3.1 Extension services in the region
3.2 Training of extension agents
3.3 Seed production facilities in the region
3.4 Manufacture of feed and fertilizers in the region
3.5 Manufacture of equipment for the industry
3.6 Other services for the industry
3.7 Local credit programmes
3.8 Trade publications for producers
3.9 Technical assistance projects in the sector
Local infrastructure for aquaculture development, and to support the primary beneficiaries, is limited in the region.
In the context of extension services their organization and efficiency in most of the countries in the region are similar. Aquaculture and capture fisheries are placed in a single administration, usually the Department of Fisheries, which is within the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development, or Animal Production.
In Côte d'Ivoire and Gabon a distinction is made between freshwater and brackishwater aquaculture. In Côte d'Ivoire freshwater aquaculture (pisciculture) is in the Ministry of Waters and Forests, and brackishwater aquaculture in the Ministry of Animal Production. In Gabon both sections are in the Ministry of Waters and Forests but in different Departments. Brackishwater aquaculture is in the Department of Marine Fisheries and freshwater aquaculture is in the Department of Inland Fisheries.
The organization of extension services in the region is normally hierarchical. Various levels of extension staff are employed, the last being the field worker. As workers in the broader administrations of fisheries, forestry, or wild life, extension workers may exercise parallel repressive functions. For example, in Benin and Gabon they also police as game or forest wardens; in Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria they enforce fisheries regulations. Only in a few countries, particularly in Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Madagascar, Sudan, and Zimbabwe, is a distinction made between aquaculture and fisheries extension.
Throughout the region extension services suffer from lack of funds. This is reflected in inadequate access to transport and equipment, the lack of extension materials, and with agents simultaneously performing other duties.
Most extension services in the region are overstaffed relative to their present needs. For example, Kenya has over 1 000 agents, followed by Nigeria (over 1 000), Tanzania (946), Malawi (172), Ghana (160), and Cameroon (150). This may be due to a concentration on the Training and Visit (T and V) System as the method to provide training and advice to farmers on their own farms.
Unfortunately, due to the stratification of extension services staff, most of the work in the field is being undertaken by personnel with little training themselves. In CAR, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, and Madagascar, extension agents are recruited and trained on the job. On the job training is appropriate when facilities exist and are operational, and also where senior staff or colleagues have the possibilities to perform their duties. At present, in many countries of the region, these conditions are lacking or are inadequate.
Extension agents, particularly field workers, have limited opportunities for career advancement. This is due to the lack of training institutions in many countries and to the lack of basic qualifications to pursue training outside the country. Even those who have the opportunity to train externally, such as the trainees of the UNDP/FAO project at ARAC, fail to further their career advancement because of a lack of follow-up by the institutions concerned; for example, the failure to issue the trainees with transcripts of their results, and diplomas or certificates of qualification.
In the region as a whole, the T and V is the most widely used extension method. However, demonstrations by "model farmers" and at aquaculture stations are also used in CAR, Côte d'Ivoire, Kenya, and Zambia. The transfer of advice through manuals, leaflets, visual aids, etc., has often been overlooked. Where they have been developed, as in CAR, Côte d'Ivoire, Madagascar, and Zambia, they have been of high quality. A number of countries (Cameroon, CAR, Kenya, Madagascar, Nigeria, and Tanzania) have produced booklets, sometimes in the local language, explaining fish culture principles and extension techniques.
Three levels of core personnel required for aquaculture have been identified as senior aquaculturists, technicians, and extension workers by UNDP and FAO. However, in many countries in the region, all three levels of trained personnel are lacking. In cases where senior aquaculturists exist their efficiency and work performance as supervisors of extension workers, who include technicians as well, are constrained by insufficient managerial and technical experience due to minimum exposure to the industry.
