The following sections are based on the background and information papers (Annex III) presented to the Workshop by the discussion leaders, on the ensuing discussions, and on the summary reports prepared by the discussion leaders and their rapporteurs.
Symposium - Panel 1
Panel Leader: Dr. W. Odoi-Akersie (Ghana)
The planning constraints and priorities in African fisheries were considered in detail. The absence of reliable statistics, inadequate research, lack of trained staff, lack of finance, lack of project integration and the common failure of fisheries plans were mentioned.
Absence of reliable data and statistics. Great emphasis was laid on the need to have reliable fishery statistical data which form the main pillar on which planning hinges. The greater the flexibility of the data, the more accurate the projections. Often data will need to be extracted from secondary sources.
Inadequate research. The duration and content of research should be clearly defined. Manpower planning for research is also essential in order to efficiently absorb researchers as they return from specialized training. An appeal was made to donor agencies for additional financial support for applied research.
Lack of trained staff. Some countries, such as Lesotho and Zambia, reported manpower development as a constraint, having to rely on overseas institutions for senior staff training. Other countries, such as Kenya, have training facilities and would be willing to accept foreign staff for manpower development. This underlines the need for regional cooperation in training to make better use of local institutions and to save on foreign exchange.
Lack of finance. Arbitrary budgetary allocations often result in delays in project implementation. Well formulated fishery plans may convince authorities to give better financial backing. At the planning stage the Ministry of Finance and other financial agencies should be involved.
Failure of fisheries plan. Planning should start at grass-root level, involving the producers directly. For example, small-scale cooperative fisheries are working well in Burundi and consequently have government backing. Unforeseen external factors affecting long-term planning must be taken into account, such as the effects of drought, the effects of pollution, and undue delays in implementation.
Planning now mostly consists of a set of unrelated projects. There is a need for careful elaboration of coordination programmes and projects based on policies and objectives.
The fishery sector should be integrated in the national development planning procedure. The services responsible for promotion, coordination and follow-up of the development of this sector are often neglected in countries where decision makers are unaware of the potential of the fishery resources for supporting the national economy.
Recommendations
4.1 It is therefore recommended that national information and dissemination seminars be organized involving all levels of fisheries personnel and the private sector. Their objective should be to increase the awareness of the decision makers on the importance of the fishery sector, making it possible to allocate more human and material resources to this sector.
4.2 Social, economic and biological data should be collected on a continuing basis as they are essential to planning. It is therefore recommended that governments should give full backing for the intensification of reliable fishery data collection.
Symposium - Panel 1
Panel Leader: Dr. W. Odoi-Akersie (Ghana)
Aquaculture planning was thoroughly discussed. It was noted that in various African countries many aquaculture projects have run to unpredictable failure due to lack of adequate monitoring, discouraging donors and other financing bodies. It was agreed that project monitoring and preparation of reports should be carried out as prescribed in the execution schedule, so that every step of development is known. Whenever adjustment is needed, action can then be taken in time.
The problem of funding aquaculture projects is a common issue because of the low priority given to aquaculture as compared to other food-generating and cash-generating sectors. However, it was pointed out that, in Lesotho, through integrated duck-cum-fish culture, production was increased so much that it competed with other sectors. This was sufficient to convince the Government's financial authorities and creditors that such a production system was a viable and profitable undertaking. If this approach were taken successfully in other countries, it was agreed that the priority problem could be minimized, if not solved.
Recommendations
5.1 The parties concerned should fully participate in the feasibility and planning procedures in order to be able to prepare workable schedules of implementation and make realistic cost estimates.
In Zambia and a few other countries, pilot-scale fish farms have contributed to aquaculture development. Through these farms, fish seeds and other services including extension have successfully been provided to rural fish farmers. It was therefore suggested that countries should envisage the establishment of pilot fish farms where and when deemed necessary.
