In view of the results obtained and the difficulties encountered during the implementation of the project, the following recommendations are made:
The regional project cannot provide all the assistance required for the implementation of present and future pilot-projects because of the limited UNDP funds proposed for the next phase (1984–86), Additional sources of funding should be found, especially from the more developed countries in the region, to support the implementation of the projects. The definition and the implementation studies should be carried out by MEDRAP with the assistance of FAO if possible, as was the case in Tunisia, Morocco and Syria.
It is therefore recommended that coordination between MEDRAP and FAO/TCP be continued and developed in the Mediterranean region.
During the next three years the full development of the five on-going projects (Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Yugoslavia and Cyprus) and the implementation of three new projects in Egypt, Greece and Turkey, should be possible.
Three types of training should be developed for marine aquaculture:
- long-term basic training for higher personnel, to acquire general knowledge of marine biology, zootechnics, economics, civil engineering, etc.
- medium or short-term specialized technical training for higher personnel and technicians to give them a technical basis for production, and
- field training by adapting the techniques acquired in the former two cases and training of lower-level personnel (technicians and workers).
Basic training is already provided in the Mediterranean Region by several institutions and it is not recommended to develop such training within MEDRAP.
Specialized technical training seems to be the highest priority in all the participating countries because it is the key to aquaculture development. It may involve short, medium or long periods depending on the subject, initial basic training and the objective.
Short-term training activities (1–2 weeks) are designed to study a highly specific problem and the solutions found in similar installations in countries of the same region. This is the purpose of individual technical visits or visits in small groups which were already made during the preparatory phase and which it is recommended to continue during the main phase.
Medium-term activities (1–3 months) are directed to training production; this is done mainly through training courses with emphasis on practical training plus some theory.
Such a course was already arranged in the preparatory phase, but during the main phase these activities should receive priority.
Long-term technical training (6 months and more) can hardly be envisaged with the present UNDP funds. However, such training, of interest for technicians and producers, could be provided under other arrangements:
- additional sources of funds to MEDRAP, especially from Italy where model farms can offer facilities for practical training;
- coordination with bilateral cooperation, which can offer grants to candidates selected by MEDRAP.
It is recommended to explore all these sources of assistance to respond to all the requirements.
Such training is essential to put the foregoing action into practice and expand the training of technicians and workers in the countries.
It is recommended to provide such assistance in the countries through the core staff personnel and consultants already employed in the technical training sessions presented above.
In this way, training sessions and training in the field will be closely linked and coordinated. In addition, each consultancy provided to a pilot-project should be used as a training activity, not only by the country concerned but also by neighbouring countries who could be invited to send participants to this consultancy.
In view of the similarity of the species and technologies utilized in the countries and the problems encountered in the implementation of the pilot-projects, it is recommended that some form of efficient and permanent regional collaboration be developed during the main phase of MEDDRAP, in two complementary way: exchange of information and exchange of expertise.
In addition to the training sessions or consultancies, it is proposed to develop four activities:
organization of regional workshops in liaison with consultancies or training sessions, on various technical problems. These workshops benefit from the presence of consultants and participants of the Mediterranean countries;
issue of periodic bulletins or papers with information on pilot-projects, new advances in technological problems, equipment, etc.;
setting-up of a regional technical data centre, that could receive from the participating countries, information on production centres and disseminate them to the other countries. (This issue will be discussed in detail at the Advisory Committee Meeting to be held in Cyprus in November 1984);
organization of periodic Advisory Committee meetings, which could also be used for a review of advances in aquaculture in the various countries.
Not all these activities are possible if they are carried out by the project core staff alone; it is, therefore, recommended to use the national counterparts, not only as sources or users of information, but also as participants in the organization of these activities.
It is also recommended to initiate a kind of TCDC project, perhaps at the end of the 1984–86 phase, using local expertise. This exchange could include:
- short visits by aquaculturists from one country to a pilot-project located in another country;
- priority use of experts from participating countries.
Such action has been initiated during the preparatory phase and should be developed during the main phase. Advisory Committee meetings will be instrumental in defining, on an ad hoc basis, its possible application.
The project will be evaluated from a technical point of view on a yearly basis through Advisory Committee meetings attended by representatives from all participating countries, FAO and UNDP. FAO's Development Department, through its Investment Centre (DDC), should be involved as far as investment potential possibilities are concerned.
