Appendix 1:
LIST OF PARTICIPANTS

Appendix 2:
AGENDA

1. Election of Chairperson

2. Adoption of the Agenda

3. Progress Report 1994, including action taken on decisions and recommendations of the 7th Steering Committee Meeting

4. Report of the Technical Consultation on Species for Small Reservoir Fisheries and Aquaculture in Southern Africa

5. Joint Evaluation of ALCOM, May–June 1994

6. Status of approval of the ALCOM Phase III Project Document: implications for the Work Plan and the future of ALCOM

7. Work Plan 1995

8. Date and venue of the 9th Steering Committee Meeting

9. Other matters

10. Adoption of the report

Appendix 3
TERMS OF REFERENCE, SECOND WORKING GROUP ON THE FUTURE OF ALCOM

As a matter of priority, in an effort to salvage ALCOM once the core funding from Sweden is withdrawn, and to ensure continuity in the work done by the Programme, the 8th ALCOM Steering Committee Meeting formed a working group to look into the future of ALCOM, to be known as the Second Working Group on the Future of ALCOM with reference to the original group which was active from 1992 to 1994.

The committee members are:

• Mr. R. Lema, Senior Aquaculturist, Tanzania
• Dr. B. Oelofsen, Chief: Fisheries Research, Namibia
• Ms. S. Mutsekwa, Senior Ecologist (Aquatic), Zimbabwe
• Mr. B. Mkoko, Coordinator, SADC Inland Fisheries Subsector, Malawi
• Programme Manager, ALCOM

ALCOM Management will provide the secretariat for the Working Group.

The Working Group is empowered, in consultation with the Chair of the ALCOM Steering Committee, to consider and take decisions on behalf of the Committee on the following issues:

1. To consider and draft proposals for the future emphasis and functions of ALCOM and its relevant institutional set-up.

2. Mobilize SADC member country resources to take a more prominent role in ALCOM planning, management and operations.

3. Engage Sweden in discussions on possible further funding of ALCOM beyond 1996.

4. Seek possible new donors to support ALCOM in its new form, and prepare proposals based on the report of the Working Group on the Future of ALCOM.

5. Assist the SADC Inland Fisheries Sector Coordinating Unit in seeking practical linkages with other programmes of relevance.

6. Recommend how to deal with the assets of ALCOM, including the library, under the different scenarios possible from 1996.

The Working Group will report back to the 9th ALCOM Steering Committee meeting.

Appendix 4
I NARRATIVE PROGRESS REPORT, 1994

1 Introduction

The Work Plan for 1994, endorsed by the 7th Steering Committee Meeting, implemented the Action Programmes as approved by the 6th Steering Committee meeting and initiated in 1993 within the funding available.

The indicative funding for 1994 was:

The level of funding for 1994 did not allow full implementation of all Action Programmes as originally envisaged. Furthermore, Phase II of ALCOM, originally planned to run three years from October 1992 to September 1995, ended in December 1994.

The Seventh Steering Committee Meeting made nine major decisions/recommendations which were followed up by the Programme during the year (para. refers to relevent paragraph in the adopted report of the meeting):

2 Action Programmes

The objectives of the four action programmes contribute to attainment of the Programme's intermediate and development objectives.

2.1 Action Programme 1:                Institutions for Aquaculture Extension (TCP/RAF/2380)

The objective is strengthened institutions for small-scale aquaculture extension. The Action Programme is active in Mozambique and Zambia with two sub-projects:

Both sub-projects have the same design and use the approach of institutional collaboration with agriculture extension services, strengthening the capabilities of the fish culture specialists to deliver technical information to agriculture extension staff, who work directly with farmers. This approach has worked nearly to expectation in both countries: fish farming information is being delivered to farmers by agriculture extension workers, and farmers are adopting fish farming. The agriculture extension systems in both countries have important common features which facilitate integration of fish farming: use of modified training & visit systems with farmer participation, training and decision-making at village level; staff well-trained in basic extension techniques; operational support from donor-assisted projects; and, administratively under the same ministry as fish culture. The main constraints are institutional: uneven collaboration between agriculture and fish culture staff; inadequate resources for extension work at the field level; overworked/underpaid field extension staff; and, weak monitoring and evaluation of impact of improved farming practices. However, there are several cases where most of these constraints have been overcome; they stand as shining examples that the approach works, making the best use of limited institutional resources.

