The 5th Steering Committee Meeting of ALCOM was held at club Makokola, Mangochi, in Malawi on 11–14th February 1992. The meeting was attended by representatives from Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Mozambique, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Belgium, Sweden, FAO headquarters in Rome, the SADCC Coordinating Unit for Fisheries and ICLARM Africa Aquaculture Project. The list of participants is set out in Appendix 1.
Mr. B.J. Mkoko, Chief Fisheries Officer, Malawi, welcomed the Honourable Minister, Dr. E. Y. Sambo, the FAO Representative to Malawi, Mr. G. K. Mburathi, and other participants, to Mangochi and thanked them for attending the opening ceremony.
Mr. M. Ngwenya, the outgoing Chairman of ALCOM's Steering Committee, also thanked the Honourable Minister and other invited guests for attending the meeting and drew their attention to the orientation and approach of ALCOM and the role of the Committee in reviewing progress and deciding on the work plan. He expressed ALCOM's gratitude to the Government of Malawi for hosting the meeting and for the excellent facilities made available for the benefit of the meeting.
Mr. G. K. Mburathi, FAO Representative in Malawi, welcomed the participants on behalf of Dr. Edouard Saouma, Director General of FAO. He expressed gratitude to the Honourable Minister, Dr. E. Y. Sambo, for taking time to grace the meeting with his presence. He drew the meeting's attention to the character of ALCOM being a programme for testing and demonstration of technologies in aquaculture and fisheries in small reservoirs. He pointed out that ALCOM is a SADCC project and thus functions in a well established organization for regional cooperation. He was gratified to note that both the collaboration with SADCC and the implementation of projects had been strengthened during the year. This collaboration would ensure that the complementary activities and efficient utilization of funds would benefit the target group, the rural population. He thanked the Government of Malawi for hosting the meeting and for the excellent facilities. He also commended Sweden for its financial and technical support to the Programme. He reiterated FAO's commitment to assist the countries in the region to improve the management of their fisheries and the Organization's readiness to support Malawi in its role as SADCC Sector Coordinator for Fisheries.
The Honourable Dr. E. Y. Sambo, Minister of Forestry and Natural Resources, welcomed the participants, thanking His Excellency the Life President, Ngwazi Dr. H. Kamuzu Banda, for bestowing on him the privilege of addressing the meeting. He expressed his appreciation of the presence of Dr. Y. Kato, Director of Operations, Fisheries Department of FAO. He reiterated the role of ALCOM in the region stating that the pilot projects which are now being implemented are paving the way for the development of aquaculture in the SADCC region. However, he observed that aquaculture was still in its infancy in the region in spite of its physical potential. He mentioned various problems which slow down the progress of aquaculture: inadequate infrastructure and research facilities, lack of trained personnel, communication gaps between scientists and farmers, lack of institutional support and exclusive concentration on biological factors without sufficient attention given to economic, social and cultural factors. Dr. E. Y. Sambo thanked the Swedish Government and the FAO for their support to Malawi, the region and in particular the fisheries sector. He then declared the meeting opened (The speech of the Honourable Dr. E. Y. Sambo, Minister of Forestry and Natural Resources is presented in Appendix 2).
Dr. Y. Kato, Director of Operations, Fisheries Department, FAO expressed his appreciation for the support of the donor, the Steering Committee and the staff of ALCOM who together were responsible for the progress made in the Programme. He commented that ALCOM had expanded and also broadened its activities. Besides the core activities for testing and demonstrating methods and techniques, emphasis was now also being placed on coordination and planning, development support and information dissemination. He also noted that the Programme focused increasingly on strengthening of institutions in the region, and stressed the importance of linking ALCOM activities to national initiatives for aquaculture development. He was confident that Sweden will continue its generous support to ALCOM and informed the meeting that FAO will continue its efforts to seek additional funding for the Programme.
The delegate from Lesotho proposed the election of Malawi as Chairman. The delegates from Zimbabwe and Namibia seconded the proposal. The outgoing Chairman, Mr. M. Ngwenya, welcomed Mr. B. J. Mkoko, chief Fisheries Officer, Department of Fisheries, Malawi to the chair and wished him good luck and a successful meeting.
In accordance with the Terms of Reference for the Steering Committee, Swaziland was appointed Vice Chairman.
