The Sixth Steering Committee Meeting of ALCOM was held at Hotel Polana, Maputo, in Mozambique on 16–19th February 1993. The meeting was attended by delegations from Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Mozambique, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Belgium, Sweden, and FAO, Rome. The SADC Coordinating Units for Inland Fisheries (Malawi) and Marine Fisheries and Resources (Namibia), ICLARM/GTZ Africa Aquaculture Project and FAO/SIDA Farming Systems Programme participated as observers. The list of participants is set out in Appendix 1.
Ms. Maria do Carmo Carrilho, Head, Aquaculture Department, Mozambique, welcomed Mr. Alexandre Zandamela, the Honourable Minister of Agriculture, Dr. H. Mikkola, FAO Representative in Mozambique and Swaziland, the Ambassadors of Sweden and Belgium, the First Secretary of the Dutch Embassy, delegates, observers, and invited guests and thanked them for attending the opening ceremony.
Mr. D.D. Bandula, the outgoing Chairman of ALCOM's Steering Committee, thanked the Honourable Minister for attending the meeting and welcomed other invited guests, delegates and observers to the opening. He thanked the Government of Mozambique for the excellent facilities placed at the disposal of the meeting. He observed that ALCOM was well recognized within SADC's Programme of Action and in the SADC Fisheries Sector Programme of Action. He singled out the success of ALCOM's pilot activities as an example from which other member states could learn. He emphasised the need to integrate aquaculture within existing agriculture systems. He expressed hope that the donors would succeed in allocating longer term support.
Dr. H. Mikkola, FAO Representative in Mozambique and Swaziland, welcomed the participants on behalf of Dr. Edouard Saouma, Director- General of FAO. He expressed gratitude to the Honourable Minister for taking time to open the meeting. He drew the attention of those present to the mandate of ALCOM to test and demonstrate methods for aquaculture with due regard to social, cultural and economic aspects, to ensure the feasibility of aquaculture for rural farmers and fisherfolk. The complexity of this task was reflected in the design of ALCOM. The Sixth Steering Committee Meeting, besides reviewing progress and deciding on the work plan for 1993, would also decide on the orientation of the Programme for the remainder of the current phase. In doing this the Committee was requested to carefully consider the importance of support to regional and national institutions to ensure sustainability.
The decisions on the orientation of the Programme should take into account the preliminary report of the Working Group on the Future of ALCOM, to facilitate a smooth transition into an eventual third phase in 1995. He noted with satisfaction that brackishwater and marine aquaculture had been included in the terms of reference of the Working Group. He thanked the Government of the Republic of Mozambique for hosting the meeting and the excellent facilities made available, and Sweden and Belgium for their generous support to FAO, which enabled ALCOM to prepare longer term plans.
The Honourable Mr. Alexandre Zandamela, Minister of Agriculture, welcomed the participants and wished them success in their effort to contribute to the further progress of ALCOM. He underlined the usefulness of small-scale aquaculture for the rural people and economies of the region.
Southern Africa is facing a real crisis resulting from the 1991–1992 severe drought that led to an unprecendeted level of imports. This had on the other hand reinforced inter-country solidarity and highlighted the need for use of every available food resource. Aquaculture offers the possibility for diversification of rural economies and offers the advantage of short production cycles to small-scale farmers. Southern Africa has a vast untapped potential in its water systems, and ALCOM's efforts to develop fish farming and use of r+wources from small water bodies are therefore particularly welcome to assist in introducing or strengthening means to foster aquaculture in the region. ALCOM's emphasis on conducting training courses for fishfarming extensionists was, for instance, much appreciated as most countries require assistance in strengthening their extension and communication capability.
FAO and ALCOM efforts are an asset for converting potential to performance. (The full speech of the Honourable Minister is attached under Appendix No. 2).