In Mozambique, fish culture has been established in the family farming sector of two districts in Manica Province (145 fish farmers) and was expanding at year-end. However, several logistical problems limited the areas of action. Production of fingerlings by the Government fish farm met current demand but delivery was a bottleneck until the agriculture extension service assisted with fingerling delivery. Farmers in Rotanda were reported to be harvesting and selling their fish (tilapia and carp) and fingerlings locally. This encouraged several farmers to enlarge their ponds and build more ponds.

In Zambia most outputs are being achieved on schedule and small-scale fish farming is expanding in the three provinces where the sub-project is active. Collaboration with the Department of Agriculture extension services has been institutionalized in three provinces, and the Department of Fisheries has provided significant training to all levels of agriculture staff. There are now 922 farmers with 1635 fish ponds (851 of them stocked), and 1210 intending fish farmers, served by the sub-project in the three provinces. The major constraint is production and distribution of fingerlings. Potential private fingerling producers have been identified in all three provinces and three one-week fingerling production courses were held in October–November. Collaboration by the Department of Fisheries with the Department of Agriculture was proposed for national adoption under the Agricultural Sector Investment Programme prepared with assistance from the World Bank and technical advice from ALCOM during the year.

The action programme has two main objectives:

• strengthened planning units in Departments of Fisheries or equivalent, in the region; and,

• adequate structures and systems for development support communication and for the generation, storage and dissemination of information, nationally and regionally, for fisheries/aquaculture development.

Due to lack of funding, the Action Programme is only actively addressing the information services part of the second objective through the sub-project INF/GEN, Information Service. Training and participatory rural appraisal exercises carried out under Action Programmes 1, 3 and 4 have contributed to institutional strengthening of development planning and development support communication. ALCOM sponsored three participants from the region to attend FAO's Workshop on Project Design, Monitoring and Evaluation in Harare, 5–16 September.

ALCOM's Information Service has established its own mechanisms to generate, store and disseminate fisheries and aquaculture information. It produces the quarterly newsletter ALCOM News; edits, publishes and disseminates technical reports; and, maintains a library and reference centre. The information dissemination services have been improved by updating and revising the database format of the mailing list and more carefully targeting the dissemination of materials. The Library continues to expand its holdings on regional aquaculture and fisheries information, and has started to publicize its services to a wider audience.

The objective is methods and techniques for diversification of rural economies and improvement of rural income through aquaculture. The Action Programme is active in Mozambique and Tanzania with two sub-projects, and regionally with three sub-projects:

Activities during 1994 focussed on REC/URT and CAR/MOZ. Elements of PFC/REG were carried out under Action Programme 1.

Only modest progress has been made toward this action programme's objective, mainly because both national-level sub-projects have only just started field activities, and the activities in the regional-level sub-projects have not been implemented.

In Mozambique, the tank-based hatchery was completed, and ALCOM assisted with obtaining pituitary extracts and other specialized materials. The grass, silver and bighead carp were successfully spawned in October–November, but no production trials or socio-economic studies have been initiated.

The sub-project in Tanzania has made good progress with the formation of the project team early in the year. Four areas and 31 farmers were selected for semi-intensive fish farming. The ALCOM method of participatory extension developed in Zambia is being adapted to introduce fish farming. A fish farming extension training course led by a consultant from Zambia was held for 18 project and extension staff in the four selected areas in September. Fish pond construction has started and fingerlings of Oreochromis niloticus have been procurred and stocked in several ponds.