The lack of aquaculture training facilities highlighted by several delegates prompted the Kenyan delegate to point out the number of such facilities available in various parts of Africa, including several UNDP/FAO projects which offer on-the-job training. Delegates' attention was drawn particularly to the African Regional Aquaculture Centre (ARAC) in Port Harcourt (Nigeria). It offers comprehensive high-level training in aquaculture but unfortunately it is not being patronized by all countries. It was suggested therefore that more use should be made of the existing training facilities at the national, subregional and regional levels. But, it was also emphasized that aquaculture projects planning should match with manpower development plans.
Some national aquaculture development plans presented for external funding have failed to meet donors' requirements because of uncommon format of presentation. It was suggested that acceptable formats be made available. In addition, consultancies and national workshops should be organized to train national personnel and assist them in formulating viable aquaculture projects.
Aquaculture has reached a certain level of development only in a few countries of the region. In most of them, its development is still very limited although the potential exists and the need is felt. It is then very difficult to design a viable aguaculture project and to convince financing bodies to allocate funds for it. Although this problem may not always have a direct solution, it was agreed that well-planned projects had a greater chance of convincing government planners. To be able to prepare such plans, it was suggested that successful developments in other countries should be studied beforehand.
Wherever there is multiple use of water resources, aquaculture planning should be done in close collaboration with other users so as to avoid conflicts later which may retard development.
In most African countries, aquaculture research is still in its infancy. Research-oriented projects should be planned and formulated in close association with the national research institutes, particularly in the countries which have qualified national personnel.
Even in African countries where aquaculture is most developed, the present contribution of aquaculture to fish production is small. Because of this, governments may be hesitant to use scarce resources for its development. The whole sector may thus remain stagnant. This underlines the need for a regional or sub-regional approach as well as for the establishment of aquaculture regional centres for research and training.
The FAO Inland Water Resources and Aquaculture Service has underway a programme called “Environmental data analyses for aquaculture development and fisheries management” which could become a powerful tool for aquaculture planning. The activity aims at testing the feasibility of bringing together a broad variety of data - physical, chemical, ecological and socio-economic - to be computer-analysed, interfaced and compared with aquaculture development criteria. The computer would generate a map indicating fairly precisely where the optimum localities are for a specific kind of aquaculture development. It is hoped that the feasibility of this approach, both technical and economic, can be evaluated by the end of 1986.
Discussion leader: Mr. D. Gréboval (background paper 2)
Rapporteurs: Messrs. S. Chimbuya and E.C. Chondoma
The discussions centred on the factors affecting the economics of aquaculture and on the way technologists and policy-makers could contribute to increases in production, reduction of costs and improved marketing. The interest centred on the use of fertilisation and integrated livestock-aquaculture production to cut feed costs.
Pricing policies were also discussed with a caution on subsidized prices which benefit the consumer at the detriment of the producer and the profitability of fish farming. Credit and financing were cited as major constraints to aquaculture development, especially at the medium and large-scale levels.
Recommendations
6.1 Countries should clearly define their national aquaculture objectives and policies.
6.2 In planning aquaculture development, countries should establish clear practical priority ratings based on future development prospects of fish production and not merely on past performance of the aquaculture sector.
6.3 Socio-economic analysis and feasibility studies should be conducted for proper planning and evaluation of aquaculture development programmes.
6.4 Attention should be paid to provide proper incentives to aquaculture development through adequate pricing and credit policies.
6.5 In order to avoid a dilution of responsibilities, aquaculture should be brought under a single administration.
Discussion leader: Mr. D. Gréboval (background paper 5 and information paper 17)
Rapporteurs: Messrs. S. Chimbuya and E.C. Chondoma
On the case study of the Ivory Coast, it was observed that the paper was a good example of how countries could attempt to develop a comprehensive long-term plan for aquaculture development. It was pointed out that this initial effort should be complemented by a careful assessment of the technical and socio-economic characteristics, performances, and constraints of the present production systems.
The presentation of the case study of Kenya focussed on the the fish pond inventory recently conducted in the Lake Victoria Basin. It led to discussions on two types of surveys:
resources surveys aimed at making an inventory of available resources and inputs;
socio-economic and technical surveys aimed at improving the implementation of on-going programmes and projects, and assessing performances and constraints for planning further development efforts.