Lesotho proposed and Swaziland seconded the adoption of the agenda as presented in document SC/1 (rev. 1) given in Appendix 3
Mr. M. Ngwenya, Vice Chairman, introduced the agenda item (Document No. SC/2). He informed the meeting that all recommendations except the preparation of a set of pilot project documents, had been implemented in a satisfactory manner. The utilization of national and regional expertise had been considerably increased during the year. Links had been strengthened with SADCC institutions, its projects and with other institutions and projects within and outside the region. FAO had continued its efforts to secure adequate funding for the Programme. The recommendation to strengthen the liaison between the chairman and Vice Chairman of the Steering Committee and the Programme Management had been implemented by calling a meeting of a Management Working Group consisting of the chairman, Vice Chairman, the SADCC Sector coordinator for Fisheries, and the ALCOM Programme Director. It was proposed that the group should meet at least once a year to prepare for the Steering Committee Meeting, including a review of the documents to be presented and a review of activities implemented during the year, and to advise on the preparation of the Work Plan and the Programme Management Plan.
The meeting endorsed the suggestion that a Management Working Group should meet at least once a year for the tasks as proposed. This would ensure close liaison and assist the Programme Management in the implementation of the work plan. The Management Working Group would comprise of the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Steering Committee, the SADCC Sector Coordinator (Inland Fisheries), and the ALCOM Programme Director.
The Programme Director presented the Progress Report for 1991 (Document No. SC/3). The year had seen the start of the implementation phase. The Programme had been strengthened with key staff, the Senior Planning Officer and the Information officer, allowing the Programme to address the target areas for its work systematically.
The target area Aquaculture and Farming Systems was addressed in two ongoing projects in Luapula Province, Zambia, and in Swaziland focusing on improved pond management and rehabilitation of homestead ponds. Two projects were prepared, one on carp culture in Mozambique, and the other on intermittent harvesting methods for initiation in Zambia. Close collaboration had been established in Luapula Province, Zambia, with an ODA - funded research project on social, cultural and economic aspects of aquaculture development.
Three projects on the Utilization of Small Water Bodies were ongoing in Botswana, Lesotho and Zambia. These projects had completed the assessment phase and were now focusing on management issues and interventions for increased production. One project had been prepared for Malawi on methods for stock assessment in small reservoirs and three projects had been prepared in Zimbabwe on assessment methods, enhanced fish production in larger reservoirs and community development through exploitation of small reservoirs.
Desk studies were initiated on environmental aspects.
The pilot project on extension in Eastern Province of Zambia, which was started in 1987, was during the last two years successfully taken over by the Department of Fisheries with limited support from ALCOM. A training course for farmers was held in Mozambique and a training course in basic aquaculture for medium level technicians had been held in Angola.
Activities related to gender issues had been initiated with funds from the FAO project “Enhancement of the Role of Women in Inland Fisheries/Aquaculture Development”, funded by Japan.
A pilot project on aquaculture and human nutrition in Luapula Province of Zambia had completed its surveys and training of extension workers and village leaders. The activity was funded by the FAO project “Increasing the Role of Fish and Fisheries in Alleviating Undernutrition”, funded by Norway.
The programme on Development Support had led to proposals for inclusion of aquaculture development projects in Botswana and Mozambique for the UNDP 5th cycle funding.
The Information Service had established a quarterly newsletter and partly overcome the backlog in reporting on ALCOM activities.
The Progress Report is given in Appendix 4.
The delegate from Namibia expressed interest in ALCOM support for training of Government staff and feasibility study for aquaculture. The meeting was informed by the delegate from FAO that an FAO Fisheries Adviser had been appointed to Namibia and that requests for support could also be addressed to and through him.
The meeting sought a clarification on the distinction between a national expert and an internationally recruited expert. The delegate of FAO said that a national expert is employed through a service contract with a lump sum as remuneration. A national expert is not covered by the United Nations pension scheme, nor does he get several other entitlements. As a rule such contracts are for a maximum of one year, renewable once.
The Committee expressed its commitment that the responsibility for the implementation of activities should be increasingly assumed by the countries.
The need for utilizing improved technology in aquaculture was discussed. There was a need to increase the efficiency of present practices, keeping in mind the social and economic constraints facing rural populations. There was also a need to initiate work on the provision of improved quality of seed for fish farming in order to improve the productivity of the sector. Such issues could be addressed within ALCOM, without losing sight of the main focus of the Programme on the target group of poor rural populations.
The Committee noted with satisfaction the progress made during the year.
The proposed Work Plan for 1992 was presented by the Programme Director (Document No. SC/3). The work would follow the same orientations and target areas as earlier. Ongoing and planned projects would be implemented. No new projects were proposed. The Work Plan had been designed with an anticipated budget of USD 1,4 million. Adjustments would be necessary to adapt to the actual level of funding when that becomes known.
