaire, all the sixteen trainees described the status of intensive aquaculture in their respective countries and the constraints on its development with particular reference to feed supply and diet development. The current status of aquaculture development in each of the ten countries represented has been the subject of recent FAO regional workshops on aquaculture planning and has been described in programme documents ADCP/REP/75/1 and ADCP/REP/76/2.
All ten countries have extensive bodies of inland and coastal waters where aquaculture can be practised on both an intensive as well as on an extensive scale. Feed constitutes the major input in intensive aquaculture and the success of fish farming depends to a large extent on the provision of adequate quantities of nutritionally adequate feeds in utilizable forms.
The countries represented range from those that have traditional surpluses of good quality feedstuffs supporting thriving domestic livestock industries to countries where such supplies are extremely scarce.
The following are summaries of statements made by trainees concerning each country's prospects for meeting feed requirements for intensive aquaculture:
Intensive fish culture in Bangladesh is hampered by serious shortages of essential feed ingredients. Grains, root crops and tubers are all staple foods and are reserved for human consumption. Conventional feedstuffs such as fish meal and rice bran are in short supply and aggressively sought after by the more established livestock and poultry industries. Due to these shortages and because of the lack of expertise the compound feed industry is underdeveloped. Prospects for early development of artificial diets for intensive fish (primarily carp) culture do not appear bright. Nevertheless.,' research in fish nutrition and feed efficiency studies have been initiated at the Fisheries Technological Research Station at Chandpur aimed at developing fish diets using available feed ingredients.
Egypt is another country where the shortage of experienced personnel and the absence of a well-developed feed processing industry are major constraints on intensive aquaculture. There appears to be an adequate supply of some basic feed ingredients such as rice bran and cottonseed meal that can be used for preparing artificial diets for certain freshwater species. Other feedstuffs available in more limited quantities and also suitable as components of fish diets include wheat bran, fish meal, brewers' grains and slaughter-house waste. The chemical laboratory at the General Egyptian Organization for Aquatic Resources in Nasr City, Cairo, carries out routine water analysis for fish farms and has also initiated fish feed formulation activities. The Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries in Cairo is conducting research on the development of a process for converting sewage sludge to feed suitable for fish and poultry. Digestibility studies on various feed ingredients are also being planned.
The principal food crops in Ghana are cassava, maize and bananas. These are consumed primarily by the human population and there are few other crops which are grown in sufficient quantities for use as livestock feed. The only animal feed mill (part of a large food processing complex) located in Accra is not in operation. As a result there is no feed processing industry in the country. The expanding marine fishery industry may, however, be a potential source of fish meal that can be used for both livestock and fish culture.
Indonesia was a traditional supplier of rice bran and copra meal to neighbouring Southeast Asian countries. With the recent expansion of animal husbandry in the country, however, this surplus is being used up by domestic demand. The country also produces large quantities of cassava, some maize and oil seeds. Fish farmers, operating on relatively small scale, compete with the more established livestock and poultry farmers and the growing number of feed mills for limited supplies of feedstuffs. Given the higher profitability and the traditional consumer preference for fish there is scope for the development of intensive fish culture in the country involving the use of artificial diets, despite a tight feed ingredient supply situation. The UNDP-funded Brackishwater Aquaculture Development Centre in Jepara has a programme for the development of artificial diets for milkfish and shrimp. Problems in Macrobrachium culture, suspected to be nutritional, have recently been encountered at Jepara but have not been identified conclusively. The shrimp appearing to be feeding well on prepared diet had flaccid musculature which did not fill up the exoskeleton. Meat texture was adversely affected although mortality rate was not significantly increased. The Inland Fisheries Research Institute at Bogor performs routine chemical analysis of feedstuffs and feed formulation, and conducts feeding experiments with carp and tilapia. Studies on fish silage as a substitute for fish meal has also been initiated at Bogor.
Maize, millet, cassava and sweet potatoes are the major food crops in Kenya. They are also staple foods for the human population and there is little surplus of these and other crops for animal production. As a result, the livestock feed industry and the associated technology are not well developed. Although trout farming has proven highly profitable due to high demand and limited production the severe shortage of suitable feed ingredients is a serious impediment to progress toward fish culture on an intensive scale.
Nepal is self-sufficient in food cereals and mill by-products such as rice bran and wheat bran, as well as maize meal, are available for fish feeding. Oil seeds are not grown in sufficient quantities in the country and the major protein source for fish diets is imported fish meal. The lack of domestic sources of protein feed has been and will continue to be a major constraint in the development of the feed milling industry. Farmed fish, primarily carp, are currently produced without much supplemental feeding due to low stocking density and because of the absence of suitable artificial diets. The government-operated Hetauda Commercial Fish Farm at Makwanpur is experimenting with supplemental feeding methods using an assortment of locally available feed ingredients. Plan are also being made to install a pellet mill for producing experimental pelleted diets.
