The Aquaculture for Local Community Development Programme organized a Technical Consultation on Aquaculture in Rural Development, in Lusaka, Zambia, from 27 to 30 October 1987. In total, 35 social scientists, aquaculturists and administrators from eight SADCC countries, India, Sweden and FAO, Rome, participated (the list of participants is given in Appendix 1).
The aims of the Consultation were to:
clarify the relevance of findings of desk-studies carried out by the Programme on socio-cultural, socio-economic, bio-environmental, and bio-technical aspects of rural aquaculture for the countries of Southern Africa
familiarize the participants with the concept of aquaculture in rural development
identify areas which need further studies and investigations to elaborate on strategies.
The programme of the Consultation is given in Appendix 2 and a list of documents presented in Appendix 3.
Mr A. Andreasson, Programme Manager, welcomed the participants, noting with satisfaction that all SADCC countries had responded positively to the invitation to the Consultation. It was regretted that participants from one country could not attend due to transport problems. The objectives of the meeting were stated and it was emphasized that the participants had been invited in their personal capacities to share their knowledge.
Dr F. Henderson, Chief, Inland Water Resources and Aquaculture Service, FAO, Rome, welcomed the participants and brought greetings from Mr Edouard Saouma, Director-General, and Dr A. Lindquist, Assistant Director-General a.i., Fisheries Department.
Mr Mufwaya, Deputy Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Water Development, formally opened the Consultatation. In his speech he drew attention to the importance of fish in a balanced diet and the potential for increased fish production through aquaculture.
In his introductory remarks, Mr A. Andreasson identified the main elements of rural development strategies and drew attention to the contribution by the World Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (WCARRD, held by FAO in 1979) to the development of such strategies. Rural development strategies with the overall aim of improving the standards of living, through emphasis on increased productivity of small-scale producers, equity, people's participation, the role of women and environmental concerns, should be guiding the work of the Programme. Some of the implications of such strategies were identified, such as the importance of adequate target group identification, problem identification on a high level involving the communities and multidisciplinary teams of experts, approaches to involve women considering the special constraints they face as producers, and that a sustained production capacity of land and water should be ensured.
Aquaculture is likely to be a part-time activity of most rural families in Southern Africa. To contribute to the overall objectives of rural development, aquaculture thus has to prove to be the best option for rural families. This calls for a thorough problem analysis and implies that when planning for aquaculture development, whole farming systems should be considered. To be successful, aquaculture systems should be adapted to and integrated with the overall economic activities of rural families, bearing in mind the availability of land, labour and capital. When discussing aquaculture all options to increase fish production should be investigated. In several areas the first, most rapid, step might be the utilization of small water-bodies, for example through culture-based fisheries.
The first activity of the Programme was to carry out desk studies on socio-cultural, socio-economic, bio-environmental, and bio-technical aspects of aquaculture in rural development. The objective of the studies was to identify factors likely to be crucial to the integration of aquaculture with rural development. The reports of the desk studies were presented. Brief summaries are given below.
This study was carried out and presented by Dr P. Hayward, consultant sociologist.
The concept of “integrated development” has different meanings. It was advocated that when discussing socio-cultural aspects of rural aquaculture the term should preferably be used to intend the integration of aquaculture into the existing cycle of rural families' economic activities, and not the integration of agriculture activities (usually ducks and pigs) into an aquaculture system.
One important aspect is social change, taking place through processes in which societies' functions become differentiated among specific institutions replacing the kinship system, and rural-urban migration; traditional norms and values are protected through the survival of traditional socialization although they have become mixed with urban values. In societies where kinship is important solidarity within the society is usually strong.
Aquaculture requires, compared to fishing, an interest in and attitude of conservation of resources. Such attitudes are not evident in slash-and-burn agriculture and in fisheries which are of a migratory character. In discussing the introduction of aquaculture, it should be remembered that fisherfolk have the advantage of being familiar with fish, its biology and behaviour. On the other hand, farming families who are sedentary (have given up slash-and-burn agriculture) have the advantage of being accustomed to conservation of resources.