Before opening the deliberations Mr. D.D. Bandula, Chairman of ALCOM's Steering Committee, informed the meeting with regret that Mr Gray Nongwa, Assistant Chief Fisheries Officer in Malawi, passed away on the 5th January 1993. Mr. Nongwa had, in his function within the SADC Coordinating Unit, participated actively in ALCOM's work and its Steering Committee Meetings. The meeting honoured the memory of Gray Nongwa with a minute of silence.
The delegate of Lesotho proposed the election of Mozambique as Chairperson. The proposal was seconded by the delegate of Zambia. The outgoing Chairperson, Mr. D.D. Bandula, welcomed Ms. Maria do Carmo Carrilho to the chair and wished her good luck and a successful meeting. While accepting the chair, Ms. do Carmo Carrilho thanked the delegates for the honour given to Mozambique and promised, with the help of all participants, to make every effort for a successful outcome of the meeting.
In accordance with the Terms of Reference for the Steering Committee, Malawi was appointed Vice Chairperson.
Lesotho proposed and Swaziland seconded the adoption of the agenda (Appendix 3).
Mr. D.D. Bandula, Vice Chairperson, introduced the agenda item. He reported that the funding situation for ALCOM during 1992 and the severe drought had slowed down the delivery of the Programme. The Working Group on the Future of ALCOM, which had been appointed by the Fifth Steering Committee Meeting, met twice during the year and submitted its preliminary report to the Sixth Steering Committee Meeting. A request from Namibia for a feasibility study had not been acted upon. The request by the Committee to further accentuate strengthening of institutions had been reflected in the proposed orientation of the Programme for the remainder of the present phase. Target areas such as environmental aspects, gender issues and human nutrition were proposed to be integrated into relevant field projects from 1993 onwards. The Technical Consultation on Enhancement of the Small Water Body Fisheries had been postponed to early 1993 for funding reasons. The consultation on indigenous and exotic species for aquaculture and small water bodies had been postponed to early 1994. Since scarcity of resources had not allowed implementation according to previous plan, the Programme had placed priority on carrying out field activities. Studies on water resources management and training of planners had to be delayed for the same reason.
The Programme Director presented the Progress Report for 1992 (see Appendix 4). The Work Plan for 1992, as endorsed by the Fifth Steering Committee Meeting, was based on an anticipated budget of USD 1,4 million. Up to August 1992 USD 600 000 were committed. Sweden decided to continue support from October 1992 for three years, and Belgium decided to fund the ALCOM project Utilization of Small Water Bodies for Aquaculture and Fisheries for five years from September 1992.
The delivery of the Programme had been lower than anticipated because of the funding constraints during the three first quarters of the year and the severe drought in Southern Africa. In line with the request by the Steering Committee, field projects had been given priority. However, the extension project in Mozambique had not been implemented and the small water body sub-projects had been delayed.
Good progress was noted for two projects in Zambia, in which considerable impact had been achieved. In Eastern Province there were now more than 400 farmers with close to one thousand ponds; in Luapula Province 700 farmers with 1400 stocked ponds. The progress had been made possible by the Department of Fisheries in collaboration with other Government agencies and funds allocated by donor agencies (Integrated Rural Development Programme and FINNIDA).
The small water body sub-projects had during the year continued to address assessment of physical, biological, and socio-economic factors as a basis for management decisions. Support to community management of reservoirs had been initiated in Zimbabwe.
The desk and field studies on issues related to environment, gender issues and human nutrition had been completed during the year. The collaboration with the projects Enhancement of the Role of Women in Inland Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, funded by Japan, and Strengthening the Role of Fish and Fisheries in Alleviation of Malnutrition, funded by Norway, had been completed.
ALCOM's Information Service had fulfilled its targets during the year.
The Committee expressed its gratitude to Sweden and Belgium for their confirmation during the year of further funding for ALCOM.
The Committee noted the problems the Programme had faced in planning its work during the year because of factors beyond its control.
The drought, which is over in most areas of the region, will however continue to affect aquaculture and small water body activities. There would be a lack of fingerlings for stocking of ponds and the natural repopulation of small water bodies would be slow.