The work plan placed more emphasis on Development Support and Information Services than was the case earlier. In all activities more effort would be given to strengthening of institutions. It was proposed that these trends would be further accentuated during the remainder of the present phase of the Programme. It was also proposed that target areas such as gender issues and nutrition should be introduced in projects under other target areas after study phases were completed. The target area “Information Gathering for Planning and Project Design” would be incorporated into Development Support.
A Technical Consultation on the Utilization of Small Water Bodies was proposed for September 1992. It was also proposed to start the preparation during 1992 of a consultation on the utilization of indigenous species and introduction of exotic species to be held in 1993.
The delegate from SIDA informed the meeting that SIDA would propose to the Swedish Government to continue its funding of ALCOM at the same level as at present for the remaining three years of the present Plan of Operation.
The delegate from Belgium said that the Belgium Minister for Development Cooperation had agreed in principle to fund the component Utilization of Small Water Bodies within the ALCOM Programme. Before a final decision was taken, however, several technical issues would be discussed with the ALCOM Management.
The meeting sought a clarification of the Work Plan 1992 regarding the budget allocation for several activities. The allocations were the total costs for activities including salaries and travel of expert staff.
The delegate from FAO expressed the Organization's satisfaction with the progress made in the Programme and noted that it had now achieved a strong momentum. Activities under implementation were well received. He stressed the importance of addressing the need to subject all activities to financial and economic assessment, to ensure that technologies adopted were economically and socially feasible. Integrative aspects should be maintained and strengthened. He expressed the Organization's support for the Work Plan as presented.
The proposal to plan for a technical consultation on the utilization of indigenous species and introduction of exotic species was welcomed to ensure proper selection of appropriate species and strains for culture.
The committed level of funding in relation to budget needs was discussed. The Committee agreed that certain implementation delays would be inevitable. Although most activities would be affected, priority for implementation should be given to field projects.
The Committee endorsed the Work Plan for 1992 (given in Appendix 4).
ALCOM's Senior Aquaculturist introduced the agenda item (Document SC/4). Water resources are scarce in several of the SADCC countries and water resources management is becoming an increasingly important task. Water resources management could be addressed at different levels. At the national level, decisions are made on the overall allocation of water resources for different users. At the micro level communities and individual farmers in rural areas decide on their utilization of available water. Aquaculture and fisheries are activities which depend on water. These activities are not extractive, but aquaculture tends to monopolize the use of water. Fisheries and aquaculture depend on good water quality and can be affected by deterioration of the water quality caused by other users, such as industry or by heavy use of pesticides in agriculture. It was suggested that ALCOM work on methods which would assist the authorities responsible for reservoir fisheries and aquaculture to gather and compile data and information to address the needs of this sector in planning and decision - making on water utilization. ALCOM field activities should at the community and farm level consider water conservation and water quality.
The Committee welcomed the presentation of issues on water management, a subject of increasing importance for several Governments. It was agreed that additional elements, like the use of geographic information systems should be considered as tools for this purpose.
It was noted that the fisheries and aquaculture sectors needed more data and information on technical as well as economic aspects in order to better link these sectors with the planning of irrigation schemes, for example.
The Committee endorsed elaboration of ALCOM activities as presented.
ALCOM's Senior Planning Officer introduced the document “Approach to Development Support” (Document SC/5). The real impact of ALCOM support is realized only when results from test and demonstration of methods and techniques are implemented on a wider scale. The mechanism to ensure such follow up involves several steps from the identification of problems to identification of areas and interest for larger scale projects, preparation, mobilization of funds, and implementation. Careful attention should be given to selection of channels for such implementation and all relevant organizations should be involved in the process. Areas for ALCOM activities would be support to member Governments in the planning and preparation of follow up projects and training of staff in project identification, preparation and management of projects. Moreover, ALCOM should assist with the assessment of economic viability, legal aspects, and identification of development and investment opportunities.
The Committee while discussing the concept of development support emphasised the need for training of Government staff, both in-service and formal training.
Wider, scale introduction of aquaculture practices and technologies requires knowledge of physical, social and economic conditions. Criteria for zoning of regions would facilitate a systematic approach. Risk analysis should be carried out at an early stage of pilot projects
The Committee endorsed the document as a basis for ALCOM's approach to this target area.
The present phase of ALCOM is scheduled to terminate in 1995. A discussion on the future of ALCOM was initiated last December. This led to the suggestion that a Working Group on the Future of ALCOM be proposed for appointment by the Steering Committee (Document SC/6).