The socio-cultural factors influencing the development of aquaculture are little known and studied. However, the factors identified in the desk study are likely to affect its introduction. Consideration should be given to the degree of differentiation in the society, the kinship systems, the urban experiences of a community, and the degree of sedentation in farming and the degree of migration in fishing communities.
Finally, one socio-cultural factor of importance in the development of rural aquaculture is the interaction between rural families, Government officers, and expatriate project staff.
The study was carried out by Ms E. Drewes, consultant socio-economist and presented by Dr P. Hayward.
The main socio-economic factors for rural aquaculture development are access to land, inputs, technical knowledge and management skills, and capital and the profitability of fish-farming.
Secure access to land over a long period is crucial. Thus ownership structure and tenure systems are important. The farmers also need access to seed, feed, and harvesting equipment. Efforts should be made to decrease the farmers' dependence on only one source for these inputs. Low feed technologies and feed which can be produced at the farm should be chosen. Harvesting equipment poses a special problem, since the returns from small-scale farming might not justify that every farmer invests in such equipment.
Technical knowledge and management skills are important for both the decision of a family to engage in fish-farming and for eventual success. An extension system catering for this and also reaching out to women as a special target group has to be established. The information given to farmers should also include costs and earnings, taking into account that family labour also has an opportunity cost. The construction cost might be specially crucial for female-headed households with an anticipated shortage of labour. The study advocates the importance of adequate cost/benefit analysis of small-scale aquaculture.
Marketing aspects pose special problems. It can be envisaged that most families aim at a surplus production which can be bartered or marketed. The intention to produce fish for a local market with low purchase power can easily be upset by proximity to urban markets where higher prices can be paid. The role of women is essential in the utilization of the produce. In households where women have decision-making power on harvest and marketing of the produce it is evident that a larger portion of the produce is used for own consumption and/or a larger portion of the income is used for family nutrition.
The study has been carried out and was presented by Dr L. Nyman, consultant biologist.
Environmental factors have a profound influence, both direct and indirect, on the long-term success of aquaculture. But aquaculture also influences the environment, especially the water quality downstream and by providing a habitat for waterborne diseases. The main factors influencing site selection and environmental impact on/of aquaculture are identified in the following diagram:
The general conclusions drawn from the identification of environmental factors are that environmental parameters should be evaluated before and monitored during an aquaculture activity. It is also important to determine the carrying capacity of the environment when planning and managing renewable natural resources. Small-scale aquaculture should be preferred since adverse environmental impact is kept at a minimum.
The major biological factors determining the suitability of a species for culture are species purity, genetic variability, rapid growth under prevailing climatic and other conditions, ease of breeding, and low food-conversion rate. Preference should be given to indigenous or already established species, which are suitable for culture in local specific conditions with regard to temperature preference, length of production cycle, and type of feed and fertilizer locally available.
The study was carried out and presented by Mr B. Haight, aquaculturist. A general set of bio-technical factors apply to all aquaculture systems; land and water suitability, fish seed, consumable inputs (feed, fertilizer, treatment), the management process, and output (fish, by-product). Specifics of these factors are particular to each aquaculture system and its setting.
The degree of intensification of the aquaculture process is a useful way to characterize production methods with reference to bio-technical factors and target groups. Technical innovation can be used at any point in the aquaculture process to overcome environmental constraints and increase the carrying capacity of a system intensification relates more to economic growth and the application of more resources to the aquaculture process. The degree of intensification may be used to initially identify those production methods which are relevant to rural poor farmers. The degree of intensification is usually described as extensive, semi-intensive and intensive.
Having set out the bio-technical details of the aquaculture systems it is useful to investigate how these factors are interrelated and which are most limiting The main interrelated factors are the site (size, form, soil quality, volume, quality of water), the organism (fish and animal species), consumable inputs (fertilizer and feed), labour, capital and management.