The delegate from Malawi mentioned that a Research Associate would be attached to the sub-project Methods for Evaluating Small Reservoir Fisheries.
The delegate from Botswana informed the Committee that the ALCOM APO Aquaculturist, attached to the sub-project in Botswana, would complete his assignment in March 1993 and noted with concern that, without a replacement, the continued operation of the sub-project would be affected.
The delegate from Swaziland observed that the drought had not been the major factor for non-delivery in the sub-project Rehabilitation of Homestead Ponds. He pointed out that the sub-project had been more affected by the funding and other constraints in ALCOM during the year.
The delegate from Belgium stressed that in the project Utilization of Small Water Bodies, the viability of interventions and of different forms of fisheries and aquaculture needed to be assessed in all sub-projects. Recognizing the methodological problems for such assessments, which would include both monetary and non-monetary factors, more work would be needed in this area. He noted that the legal and regulatory framework for the utilization of reservoirs were not always in place and stressed the need for close attention by the project to these matters.
The delegate from Sweden complimented the Programme for the clear presentation of the Progress Report, noting the progress during the year, and stressed the need for support to institutions in the region to ensure sustainability.
The delegate from Belgium noted with satisfaction the progress made in the small water body project during the year in spite of the drought and funding constraints.
The delegate from FAO noted the professional presentation of the Progress Report and expressed the Organization's satisfaction with progress made during the year in spite of the unclear funding situation and the drought which had affected the implementation of field work.
The Committee endorsed the report.
Mr. D.D. Bandula, Vice Chairperson, introduced the agenda item. The Working Group on the Future of ALCOM had, in accordance with its terms of reference initiated the gathering of information on:
donor agencies' policies, plans, and support to the aquaculture sector.
There had been difficulties in gathering some of the information needed, including data and evaluation reports from past projects. The Working Group cautioned the Committee that the data compiled so far were preliminary.
Rural small-scale aquaculture was spreading in some areas of the region, including Tanzania, Zambia, and Malawi, reflecting the physical potential. In other countries, notably Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Lesotho small water body fisheries figured more prominently.
The Working Group had identified three preliminary priorities for the region for aquaculture and small water body development:
strengthening of institutions and human resources (Government, Non Governmental Organizations and the private sector) to enable them to support the sector and decrease the dependence on external assistance.
The Working Group on the Future of ALCOM recommended that it should be given a continued mandate to finalize the work and to prepare a report with a Plan of Operation, as scheduled for the Seventh Steering Committee Meeting.
The Committee noted with satisfaction that the Working Group had considered the role of Non Governmental Organizations and the private sector as agents in the development process. Increased collaboration with Non Governmental Organizations and the private sector was essential to improve the impact of development interventions. However, when deciding on such collaboration, the capacity and mode of work of the NGO or the private company should be reviewed in detail to determine that the impact reaches the intended target groups.
It was proposed that identification and formulation of projects (development support) should be considered by the Working Group as an additional area for which regional collaboration is feasible.
The Committee felt that the Working Group should consider means for the future Programme(s) to increase the utilization and development of regional expertise. ALCOM's attempts to compile a list of experts had not been successful and the delegates were requested to provide the information needed.
The Committee noted with satisfaction the progress made by the Working Group on the Future of ALCOM, requested it to continue the work according to the terms of reference, and to submit a final report to the Seventh Steering Committee Meeting.
ALCOM's Senior Aquaculturist presented the Preliminary Report on the Technical Consultation on the Enhancement of Small Water Body Fisheries in Southern Africa, held 25–29 January 1993, in Harare, Zimbabwe. The consultation was held to review the status of small water body fisheries and estimates of their potential yield in Southern Africa, and to suggest management actions which will bring exploitation closer to resource potential.
Twenty-three survey and technical papers and eight country posters were presented by regional and international experts during three plenary sessions. Four working groups on assessment methods, enhancement options, fishery management and extension, and environment each prepared an overview of their topic, a statement of central issues and problems, and recommended priorities for action by Governments, ALCOM, FAO and other institutions. The report will be published by ALCOM.