Vocational training, (practical training of farmers and technicians), which is probably the kind of training which is most urgently needed in the region, can be obtained from at least 10 institutions. These are:
|
Cameroon |
Foumban Training Centre |
|
Côte d'Ivoire |
The UNDP/FAO Rural Aquaculture Development Project |
|
Kenya |
Baobab Farms Ltd., Mombasa |
|
|
Naivasha Wildlife and Fisheries Training Institute |
|
|
Limuru Girls School, Nairobi |
|
Madagascar |
Ambatolampy Fish Culture Station |
|
|
National Centre for Oceanographic Research, Nosy-Be |
|
Nigeria |
Demonstration and Training Centres at Ibadan, Umuna-Okigwe (Owerri), Mando (Kaduna) and New Bussa |
|
Sierra Leone |
Makali Fish Culture Station |
|
Zimbabwe |
Various farmers training centres |
Specialized institutions for the training of technicians in aquaculture are available in Cameroon (Centre de Formation Aquacole) and in Côte d'Ivoire (Centre de Formation Piscicole). The school at Bouaké was created in 1966 by the Centre Technique Forestier Tropical (CTFT) to cater for the needs of francophone African countries. The Centre was transferred to the Government of Côte d'Ivoire in 1984. The Centre at Foumban is the product of a UNDP/FAO fish culture project which dates back to 1969-75. Initially it trained only low-level extension workers. In 1986 it was upgraded as a National Training Centre comparable to agriculture, forestry, and livestock institutions which train low-level and mid-level personnel. Both centres lack qualified staff as well as sufficient and appropriate didactic materials.
At least seven other countries in the region have fisheries training institutions, or have used facilities of other local institutions (agriculture, forestry, etc.) to provide mid-level courses of short duration in aquaculture for their personnel. Some of these countries and the corresponding institutions are:
|
Kenya: |
The Naivasha Wildlife and Fisheries Training Institute |
|
CAR: |
Collège Technique d'Agriculture, Grimari |
|
Côte d'Ivoire: |
Ecole des Pêches de Kossou as well as 6 agricultural, animal production and forestry training centres |
|
Nigeria: |
Federal Fisheries School, Lagos, plus several agriculture and livestock schools |
|
Madagascar: |
Ecole d'Application des Sciences et Techniques Agricoles at Antananarivo and Mahajanga |
|
Tanzania: |
Nyegezi Freshwater Institute, Nwanza |
|
Zimbabwe: |
Farmers Training Colleges |
Many of these institutions have aquaculture components as appendages to their programmes.
Training in aquaculture skills is provided through short-term training courses organized for technicians and low-level extension workers. FAO has organized such training in CAR, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Kenya, Madagascar, and Zambia as part of UNDP/FAO projects in these countries. According to FAO about eleven countries in the region provide such training.
Specialized in-region or in-country training courses are also provided through bilateral or international arrangements. In 1987, the Commonwealth Secretariat ran a 6-week fish culture course in Ghana for 20 technical officers. It also ran a Workshop on Aquaculture for Commonwealth Countries in the region in 1985 at Freetown, Sierra Leone. FAO organized a one-month aquaculture extension course for 18 participants from 14 French speaking countries in Côte d'Ivoire in 1987.
In 1987-88 FAO, in collaboration with the Government of Hungary, organized three training courses in hatchery management, farm management» and feeds and feeding in Hungary. Each lasted for 3 months and 17 aquaculturists from 6 countries in Africa participated.
Many rural freshwater farmers and all brackishwater farmers are dependent on government support for fish seed (fingerlings). Throughout the region many fish breeding centres, which were originally built in the 1950s, are in a state of disrepair due to the lack of maintenance. Consequently there are shortages of fish seed, even of the tilapias which require the simplest of hatchery technology.
All the countries in the region have fish breeding centres, ostensibly to produce fingerlings and particularly for the tilapias. There are about 237 (422 ha) fish breeding centres in the region. However, due to lack of funds for operation and maintenance, and adequately trained management, the production from many centres is extremely low. In some countries such as Côte d'Ivoire, CAR, Kenya, Malawi, Madagascar, and Zambia, some rural farmers are producing their own tilapia fingerlings. Large-scale farmers in Zambia and Nigeria produce their own fingerlings of tilapias, and occasionally carps.
Hatcheries are an innovation in the region and there are no more than 15. There are hatcheries for the production of Clarias gariepinus in Cameroon, CAR, Côte d'Ivoire, and Nigeria (at ARAC), but only those in CAR and Côte d'Ivoire are currently operating. Lesotho and Madagascar have carp hatcheries. Trout hatcheries exist in Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe for the hatching of eyed-eggs imported from Denmark in the case of Kenya, and from South Africa for Lesotho and Swaziland. There are trout hatcheries in South Africa. An experimental semi-commercial hatchery for the production of Chrysichthys sp. is operated by the Centre de Recherche Océanographiques (CRO) in Côte d'Ivoire. This hatchery supplies fingerlings of C. nigrodigitatus and T. melanotheron for cage culture in the lagoons. Mauritius and Zimbabwe have hatcheries for prawns, while Kenya has a shrimp hatchery at Malindi. There are no organized fish seed collectors in the region, except in Madagascar.