In Southern Africa it is likely that most communities considering aquaculture will be made up of farmers. There are a number of relationships between agriculture and aquaculture which are useful in assisting the farmers, such as:
aquaculture activities can take place on land which is unsuitable for farming due to poor soil conditions or water saturation, or on land with low opportunity cost in relation to other potential farming activities
some aquaculture systems directly complement crop activities, such as rice-and-fish culture
pond aquaculture can make use of water from irrigation sources prior to irrigating the land, since the water passes through the fish ponds with little loss
stocking of irrigation reservoirs adds productivity to these bodies of water
rich organic mud accumulations on pond bottoms can be used to fertilize crop lands
vegetable crop wastes can be used as fertilizer and feeds in some systems
wastes from animal husbandry, both leftover feed and animal manure, are good on-farm consumable inputs for some aquaculture systems
extensive and semi-intensive systems require the same basic cultivation tools as used by rural farmers
the level of management required for fish-farming can be matched to that used in local farming systems
production can be timed to meet the needs of local agricultural markets
The participants presented papers outlining the status of aquaculture and rural development in their respective countries. These papers are attached as Appendixes 4–10.
Two papers were presented for this session:
Getting people to plan: Approaches to Participatory Planning by Rathindra Nath Roy, Extension and Training Officer, Bay of Bengal Programme, Madras, India
Gender, Rural Development and Aquaculture in Southern Africa. Factors influencing the representational involvement of women by Prudence Woodford-Berger, Socio-anthropologist, Development Study Unit, University of Stockholm, Sweden.
Brief summaries of the papers are given below.
The paper and the presentation emphasized that any approach to participatory planning has to be based on an understanding of development and under-development. The following definition of development was proposed: “The ability of people to critically analyse and understand their situation and problems, identify needs and to prioritize them, evolve methods of resolving these needs and problems, mobilize local resources to such ends, seek outside help where necessary, organize themselves to implement such activity and to learn from such efforts”. It was argued that such a dynamic definition better describes development than indicators which describe a static situation.
The definition implies a high degree of people's participation and that development cannot be achieved without participation. It also has the implication that the privilege of the development agency is reduced from actual development to enabling it to occur.
Other arguments for people's participation are:
people who do not feel that their needs are addressed in development projects cannot be expected to be enthusiastic. Therefore the involvement of people in identification, planning and implementation is essential
beneficiary selection often creates conflicts. Therefore the selection should be made by the community itself
the sustainability of yields depends upon proper management of resources. No agency or Government can regulate or police resources if the community is not involved.
Aquaculture is a means to produce protein, create employment and income. Referring however to this definition these are necessary but not sufficient conditions. If aquaculture were used as a tool to develop self-reliance, and to develop problem-solving, and not as an end in itself, then aquaculture would become a real tool for development.
In the development literature the number of manuals for people's participation is rapidly increasing. But a manual is not sufficient; the basis for creating people's participation is the attitudes of the development agencies and development workers. However, a number of tools for people's participation, such as group meetings, individual interviews, community seminars and public meetings were identified and discussed.
Rural women in Southern Africa are subject to constraints on their productive capacity and potential that differ from those faced by men. These constraints are conditioned by female roles and responsibilities. A number of obstacles have been identified: overburdening, traditional customs, inequality of rights to resources, national agricultural policies, inadequate identification of target groups for projects, the imposition of structures and norms from industrialized countries, and insufficient attention paid to women's and men's roles in planned development processes.
Four main internal constraints on women's productive capacity likely to affect their involvement in aquaculture were identified:
scarcity of time
chronic shortages of labour that can periodically become acute
poverty itself, resulting from constraints posed by inadequate access to land and other productive resources and capital, and by more or less permanent narrow to non-existent economic margins
the strain resulting from the combined effects of the first three
External constraints include policies of both donor and recipient countries regarding production strategies and equity of distribution as well as project planners' perceptions of women and of the importance of women's work in rural production systems in Africa.
There is a lack of clear models to promote an active involvement of women in aquaculture development. There is thus a need to evolve such models based on existing knowledge on the role of women in food production and to allow time for careful, generative planning, including an initial explorative phase.
The work tasks of women in aquaculture will most likely represent a transfer from the division of labour in agriculture. Aquaculture requiring capital, access to land, credit, etc., will benefit women only if special efforts are made to gear the operations to their needs and capabilities. Such efforts might include reinforced information, training of women by extension officers devoted to including them in their work.