The findings and recommendations of the working groups are wide ranging and will be used to revise the workplans under ALCOM's Action Programme on the Utilization of Small Water Bodies for Aquaculture and Fisheries. Three main themes emerged:
a better understanding was needed of the limnology of small water bodies and the biology of fishes found in the region to properly develop and evaluate management and enhancement techniques in the long term;
a more focused and continuing resource assessment effort should be made; special attention should be paid to promoting local management of small water body fisheries, including appropriate legislation and regulations;
there are specific fishery enhancement techniques which should be tried and demonstrated in the short and medium-term.
The Committee noted with satisfaction that the consultation had been successfully implemented. It had deliberated on and formulated recommendations, which now should be incorporated into ALCOM's work plans for small water body sub-projects. It was stressed that, while more information and knowledge about physical and biological processes are needed, sufficient knowledge had been created to initiate pilot projects on enhancement and management.
The concepts of Government, community and private management were discussed. ALCOM's mandate stresses that interventions should benefit local communities. The Programme should therefore focus on community management methods. These were also needed to lessen the burden on Governments to manage the large number of reservoirs spread widely in the region. In identifying community management options, consideration should be given to the often weak local institutions. Care should be taken that community management organizations should be closely linked to the Governmental administrations. Failures by weak local institutions could lead to patterns of exploitation of resources, which would not benefit the local communities.
The delegate from Tanzania stated that the data on reservoirs in his country were scanty and unreliable. To initiate any intervention there was a need for an inventory to be carried out.
The use of exotic species and transfer of species between river basins were discussed. The need for a common approach was stressed. The approach to introductions and transfers should allow development while preventing unwanted environmental impact, the spread of diseases and decreased bio-diversity. A reference was made to discussions of these issues in the SADC Technical Sub-Committee, which had cleared tilapias, catfishes and carps for the region. The Committee welcomed and endorsed the proposal that ALCOM should organize a technical consultation on species for reservoir fisheries and aquaculture during the first quarter of 1994.
The agenda item was introduced by ALCOM's Socio-Economist. The project, funded by Japan and executed by FAO mainly through ALCOM, will be completed by the end of March 1993. Three main activities were undertaken. The first activity, information review and data collection comprised three national reviews in Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, an in-depth socio-economic study on Lake Mweru fisheries in Zambia and a socio-economic survey on aquaculture in Ruvuma Region, Tanzania. The second activity was the preparation of guidelines on information needs, sources and methods to assist planners, project formulators and managers to incorporate gender issues in their work. The third main activity of the project was the organization of a regional meeting of experts to review, discuss and improve on the draft guidelines. The meeting recommended that field testing of the guidelines was necessary and that funding should be sought for training of potential users within the region on gender analysis and use of the guidelines. It was concluded that the project outputs had made significant contributions to the achievement of the project's stated objective, but that the objective itself was over-ambitious in relation to resources and time allocated.
The Committee recommended that the guidelines should be used in actual planning and project formulation exercises.
The Committee stated that the roles of and the interactions between the sexes and how these are affected by development interventions were the basis for the consideration of gender issues, and that the concept should not be treated as synonymous with women oriented activities.
The Committee stressed the need for further information on gender issues and that training in gender analysis was required.
ALCOM's Senior Aquaculturist reviewed the status of ALCOM's assistance to SIFR in identifying aquaculture research priorities in Africa for the short-and medium-term. National authors were preparing studies in 14 African countries, four of which are members of SADC (Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe). During 1993 ALCOM will assist in synthesizing the studies to highlight regional and sub-regional priorities and prepare a regional aquaculture research action plan for consideration by the CIFA Working Party on Aquaculture. The action plan will be forwarded through CIFA to the next meeting of SIFR for consideration by donors.
In line with conditions set forth by the Fifth Meeting of the ALCOM Steering Committee, SIFR activities had been financed from sources outside ALCOM and no funds planned and committed to ALCOM had been diverted to SIFR activities.