The main species produced in hatcheries, and the major producers for each species, are the Tilapia spp. (Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Kenya, and Niger); C. gariepinus (CAR and Côte d'Ivoire); Chrysichthys spp. (Côte d'Ivoire); common carp (Lesotho and Madagascar); trout spp. (Kenya, Madagascar, and Zimbabwe); marine shrimps (Kenya and Senegal); freshwater prawns (Mauritius and Zimbabwe).
In 1987 the Clarias gariepinus hatchery at Loka, Côte d'Ivoire, produced 138 000 fingerlings, while the CRO hatchery at Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire produced 1 800 000 Chrysichthys and 140 000 S. melanotheron fingerlings. In the same year, the UNDP/FAO freshwater rural fish farming project in Côte d'Ivoire produced about 4 million fingerlings of Oreochromis niloticus, and the UNDP/FAO project in Madagascar produced 700 000 common carp fingerlings. The total number of fingerlings produced in the region is not known.
Two major factors influence the cost of fish seed in the region. These are the high cost of production from government breeding centres and insufficient supply. In general fish seed prices are subsidized by governments as they are produced at public facilities, but the cost remains high and constitute a major operating cost for aquaculture development in the region. Indicative prices for tilapia from three countries are CFA.F. 15 per piece in Côte d'Ivoire, and Naira 0.25 per piece in Nigeria. For C. gariepinus the price is CFA.F. 50 in Côte d'Ivoire, and Naira 0.45 in Nigeria. For common carp fingerlings in Madagascar the price is F.MG. 20 per piece.
Small and medium-scale animal feed manufacturers exist in many countries of the region. However, owing to limited demand and the high cost of agricultural by-products which make up the components of fish feed, the feed industry to support the aquaculture sector has not developed in the region. Some large-scale farmers in Kenya and Nigeria have attempted to use poultry feeds but gave up after a few trials owing to their unsuitability and high costs.
Trout pellets are available in Kenya, and a high protein content (over 35%) pellet is used by Chrysichthys and T. nilotica cage culture farmers in Côte d'Ivoire. In both cases these are obtained through special arrangements with local animal feed manufacturers. The cost of producing one tonne of fish feed with a 25% protein content in Nigeria is about Naira 1 500, whereas a tonne of fish sells for Naira 6 000. The conversion ratio of this feed is said to be 2.5:1. Large scale aquaculture producers in Nigeria and Zambia produce their own feeds, or import them, as in Congo.
For the rural farmer growing tilapia, fish feed is not a constraint at the moment. However, as aquaculture develops and more intensive practices are adopted, the search for less expensive feeds may become necessary. The UNDP/FAO project in Côte d'Ivoire has developed, and is marketing at subisidized prices (CFA.F. 42/kg compared with about CFA.F. 110/kg cost price), a composite feed named "3A" to "progressive farmers" in the project area.
Kenya produces small quantities of fertilizers but attempts to set up fertilizer production plants in other countries, such as Cameroon, have met with little success. In general fertilizers are imported for agricultural use, but currently are in short supply. Priority for their use is given to arable farming.
Although artificial resources are not absolutely necessary for aquaculture production in the region, the alternatives, such as improved composting techniques and better pond management, require further applied research and introduction through trained extension workers.
A number of relevant industries and services support the aquaculture sector in many countries of the region. For example, most countries have engineers for the design and construction of cages and ponds under the guidance of experienced aquaculturists trained in pond construction techniques. There are also light engineering companies and government departments (such as Farm Engineering) to support the manufacture of basic tools, tanks, pipes, grain hullers, and grinders. Asbestos pipes are manufactured in Ghana and Nigeria, and steel pipes in Kenya and other countries. Cameroon is the headquarters of the association of French Speaking Farm Machinery Engineers and produces maize and rice hullers and grinders. This equipment is also produced in Kenya, Madagascar, and Nigeria. Two fish net factories exist in Nigeria but are not operating.
A number of countries, such as Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, and Senegal, have subsidized fishing equipment in the past, but these subsidies have been removed or the amounts substantially reduced.
Consultants in the broad field of aquaculture are found in Ghana (Adumua-Bossman Fisheries and Aquaculture Consultants, Ashanti), in Kenya (Baobab Tilapia Farm, Mombasa), and in Nigeria (Okorie Fisheries Consultants, Enugu). A number of universities and research institutes also have qualified staff in the broad field of aquaculture and provide support to the industry.