These two types of surveys were judged essential for proper planning and implementation at sectorial or project level. It was, however, emphasized that these surveys were costly and for this reason seldom undertaken. The possibility of using existing secondary information from agriculture or water surveys, for example, was noted. Caution should be exercized, however, by testing the reliability of secondary information.
Recommendations
7.1 SADCC countries should prepare their own medium and long-term aquaculture development plans. These plans should be prepared in collaboration with the other authorities involved with the planning and its implementation. Such plans should be practical and realistic.
7.2 The conduct of resources surveys and socio-economic/-technical surveys should be an essential part of planning and programme implementation. In view of the cost involved, external financing should be sought.
Discussion leader: Mr. F. Demoulin (background paper 3)
Rapporteurs: Mrs. M. Do Carmo Carrilho and Mr. L.K. Nkosi
During the discussion, it was stressed by the participants that the aquaculture system(s) to be developed had to be selected according to Government policy, prevailing local conditions and the infrastructures which could be built.
Referring to past failures in some SADCC countries, attention should also be given to the fish species to be produced, especially taking into account social factors and consumers' preferences.
Most of the countries are mainly involved in the development of small-scale fish culture in rural areas to provide the resident population with animal proteins and additional income. Other countries have undertaken aquaculture development at different levels, for example, in Zambia, at the family, farm and commercial levels.
It was well recognized that some of the major constraints encountered by aquaculture development in African countries are the availability and the cost of inputs, especially seeds, feeds and fertilizers. Integrated fish farming with duck or pig husbandry is in many cases the only solution which might ensure profitability. But it was also noted that combining fish and animal husbandry may not be appropriate for some small-scale farmers because of their difficulty in associating simple aquaculture techniques with more complicated animal husbandry techniques.
It was unanimously agreed that, whenever possible, aquaculture development would always benefit from being integrated with other development programmes, particularly with animal husbandry.
Recommendations
8.1 When developing aquaculture programmes, aquaculture systems based on organic manuring, particularly through integrated fish farming, should be given priority, both for their fertilization and feeding values.
8.2 In small-scale enterprises an appropriate organic manuring system should be selected in combination with the simple aquaculture system used.
Discussion leader: Mr. B. Haight (background paper 4)
Rapporteurs: Messrs. G.M. Nongwa and C.D. Sikazwe
The development of skilled manpower and its organization to effectively disseminate aquaculture information to farmers was identified as one of the most important components of aquaculture development. This component depends on the clear articulation of aquaculture development programme objectives, and an assessment of existing staff resources, training facilities and extension services.
There are important differences in aquaculture training requirements for each staff level. Senior and middle-level staff require specialized post-graduate training of a practical nature which currently is not adequately available at national institutions. Problems in sending such staff outside the region for training include the cost in foreign exchange, the difficulties in organizing course programmes and the possible irrelevance of foreign training to regional conditions. For example, the African Regional Aquaculture Centre (ARAC) training is not specific to all species/systems required by SADCC. As a first step, ARAC could be used more fully by SADCC countries but national technical institutions need strengthening to provide practical aquaculture training. These resources could be shared through sub-regional cooperation. Visits to other national aquaculture projects in the region can be a useful exercise but can also put a heavy burden on national staff not prepared to provide regional training.
Lower-level field staff are the most numerous group requiring aquaculture training of a highly practical nature. Local training courses have been organized but there is a need for well-trained and experienced trainers to lead these courses. Existing national institutions can be used to train these staff and also provide aquaculture training to others with front-line technology transfer roles, such as school teachers.
The career development of aquaculture staff should be considered to maintain motivation and retain trained staff. This can be facilitated by useful selection of staff for training, relating work assignments to training, and providing training to the private sector where appropriate. Promotion of experienced staff to trainers, for example, can strengthen both career development and training capabilities.
To promote aquaculture development, trained staff must be organized to deliver extension services to farmers. Indirect and direct means of contact with farmers must be employed depending on the specific conditions of a country. These include the type of farmer served, the extension services employed by other local extension units, and the type of technology being transferred. Extension services can be very expensive and it is essential to give attention to the effective organization and supervision of staff.