The Committee recognized the importance of the study and recommended that its findings should be included in the further work by the Working Group on the Future of ALCOM.
The authors of the national reviews had been selected by FAO's Regular Programme with the criteria that they should be well acquainted with aquaculture development and problems at a technical level. However, the Committee felt that in some cases sufficient consultation with the relevant authorities had not taken place.
The study covered four countries in the region. The Committee felt that the choice of countries, not including for example Botswana or Namibia, may give rise to biasses in the outcome and not be entirely representative for the region.
The Programme Director introduced the agenda item. The document (Appendix 5) was prepared in consultation with the Working Group on the Future of ALCOM and the Management Working Group. There were three years left of the present phase of the Programme and thus a need to review to what extent the expected outputs had been achieved and identify outstanding tasks. The Programme should focus its work on application of positive results and further testing and demonstration of methods and techniques in areas where tangible results had not been achieved. There was also a need to orient and organize the Programme in a way which would facilitate a transition into a third phase.
Target areas “Methods for Gathering of Information for Planning and Project Design” and “Extension and Training” had achieved their expected outputs. The results should be applied on a larger scale.
The target areas “Aquaculture and Farming Systems” and “Utilization of Small Water Bodies for Aquaculture and Fisheries” had been initiated later, and not yet achieved tangible results. There was a need for further testing and demonstration of methods and techniques.
The study phases of target areas “Environmental Aspects of Aquaculture”, “Gender Issues”, and “Aquaculture and Human Nutrition” had been completed. The outcomes and results should now be integrated into field projects.
Areas “Information Service” and “Development Support” were continuous functions of the Programme and would be valid throughout the second phase.
Based on the review it was proposed that the Programme should focus on four Action Programmes for the remainder of the second phase. The target areas should reflect an increased emphasis on strengthening of institutions and human resources development and test and demonstration of methods and techniques in areas identified above.
The proposed Action Programmes were:
Institutions for aquaculture extension. The programme would focus on identification of institutions (Governmental, Non-Governmental Organizations and private sector) with the capacity to sustain support to development of the sector, training of staff, provision of extension equipment and materials, and technical support for organization of extension services. In the work a participatory approach and extension messages developed together with the target groups should be used.
Institutions for development planning, communications and information. The programme should focus on training of planners and economists, training of extension trainers in development support communication skills, upgrading of existing documentation centres through training and provision of databases and equipment, networking between documentation centres and with regional documentation centres as established by the FAO/SIDA Farming Systems Programme, based in Gaborone, and ICLARM in Malawi, networking between scientists and technicians and ALCOM's own Information Service. The activities under the programme should be carried out through existing institutions and at the end of the programme relevant parts of ALCOM's Information Service should be transferred to a regional institution.
Diversification of rural economies through aquaculture. The programme should focus on testing and demonstration of methods and techniques for inland small-scale commercial aquaculture within the reach of ALCOM's defined target groups. The programme would operate through sub-projects addressing semi-intensive fish culture systems, private production centres for fingerlings and others to be identified. Supporting activities would be economics of culture systems, marketing information and determination of social feasibility.
Utilization of small water bodies for aquaculture and fisheries. The programme, which constitutes the Belgium funded project, would focus on test and demonstration in practical field projects of enhancement and management interventions, and assessment methods as needed. The target was that methods should benefit local communities which would define the management options and also the level of technology for enhancement interventions.
The present level of funding committed to ALCOM would not allow a full implementation of all Action Programmes, and the Committee was requested in its review of the proposal to identify which programmes should be given priority.
The Committee welcomed the document, which had been formulated with the active participation of the working groups established by the Committee, thus ensuring that the concerns of the member countries were considered.
The Committee emphasised the need for setting up appropriate legislation to provide ownership rights to the communities.
The FAO Representative in Mozambique and Swaziland informed the Committee that a regional nutrition project had just been approved and proposed that ALCOM should liaise with the project and provide information on fish in human nutrition.
While endorsing the document as the base for the remainder of the present phase, delegates from member countries stated their priorities based on national needs.