The principal food crop in Nigeria is cassava, some of which is used for the feeding of farm animals. Domestic production of food grains include sorghum, millet, maize and rice, practically all of which are for human consumption. Vegetable protein sources available for animal feeding include groundnut, cottonseed and palm kernel cakes. Supplies of oil seed cakes are limited, however, and their availability for domestic use is further affected by their being traditional export commodities. Nigeria does not have a traditional base in fish farming and current efforts in aquaculture development in the country are confined to experimental fish farms operated by the government. Research in fish nutrition and fish diet development was recently started at the Institute for Oceanography and Marine Research where a laboratory-size pellet mill has recently been installed for the purpose.
Copra meal, maize, rice bran and fish meal are the most important feedstuffs in the Philippines and support a well developed poultry and livestock industry. The feed processing industry is well established and the development of artificial diets for large-scale intensive aquaculture can be initiated with existing expertise in fish nutrition and feed technology. The Philippines hosts the SEAFDEC Aquaculture Department which conducts some research on fish nutrition and diet development.
Copra meal and rice bran are readily available for animal and fish feeding. Locally produced fish meal is available in limited quantities and is the primary protein supplement in feed for farm animals. Diets for carps consist primarily of copra meal and rice bran. Copra meal has been fed alone to carps at the Freshwater Fish Breeding and Experimental Station at Udawalawe with variable results. Plans are being made to improve this feeding regimen by formulating diets with other available ingredients. Despite an undeveloped feed processing industry there is potential for successful development of artificial diets for large-scale intensive fish culture in Sri Lanka.
Thailand is perhaps the only developing country which has a net surplus of high quality feed commodities after domestic demands are met. Traditional fish diets are composed of trash fish, broken rice and rice bran. Other feedstuffs which are available and which can be used for artificial fish diet development include: maize, sorghum, cassava, fish meal, soybean meal, cottonseed meal, peanut cakes, copra cakes and distillery wastes. In view of the abundance of feedstuffs available, the prospects for intensive fish culture are very good in Thailand. The feed processing industry is highly developed and supports a large poultry and livestock industry. Although there is some commercial production of expanded catfish feed, feeding of this species is still predominantly traditional, i.e., mixing trash fish (and more recently, poultry offal) with rice bran and broadcasting the moist mixture into the pond. In recent years, this form of feeding is being suspected by fisheries experts in the country as a possible cause of high mortality in some ponds. Affected fish showed symptoms similar to vitamin C (generally lacking in traditional diets) deficiency observed in catfish in the U.S.A. Work is under way at the National Inland Fisheries Institute at Bangkhen to determine if supplemental vitamin C in traditional diets will eliminate the problem. The Institute also has a programme to study factors affecting feed consumption in catfish; to develop flake feed for aquarium fish; and to determine the type and composition of feed suitable for fish fry and shrimp larvae.
Table 1 lists the major feedstuffs currently used for fish feeding in the ten participating countries.
Table 1
Major Feedstuffs in Selected Countries
|
Feed |
Protein |
Energy | ||
|
Country |
Primary |
Other Sources |
Primary |
Other Sources |
|
Bangladesh |
Fish meal |
Mustard oil cakes, pulses |
Shark liver oil |
Rice bran, molasses |
|
Egypt |
Cottonseed cakes |
Fish meal |
Rice bran |
Wheat bran, wheat middlings, malt |
|
Indonesia |
Fish meal |
Copra cakes, shrimp meal groundnut oil cakes, soybean cakes |
Rice bran |
Maize, cassava, sorghum, molasses |
|
Kenya |
Soybean meal |
Rice bran, meat and bone meal |
Maize, cassava |
Wheat bran, molasses |
|
Nepal |
Fish meal |
Meat and bone meal, mustard oil cakes, pulses |
Maize, rice bran |
Rice bran, wheat bran, molasses |
|
Nigeria |
Groundnut |
Yeast |
Rice bran, cassava |
Millet, molasses |
|
Philippines |
Fish meal |
Copra, maize gluten meal |
Maize, sorghum |
Rice bran, molasses |
|
Sri Lanka |
Fish meal |
Coconut oil meal, palm kernel meal |
Rice bran |
Maize, molasses, cassava |
|
Thailand |
Fish meal |
Soybean meal, cottonseed meal, groundnut oil meal |
Maize, rice, sorghum |
Rice bran, tapioca, molasses |