The objective is development of small water body fishery management and production techniques which will enable local communities to fully benefit, in terms of improved nutrition and income, from small water body fishery resources. The Action Programme was active during 1994 in Lesotho, Malawi and Zimbabwe with three sub-projects, and regionally with two sub-projects:

The national-level sub-projects SWB/LES, SWB/MLW and SWB/ZIM came to conclusion at the end of the year and were realigned with the revised small water bodies work plan. The regional sub-projects BIO/REG and POT/REG are ongoing.

The strategy taken to attain the objective was to assess small water body fisheries resources (technical and socio-economic aspects), propose management and production methods, and try them out. Since 1990, assessments have been carried out in Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Management and production methods have been proposed in all these countries except Malawi. Field testing has taken place only in Zimbabwe. As was noted at the beginning of the year, in several of the remaining countries national regulations need to be amended to facilitate use of the proposed methods. This effort was initiated in Lesotho and Malawi and will eventually allow wider testing and use of the management and production methods. One major issue is how to realistically measure the benefit for local communities of using these methods, especially where fishing already takes place.

The sub-project on assessment of small water body resource potential has established a database of 12,647 small reservoirs in Southern Africa; the information was obtained from existing national inventories and needs to be supplemented by selected national studies. Field work on methods to assess the economics of small water body exploitation was initiated in Tanzania on two reservoirs.

In Lesotho, a Seminar on Fish Production in Lowlands Reservoirs reviewed the status and potential fish production from lowlands reservoirs. The inventory of reservoirs was completed and production strategies were proposed for implementation once the regulatory framework was prepared.

In Malawi, data collection on fish growth was completed and written up by a Malawian researcher under an author's contract. A proposal for follow-up fish management and production activities was submitted by the Malawi Fisheries Department.

In Zimbabwe, the management structures at two dams are functioning but work is needed to assess the impact on the fishery and the benefits to the community. Other rural communities and NGO's are interested to try participatory management of local water bodies and two were assisted with training. Guidelines for test fishing and community management were prepared and published.

The Technical Consultation on Species for Small Reservoir Fisheries and Aquaculture in Southern Africa was held 7–11 November 1994 in Livingstone, Zambia, with participation by 52 regional and international experts. The consultation prepared findings and recommendations with respect to bio-geographical, bio-technical and socio-economic aspects of species selection, and policy, legal and infrastructure mechanisms for implementation. The report will be prepared in early 1995 and the findings incorporated in sub-project activities where appropriate.

3 Other Functions

3.1 Development Support

The mission to assist the SADC Sector Coordination Unit for Marine Fisheries and Resources review mariculture status and potential completed its work in June with a short visit to Angola. The final draft of the report was sent for comments to all parties concerned with the mission. It is now with the SADC Sector Coordination Unit for Marine Fisheries for further action.

The Senior Aquaculturist, Socio-economist and Socio-economist (APO) participated for one week each in the formulation and appraisal exercises of the Agricultural Sector Investment Programme (ASIP) in Zambia. The ASIP Fisheries Development Sub-Programme was reviewed and the Socio-economist (APO) assisted with redrafting the document.

Registration forms for aquaculture expertise under FAO's Fishery Advisory Services were sent in June to over 80 experts in the region. By year-end, 12 responses had been received. The completed forms are entered in a local database on aquaculture expertise developed by ALCOM and forwarded to FAO Rome for consideration by the Fishery Advisory Service.

The Consultant Aquaculturist assisted the Government of Zimbabwe to prepare a project proposal for aquaculture development for submission to The Netherlands for funding.

The Socio-economist assisted the Legal Consultant in Lesotho for one week in August under project TCP/LES/2352 Assistance in Drafting Fisheries and Aquaculture Legislation.

Under project TCP/RAF/2380, ALCOM sponsored one participant from Mozambique and one participant from Zambia to attend a two-week FAO Workshop on the Design, Monitoring and Evaluation of Technical Cooperation in Harare during September. One participant from Zimbabwe was sponsored under project GCP/RAF/277/BEL.