Project design and activities should be based on complementary, mutually-supporting measures for different groups of women, and groups of women who share basic circumstances could be encouraged to take up fish-farming, while for example household-based aquaculture may not be feasible for such groups. Risk-reducing is essential also in the establishment of aquaculture, and especially for female-headed households, where a failure could result in a catastrophe. This is because time and labour are major constraints on women's productivity and if a woman is spending time and labour on fish-farming she is probably taking this from other necessary subsistence or maintenance activities. Demonstration of successful fish-farming where other women are involved would be more convincing to women than other forms of persuasion that lack concrete evidence of feasibility.
People's participation and the role of women were discussed in small groups and in plenary.
In summary the following emerged:
the participants realized that they have different perceptions of development and underdevelopment. This implies that the actions they will take in their work will depend, among other things, on their own definitions and commitments
it was obvious that such discussions are ongoing and will have to be continued within the development agencies and authorities in order to arrive at a consensus on how best to identify people's needs and to use their particular capabilities
those with technical training and background expressed a realization of the importance of social, cultural, and administrative factors in development praxis. An attempt was initiated in learning how to communicate between the different disciplines present (administrators, social scientists, technicians, and natural scientists)
several participants expressed an awareness of participatory planning approaches and of the need to consider the role of women in their activities. However, they felt that they lacked the specific tools to incorporate these ideas into their daily work
a need was expressed to build upon the start made during the Consultation in developing skills and awareness in fostering these approaches, and it was recommended to the Programme that appropriate steps be taken in this direction
the participants recognized the potential for fish-farming development that is represented by women. A strong interest in developing methods and activities to incorporate women in aquaculture in accordance with their present and potential role was expressed. This was based on the role of women in agriculture production and the knowledge that women are often actively participating in existing aquaculture practices
different social organizations, e.g., matrilinear and patrilinear communities would require different approaches to attempts to involve women. Attention was also drawn to different approaches needed for female-and male-headed households.
The paper for the session was presented by Mr Hans Aase, aquaculturist (APO).
Problem identification is an important element of rural development strategies and has been one of the initial activities. At the request of the Department of Fisheries, the Programme - with the help of a Consultant - initiated the formulation of a survey with the ultimate aims to:
identify the current situation and outlook for rural fish-farming
study the significance of factors thought to determine the involvement of rural communities in fish-farming, and suggest other factors of importance
study the nature and effectiveness of development support to fish-farmers in rural communities
The questionnaires were field-tested on a small scale in Eastern Province of Zambia after which a full-scale survey was carried out in Northern Province. In the presentation the limits of the survey were stressed and it was also pointed out that this was one method of gathering information. It needs to be complemented with, for example, more in-depth interviews with others than the decision-maker in the families, should further information be required.
Discussion
The discussion can be summarized as follows:
there is need for various types of data-gathering, including surveys, in different situations. The survey method as presented was agreed to be too elaborate for regular data collection by Governments and would serve as a one-time survey, mainly for the identification of factors of importance for the further planning of Programme activities
concern was expressed about costs and other resources needed to carry out this type of survey without the active involvement of the programme
it was considered important before designing surveys to clarify: the purpose, those who will utilize the results, and an estimate of the reliability of those results
it was a unanimous opinion that data and information-gathering, wheneven feasible, should utilize participatory methods
it was recommended that the Programme coordinate its information-gathering with ongoing efforts by other agencies, institutions and organizations, for example ICLARM.
The paper for the session was presented by Mr Boyd Haight, aquaculturist.
The range of fish-farming systems available for development in Southern Africa is wide: fishery management, culture-based capture fisheries, extensive pond culture, and intensive pond, cage, and raceway culture. These categories represent an increasing degree of intensification. Within each category innovation can be used to increase the yield.
Aquaculture in Southern Africa is often regarded as synonymous with pond culture. However, pond culture requires land and water resources not always available for the rural farmer. Therefore, if the development objective is to make locally-produced fish available to rural populations the search for viable fish-farming options should include and consider a broad spectrum of alternatives. Often there are small water-bodies, seasonal rivers or irrigation canals where fishing takes place. These water-bodies deserve further investigation for their fish production potential and ways of improving yields taking into account social and biological factors. Approaches to improving yields could use technical innovation to overcome environmental constraints and increase the carrying capacity or alternatively use intensification by applying more inputs relative to a limiting resource. The implications of each approach are important in choosing viable rural fish-farming systems.