The observer from ICLARM informed the Committee about their commitment to assist developing countries with scientific information and networking.
The delegate from Sweden emphasized his appreciation of the document, and stressed the importance of continuity and the need for forward planning, and welcomed the importance given to strengthening of institutions, which would apply to all Action Programmes.
The delegate from Belgium stressed the importance of legislative and ownership issues which needed to be addressed to ensure successful interventions for the development of small water body exploitation.
The Committee noted that brackishwater and marine aquaculture were not covered by the Action Programmes. It was agreed that the outcome of a planned marine aquaculture mission, requested by the SADC Sector Coordinating Unit for Marine Fisheries and Resources, should be considered by the Working Group on the Future of ALCOM. The mission findings could eventually be elaborated as a separate Action Programme. Additional funding would be required for implementation.
The Committee stressed the equal importance of all Action Programmes as presented. In the light of the limited funding, however, it decided to postpone the implementation of Action Programme 2 until additional funding was secured. FAO was requested to continue its effort to seek additional funding to allow implementation of the whole programme. The Committee also requested the Chairperson to bring the need for additional funding to the attention of the SADC Organization for action.
The Committee endorsed the document as the basis for ALCOM's work during 1993 – 1995 and stated that the annual work plans should be elaborated in line with the document.
The Programme Director introduced the Work Plan 1993. It followed the document “ALCOM 1993 – 1995 : An outline” and was based on the committed level of funding. It was proposed that two projects, Improved Aquaculture Extension Services in Zambia, and Fish Culture Extension for Manica Province in Mozambique, should be implemented under Action Programme 1 (Institutions for Aquaculture Extension). Under Action Programme 2 (Institutions for Development Planning, Communications, and Information), only ALCOM's own information service should continue during 1993. Under Action Programme 3 (Diversification of Rural Economies through Aquaculture) the projects Carp for Pond Culture and Small Water Bodies in Mozambique, and Development of Semi-intensive Fish Farming in Tanzania, should be implemented. New supporting activities on economics and marketing were proposed, as well as a project on private fingerling production centres. Action Programme 4 (Utilization of Small Water Bodies for Aquaculture and Fisheries) should support ongoing projects in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Botswana, and Lesotho. Necessary revisions, deriving from recommendations by the Technical Consultation on the Enhancement of Small Water Body Fisheries in Southern Africa, would be made in consultation with the collaborating agencies. Work should continue with reviews of introductions, transfers and environmental impact, leading to a technical consultation early 1994.
The delegate from Belgium sought a clarification on the UNDP pipeline project on aquaculture and small water bodies in Botswana. ALCOM's development support had assisted in the elaboration of the project which was considered for implementation. Future ALCOM-supported activities should be closely coordinated with that project.
The delegate from Swaziland expressed concern that the project in Swaziland did not appear in the work plan. The project had failed to take off during two years. It was agreed that a review of the organizational set up and the content would be reflected in the workplan as an activity.
The delegate from Tanzania requested that a follow-up of the socio-economic survey which was carried out in Ruvuma Region in 1992 should be considered in the work plan.
The delegate from Botswana requested that the APO Aquaculturist should be replaced when he completes his assignment and that follow-up activities to the present project should be considered. Because of the drought the data gathered through test fishing for management decisions may not be valid and needed to be updated. Some of the activities of the project therefore should be repeated, for which continued ALCOM support was required.
The delegate of Lesotho said that the lack of adequate legal framework was impeding the exploitation of reservoirs. However, the Government of Lesotho is seeking technical assistance from FAO in order to review the fisheries legislation so that the accelleration of the exploitation of Small Water Bodies can be achieved.
The Committee noted that Namibia did not feature in the Work Plan and decided that the proposed mission to study the feasibility of aquaculture in the country should be included. The delegate from Namibia stated that small water body exploitation should be given high priority.
The delegate from Zimbabwe announced that the collaborating department would now be in a position to allocate adequate counterpart staff to the sub-projects.