Credit lines for aquaculture projects exist in some agricultural development banks and commercial banks in the region. In Nigeria, by a directive of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in 1977, commercial banks are required to lend not less than 15% of their total of loans or advances to agriculture, including aquaculture but not necessarily capture fisheries. However, in Nigeria as in many other countries in the region few people have obtained loans from conventional lending sources because they do not have collateral as, typically, they do not own land or have rights to water.
The mechanics of obtaining credit are difficult and interest rates are high. In Ghana the interest rate on aquaculture and rural development loans is 23.5%, plus 1% service charge. In Madagascar the interest rate is 17%.
Many farmers are not able to prepare viable and bankable dossiers, and local banks do not have adequate expertise to evaluate loans in the sector. In some cases, due to the weakness of the extension services, farmers are unaware of the existence of credit facilities.
Throughout the region the sector has been unable to prove its economic viability and is plagued with insufficient seed supply, inadequate management, and lack of technical support. Banks are sceptical that repayments will be made as planned. So far, the rate of repayment on loans made to individuals for aquaculture through cooperatives or to government institutions in some countries in the region (such as CAR, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, and Nigeria), has been low.
As the loan requirements of small-scale farmers are relatively low, they usually obtain loans from their various meeting groups. A socio-economic survey of rural fish farmers in Cameroon, for example, indicated that of the farmers who had obtained loans for their operations less than 6% got them from the local agricultural or commercial banks, 16% obtained their loans from friends and relatives, while about 79% obtained credit from meeting groups. The rate of repayment on loans from meeting groups was 80% compared with less than 30% for those from conventional sources.
In Côte d'Ivoire eleven farming groups practising cage culture in the lagoons are financially supported by the French organization SEPIA, but very little information on the arrangement is available.
The total volume of loans made so far in the region is not known. However, loans which have been made to individuals in Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria, and to GVC and the Natio Kobadara fish farm in Côte d'Ivoire, have been substantial, ranging from US$ 10 000 to 40 000 equivalent.
There are no trade publications specifically for producers published within the region. Technical information is periodically available in INFOPECHE Marketing Digest published six times yearly, which has articles on aquaculture practices both within and outside the region (see 1.6). In Nigeria, the Fisheries Society of Nigeria (FISON) produced a book on fish culture practices targeted at farmers and extension agents and their annual publication includes advertisements from aquaculture service companies.
There are many foreign trade publications which include an international section. These are not readily available in Africa, and their information is not immediately relevant, but they are a source of technical information for producers (and others) in the region. These include Fish Farming International (UK), Fish Farmer (UK), Aquaculture Magazine (USA). Aquaculture Digest (USA), Progressive Fish Culturist (USA), Water Farming Journal (USA). These are obtainable through subscription.
A number of other publications often contain relevant information to producers as well as professionals. These include the Quarterly Newsletter of the European Aquaculture Society (Belgium), which is obtainable through membership of the Society (see 4.6), as well as the publications of the World Aquaculture Society (USA) and the American Fisheries Society (USA).
There are two Trade Directories of aquaculture products (Buyers Guides) which are published at regular intervals. One is available through subscription to Aquaculture Magazine (USA), and the other through the European Aquaculture Society (Belgium).
Technical assistance projects in the sub-sector of local infrastructure are invariably divided into two types, namely those which have components of extension and those which have components of credit.
In the context of extension services, UNDP is providing support to CAR for freshwater fish farming and extension, to Côte d'Ivoire for freshwater fish production in rural areas, extension and training, to Kenya for small-scale farming in the Lake Basin for fish production, extension and training, and to Mali for small-scale and integrated farming.
The European Development Fund supports projects in Benin, Burkina Faso, and Malawi which have major components of extension. FAO, through its Technical Cooperation Programme, supports short-term activities in Burkina Faso for the management of fish farming and extension. The Swedish International Development Authority (SIDA) is funding a major extension-oriented project in the Southern African Development Coordination Conference (SADCC) region (see Section 6.4). Other technical assistance projects related to training in extension techniques and skills are detailed in section 3.2.
GTZ supports projects in Benin, Burkina Faso, Liberia, and Malawi for extension, and the latter two projects have components of financing. NORAD supports a project in Zambia with extension for integrated farming and tilapia production.
FAO has commissioned studies on the possibilities of introducing a component of aquaculture credit in the projects it executes in Côte d'Ivoire, Madagascar, and Zambia, and presently technical assistance projects in CAR and Guinea (see 2.2 above) are dealing with credit.