3.2 Technical Consultations, Workshops, Meetings

The Seventh Steering Committee Meeting was held as scheduled in Swakopmund, Namibia, 14–17 February 1994, attended by 34 delegates and observers.

The Technical Consultation on Species for Small Reservoir Fisheries and Aquaculture was held 7–11 November 1994 in Livingstone, Zambia, attended by 52 regional and international experts.

ALCOM sponsored the participation of the SADC Sector Coordinator (Inland Fisheries) at the Aquaculture '94 Congress of the Aquaculture Association in Southern Africa, 21–23 September in South Africa.

ALCOM sponsored five participants from the region to attend the CIFA Seminar on Fisheries, Aquaculture and the Environment, Harare, Zimbabwe, 5–7 December.

ALCOM staff participated in the following technical meetings:

• Workshop on Research and Training in Population and Development Dynamics of Rural Fishing Communities in Asia and Africa, Dhaka, Bangladesh, 24–26 January: Socio-economist, sponsored by FAO Rome.

• ICLARM Workshop on Aquaculture Policy Options for Integrated Resource Management in Southern Africa, Zomba, Malawi, 22–25 February: Senior Aquaculturist and Socio-economist.

• Seminar on the Management of Integrated Agro-Piscicultural Ecosystems in Tropical Areas, Brussels, Belgium, 16–19 May: Senior Aquaculturist and Socio-economist, sponsored by BADC (also attended by delegates from five SADC countries).

• Seminar on Fish Production in Lowlands Reservoirs, Maseru, Lesotho, 13–14 June: Senior Aquaculturist, Socio-economist.

3.3 Evaluation

The Joint Evaluation Mission by SADC Recipient Countries, Donor Governments (Belgium and Sweden) and FAO on ALCOM Programme took place from 16 April to 2 June 1994. The mission was comprised of one representative each from Belgium, Sweden and FAO, and three resources persons from SADC-member countries. It was briefed at FAO Rome and ALCOM Harare, undertook field visits to Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe, and prepared a draft final report on findings and recommendations which was presented to FAO Rome on 31 May. The mission's final report was printed by FAO and distributed to the donors and ALCOM member-countries during October.

3.4 Proposal for ALCOM Phase III

The proposal for ALCOM Phase III, which was prepared based on the Report of the Working Group on the Future of ALCOM, was revised to account for comments received from the donors and member-countries at the 7th Steering Committee Meeting. It was reviewed by members of the Working Group and by the Evaluation Mission. It was finalized by FAO Rome and submitted to the donors in September.

4 Staff

Internationally-recruited ALCOM professional staff members and consultants during 1994 were:

Nationally-recruited ALCOM professional staff members and consultants during 1994 were:

Associate Professional Officers assigned to ALCOM during 1994 were:

The Senior Aquaculturist acted as Programme Manager throughout the year. A Consultant Aquaculturist was engaged from February to December (3 months GCP/RAF/277/BEL, 8 months GCP/INT/555/SWE) to assist with technical matters. The APO Aquaculturist in Lesotho, the APO Socio-economist in Zambia, the APO Socio-economist in Harare, and the APO Ecologist in Harare completed their assignments and left ALCOM. An NPO Socio-economist was hired for one year in Tanzania. An APO Socio-economist based in Harare was transferred to Morogoro, Tanzania. An APO Aquaculturist took up his assignment in Zambia.

II DETAILED PROGRESS REPORTS AND EXPENDITURES

Annex A available on request gives, in tabular form for each sub-project, an assessment of the achievements during 1994, the expected output, detailed results to date, planned 1994 activities and progress against these activities during the year. This new format was designed at the specific request of the Seventh Steering Committee to provide more detailed information on results and their linkage to project objectives.

Annex B available on request gives, in response to a request of the Seventh Steering Committee meeting, information on project expenditures for each of the three donor-funded projects and the participating countries.