Discussion
The plenary discussion centred mainly around the utilization of small water-bodies, and touched upon the following aspects:
ownership and access are crucial to who exploits small reservoirs and who receives the benefits. The small reservoirs in the region are usually built by Government and controlled by Government or community institutions
community orientation towards reservoirs centres on control of exploitation (licensed fishing, limitations on gear). No enhancement measures were identified as being practised, and these may be inhibited by characteristics of community control
small reservoirs in the region are generally built for multiple purposes with low priority given to fisheries
traditional fishing and fishery management methods could be used to reduce dependence on outside resources and enhance production
it is usual to find people from outside the local community exploiting the resource. Many of these people have fishing skills which are useful in this context
management techniques are difficult to apply to small reservoirs and since each reservoir has unique characteristics it is not possible to generalize about appropriate management techniques
surveys of small water-bodies in the region could contribute to understanding the various management techniques practised and the potential for intensified use of the resources
it was suggested that two-tier exploitation (such as practised in Indian community forests) might be considered for improved productivity; a licence paid in fish to the community for net harvesting of fish, with informal hook-and-line fishing given free of charge to community members for subsistence fishing.
The paper for the session was presented by Mr Boyd Haight, aquaculturist.
Technologies for increased production from fish-farming have been developed which are suitable for Southern Africa. Attempts to transfer the new technologies to the rural African setting have often not yielded the intended results. Part of the reason may be an imbalance between the technology and the environment, both social and biological. However, even when there is a good match, difficulties have been encountered in effectively transferring the new fish-farming technology to farmers. This is a problem of education, normally referred to as extension.
Extension systems are usually regarded as a Government responsibility. In establishing the systems the Governments must balance the costs against the expected outputs. Several systems have been developed, mainly for agriculture, all with their advantages and their problems. To be effective any system needs adequately trained extension agents, who are mobile within the communities they are to serve, and that the means of communicating with the farmers are suited to their level of education and experiences.
For fish-farming extension there are also specific issues related to technology development (for example, the utilization of on-farm research) and its links with the extension system, the extension activities (for example, possibilities to combine aquaculture and agriculture extension).
It was argued that the costs for an exclusive aquaculture extension system might not balance the output in Southern Africa for rural fish-farming, since fish-farming is and is likely to be a part-time economic activity of the rural farmers.
Discussion
Three main topics were discussed:
(1) Linking fish-farming extension with agricultural extension
for such linkage to be effective it was considered critical that agricultural extension staff be given training and adequate equipment
since agriculture extension systems are well established these systems may resist incorporating new elements such as aquaculture
However, it was suggested that a demonstration of successful methods for such linkage may help in influencing decision-makers to accept including aquaculture extension in existing extension services.
it was suggested that efforts to create a linkage with agriculture extension could be initiated on an ad hoc basis and that positive results lead to more formal cooperation
linkage of aquaculture extension with fisheries extension may in some areas pose problems when aquaculture practices are integrated with agriculture farming systems and when fisheries extension includes exploitation and enforcement activities
information about aquaculture can be given to communities in connection with rural development-oriented messages and promote integration of related development activities.