The tasks of the Working Group would be to review the status and trends in aquaculture development, experiences from ongoing and past policies, programmes and projects, and identification of needs for future regional activities. In doing this the Working Group should consider the approach, orientation, and institutional affiliation of the eventual future programme (s). Draft Terms of Reference were presented to the Committee. These were expanded as shown in Appendix 5 (SC/6).
It was proposed that the Working Group, consisting of three members from the Committee, the SADCC Sector Coordinator for Fisheries, and one representative of ALCOM, should meet twice during 1992 and report its findings to the 6th Steering Committee Meeting, and following the direction from the Committee finalize its work during 1993. FAO suggested that the Steering Committee organize a Technical Consultation with representatives from governments, private sector, donors and Banks to ascertain interest in future support. The meeting would prepare project proposals in a prioritized way.
The Committee found the proposal timely. The mode of work as proposed would give the leading role for the preparation of an eventual future ALCOM to the Committee, ensuring the active involvement of member countries.
The Committee decided that the Working Group should initiate its work at the earliest as per the terms of reference (Appendix 5). The following members of the Committee were appointed: Mr Tau Mokhohlane, Chief Fisheries Officer, Lesotho, Ms Maria do Carmo Carrilho, Head - Fishculture Department, Mozambique, and Mr H. G. Mudenda, Acting Director of Fisheries, Zambia. Besides these, the SADCC Sector Coordinator for Fisheries and one representative of ALCOM would also be members of the Working Group. The Working Group was authorized to coopt expertise as and when needed for its work. ALCOM would provide the secretariat for the group.
Mozambique offered to host the 6th meeting of the Steering Committee, subject to Government approval. Tanzania and Botswana were proposed as alternative venues. The meeting would be held during February 1993.
The delegate from FAO informed the Committee on the activities proposed as a follow up to the Study on International Fisheries Research (SIFR). This is conducted by the donor community with a Steering Committee consisting of World Bank, UNDP, EEC, FAO, Canada and Norway. It was proposed that ALCOM should assist in the preparation of national studies on short and medium term aquaculture research priorities for development and organize a regional meeting with countries and donors to present a synthesis of research needs. This programme would be implemented if additional funds are obtained from participants in SIFR which would be channelled to ALCOM to complete this task.
The Committee endorsed the suggestion that ALCOM should take up this task, provided additional funding was made available and no funds would be diverted from those planned and committed to the ALCOM Programme. It was noted that the identification of research needs would also assist the Working Group on the Future of ALCOM in its preparations for an eventual future regional programme.
Mr. U. Wijkstrom, FAO Consultant, presented a seminar on Aquaculture and Economic Growth (see Appendix 6).
The delegate from Zimbabwe proposed and the delegates from Malawi, Namibia and Swaziland seconded the adoption of the report.
The Chairman thanked the members of the Steering Committee Meeting for the very positive manner in which they had participated in the meeting's proceedings which had facilitated his task and had resulted in a smooth session. He wished each traveller a safe journey home.
The delegate from SIDA expressed gratefulness to the Government of Malawi for having chaired and hosted the meeting in a very effective manner. He was once more pleased to have noticed considerable progress made in the Programme and was confident that this would continue in the future.
The delegate from FAO informed the Meeting that ALCOM had the reputation of a Programme that solves problems. This stemmed from essentially three factors.
The first was the Steering Committee which takes a very active role in orienting and regularly readjusting the work programme. It was a very sound management set up which places the responsibility for the implementation of the Programme to a large degree with the Committee; not just with the executing agency.
The second is the role of SIDA who traditionally show an active interest in the manner in which their projects are being implemented in addition to being a generous funding agency. SIDA assists their projects in many more ways than mentioned in the project's Plan of Operations. He thanked Messrs Torell and Funegaard for the ongoing interest with which they follow up on ALCOM's progress.
He invited the Government of Belgium to join the Programme and if this was accepted to do so along the lines of SIDA.
The third is the ALCOM team under the direction of Mr. Andreasson. He commended the Programme Director for having built up a sound programme and a good team despite difficult conditions in the beginning.
The delegate from FAO complimented SADCC for the success they have had with ALCOM and assured them that FAO remained available for requests for assistance.
He expressed his gratitude to the Chairman for the opportunity given to enjoy the beauty of Malawi and offered his thanks for the hospitality and most impressive support extended to the Steering Committee Meeting.
The Chairman closed the 5th Steering Committee Meeting.