The Committee endorsed the Work Plan for 1993, with amendments as defined above (Appendix 6).
The delegate from Namibia offered to seek formal approval from the Government to host the Seventh Steering Committee Meeting. The delegate from Tanzania offered his country to be the alternative venue. The Committee welcomed the offers and requested ALCOM to initiate the formal contacts. The meeting would tentatively be held during the first half of February 1994.
Dr. R.E. Brummet, Project Director, ICLARM/GTZ Africa Aquaculture Project, informed the meeting about its work. ICLARM had with funding from GTZ started the Africa Aquaculture Programme in 1986. With ICLARM now a member of CGIAR, it was moving in its planning for 1993 – 1998 towards a more regional approach, in building collaborative and interactive research programmes between national scientists. The strategic research aims at generating new knowledge on biological, chemical, sociological, anthropological and economic functioning of aquatic and integrated agro-ecosystems, with resource poor rural small holders as the primary beneficiary group. ICLARM Africa Aquaculture Project provides support and training for farming systems professionals, information transfer and exchange. The project in Malawi develops techniques for low-external inputs aquaculture through surveys of available materials, development of bio-technical systems for the use of available materials in fish production, and methodologies for the integration of a fish pond into existing low-input farming systems. The Project had supported eight M.Sc. degrees and 2 Ph.D's in addition to workshops, study tours, facility amendments, training programmes and university courses.
Dr. Bo Gohl, Programme Coordinator of the FAO/SIDA Farming Systems Programme, based in Gaborone, informed the Committee about the programme's work. The Farming Systems Programme supports, through grants, on-farm research. The Programme has been operational for 3 years and has some 50 ongoing projects in four countries: Botswana, Zambia, Tanzania, and Kenya. Namibia and Mozambique had expressed interest in participating. The Programme had established a documentation centre in Botswana and was supporting centres in all participating countries. Training and computer and photocopying equipment had been provided.
Training was one component of the Programme, which also supports development of curriculae for farming systems research training at universities in the participating countries. Dr. Gohl expressed interest in inclusion of aquaculture in a farming systems perspective and provided application forms. A recent evaluation of the Programme had proposed closer links between the Farming Systems Programme and ALCOM.
The delegate from Lesotho, speaking for the member countries, thanked the donors, FAO and the staff of ALCOM for their useful support to the region. He expressed his appreciation to the Government of Mozambique for the excellent facilities provided for the meeting and thanked the Chairperson for the excellent manner in which the meeting had been conducted.
The delegate from Sweden, speaking on behalf of the donors, said he was impressed with ALCOM's achievements. He complimented the Chairperson for the way she had guided the meeting. He confirmed that his agency tries to sustain support to the Programme for the foreseeable future.
The delegate from FAO conveyed his admiration for the excellent facilities placed at the meeting's disposal by Mozambique and for the efficient and graceful way in which the Chairperson had guided the sixth session.
He noted with satisfaction that the Steering Committee had this year once more exercised its mandate with responsibility. It had delegated the direction for the future to a Working Group from within the Committee which had carried out the first portion of this task, paying attention to the priorities of all members. He observed that one of the guiding principles of ALCOM was sustained action: a logical order, yet a tall one for member governments with limited means at their disposal. However, sustainability did not necessarily mean a continuation of the full programme without external assistance. It meant that activities of proven potential would be taken up by either governments or private parties according to the means available. ALCOM counted on consistency in government policy -- on governments following through once they had requested a project.
FAO continued to solicit donor support, but it should be recalled that this was dwindling and it was difficult to foresee when the trend towards higher allocations would again pick up. In the case of ALCOM, both Sweden and Belgium had nevertheless shown considerable generosity, which, it was realized, was the outcome of continuous involvement of their representatives in direct contact with the Programme. He warmly thanked the donor representatives for their assistance over the past and hoped that they would find the means to do so in the future as well.
Lesotho proposed and Tanzania seconded the adoption of the report. The Chairperson declared the report adopted and the meeting closed.