(2) Technology transfer
Problems, approaches and potential for technology transfer were discussed:
the potential for farmer-to-farmer transfer of technology was recognized. However it was cautioned that such transfer might lead to the transfer of inappropriate methods
there is a need to evolve methods for assisting extension systems utilizing the farmer-to-farmer transfer to promote fish-farming in a cost-effective manner
it was also identified that jealousy and other social phenomena might inhibit the spread of technology when progressive farmers do not intend to share ideas. However, community pressure was believed to be able to counteract this tendency
the use of grassroot animators was discussed and it was pointed out that care should be taken so that there is appropriate follow-up extension action
it was evident that the use of audio-visual fish-farming extension material was limited in the region
it was concluded that written extension material had limited use for fish-farmers, but that this material can be useful to help train and provide reference material for extension staff
some countries in the region use mass-media approaches to fish farming extension, e.g., radio programmes and agriculture shows. It was noted that care must be taken in the preparation of the information for large heterogeneous audiences
an effective way of learning fish-farming practices is by visits to aquaculture demonstration units run either by farmers or by Government
the inclusion of aquaculture in school curricula was considered to promote immediate uptake of fish-farming by parents and facilitate later uptake by school-leavers. It was concluded that effective techniques needed to be further studied and developed
when farmers are unwilling to adopt an otherwise appropriate technology it is important to investigate the underlying reasons
the farmers may view extension workers from two points of view:
as Government representatives implementing policy and gathering information for reports and/or as participants in development activities. These perceptions may influence the adoption of technologies
(3) Technology development
The advantages/disadvantages of on-farm research compared to that on research stations were discussed. Two points of view were expressed:
on-farm research can lead to better adapted technologies, as well as promoting people's participation and effective technology transfer
on-farm research in fish-farming is best used for fine tuning of technologies already developed at research stations
A short plenary discussion was held on the concept of social change, based on the desk study on socio-cultural aspects of aquaculture in rural development (summarized in section 4). The discussion revealed that:
To give people an identity as fish-farmers and motivate them to aquaculture, appeals must be made to a value standard or a need. Monetary incentives can induce action but will only teach the first step in value change, the usefulness of money. Instead, emphasis should be given not only to how to raise fish, but to increase people's adaptive capacity, how to think about recombining the natural environment.
The role by the development worker in reaching villagers is important. Traditional and modern identities both have an essential underlying level of common humanity. In inducing change, approaches leading to increased solidarity are preferable to those encouraging competitiveness. Strain already exists in African societies between a political culture stressing consensus and interpersonal jealousies, and cooperation should therefore be stressed.
A plenary session was held on environmental aspects of aquaculture development based on the desk study (summarized in section 4). The discussion centred around the need for further investigation/research and the actions which could be taken. The following issues were discussed:
aquaculture is intimately tied to watershed management, including for example the planting of trees and the drainage of swamps; and the conservation of water resources through aquaculture practices is of great importance in Southern Africa
the genetic quality of cultured fish is important not only to the aquaculture system itself but also the surrounding environment due to the risk for accidental release of fish
aquaculture systems may create new environments for human disease vector, and this possibility should always be taken into account when designing systems
there is a need to test the overall status of aquaculture systems in relation to the environment and to mitigate any negative impacts
The concluding session concentrated around needs for further activities, on the one hand at a general level within countries, and on the other hand by the Programme in developing, testing and demonstrating methods for aquaculture in rural development.
A number of target areas and issues were identified for investigation in order to arrive at suitable methods. It was recognized that while all target areas would be important for the task of the Programme, the relevance of each target area would vary from one country to another.
The target areas would, in the context of the Programme, be investigated through pilot projects. Such pilot projects will focus, like that initiated in Eastern Province of Zambia, on one or two target areas, but also include elements from other areas. It was emphasized that guiding principles, deriving from rural development strategies, such as peoples' participation, the role of women, nutritional impact and environmental concerns, should be considered within all target areas and pilot projects.
Concern for selection of geographical areas for pilot activities were expressed, and the need to evolve criteria for selection of pilot projects was stressed.
The following target areas were discussed:
aquaculture and farming systems, focusing on the need, through incorporation of aquaculture in farming systems research, to identify the potential for aquaculture and its social and economic viability. Through practical pilot activities, suitable aquaculture practices in relation to major farming systems should be developed, tested and demonstrated
the role of women, with the aim to develop, test and demonstrate methods for the representational involvement of women in fish-farming activities, considering differences between matrilinear and patrilinear societies, and differences between female-and male-headed households
extension and training, with the aim to develop, test and demonstrate suitable and cost-effective methods for extension and training, for example, through linkages with other existing extension systems
utilization of small water-bodies, aiming at demonstrating practices for increased production and methods for distribution of benefits within the communities with different management practices
environmental impact of aquaculture with the aim to identify and monitor environmental problems associated with aquaculture and development of methods to overcome them
information needs and design of surveys, aiming at methodology development for gathering of the information needed for the planning and preparation of projects.
There was a general agreement on the need for activities within the target areas in order to evolve suitable methods for enhancing aquaculture in rural development. However, it was considered by some participants that the “information needs and design of surveys” did not qualify as a target area, but should be one element of all other target areas.