The development and use of communication aids is an important component of extension services. While a wide range of such aids has been developed in Africa, specific aids can be developed utilizing communication techniques compatible with cultural traditions. An extension service should carefully relate the technology to be provided with the communication aids used.
Extension services must be backed by technical services with the capability of making technical improvements through research and passing these improvements on to farmers. The service must also respond to new ideas through direct farmer contact, group representatives, and internal evaluation.
Recommendations
9.1 To train high-level staff at the post-graduate level, SADCC countries should increasingly use the facilities available in Africa and the sub-region, including ARAC. It would be most useful to prepare a guide to national aquaculture training facilities in Africa.
9.2 Sub-regional cooperation is necessary to train middle-level staff. FAO should organize a training course for such staff, emphasizing aquaculture development techniques of extension and training to help build up national capacity in these areas.
9.3 Communication aids for supporting aquaculture development which are already in use in the region should be assembled and made available to countries in the SADCC sub-region.
9.4 National extension services should be strengthened to provide appropriate support for the promotion of aquaculture development.
Discussion leader: Mr. C. Nugent (background paper 5)
Rapporteurs: Messrs. S. Chimbuya and H. Kabunda
This aspect of aquaculture development will have varied applications in the region, being to a great degree influenced by overall national policies which may be decided independently of aquaculture priorities.
Different areas of public and private sector intervention were discussed. During this session and intermittently during the previous sessions, the following points received a general consensus of support.
The different roles of the two sectors should be defined in any planning exercise. In this respect, the previous discussions held on planning underlined the necessity for government support and approval to aquaculture programmes, and for their relevance to overall government policies. Planning into the future therefore requires, where possible, consideration of existing trends in government policy.
Fish culture is still at an early stage of development and, for this reason, positive government action is necessary to create suitable conditions for its development. This action should include the encouragement of farmers to see aquaculture as an attractive alternative to other activities. Government action was considered necessary at two levels: (i) direct intervention in aquaculture; and (ii) positive policy making to create a suitable socio-economic environment for farmers.
Direct government intervention is required for example in the general promotion of aquaculture, research, training of personnel, seed production and extension services. Without adequate attention to each of these factors, it was considered unlikely that private production capacity would be installed and flourish.
Promoting the correct socio-economic environment for aquaculture development will always be important. Among the numerous factors cited, the availability of sufficient credit facilities and investment funds was considered of particular importance.
Planning should include the possibility of eventual transfer to private enterprise of public sector responsibilities in cases where the private sector has the means and motivation to assume them. Transfer of roles from the public to the private sector, although feasible, was considered to be a mid or long-term objective, especially when considering the needs of small farmers.
The development of the private sector, whether the small village farmer or the large commercial investor, is the primary concern of a national aquaculture policy. The needs of this private sector must influence public sector policy to ensure that the full potential of aquaculture is achieved.
Recommendations
10.1 The specific roles of the public and the private sectors should be well defined in any planning exercise.
10.2 Positive government action is necessary to create suitable conditions for aquaculture development; the government should directly intervene in general promotion, research, training of personnel, seed production and extension services.
10.3 Availability of credit facilities and investment funds should be considered of particular importance to support aquaculture development.
10.4 Planning of aquaculture development should envisage the possibility of transfering responsibilities from the public to the private sector.
Discussion Leader: Dr. A.G. Coche
Rapporteurs: Messrs. R. Lema and G.Z. Sinkala
Regional cooperation for aquaculture development in Africa dates from 1967, when the implementation of the UNDP/FAO project “Improvement and research in fish culture” (RAF/66/054) was initiated. For five years, training and research programmes were developed for the Central African Republic, Cameroon, Congo and Gabon. Such fruitful regional cooperation has resulted in notable achievements such as:
the definition of the modern technology for semi-intensive tilapia culture, based on the combined use of a microphagous species (T. nilotica) and organic fertilization (compost or integrated animal husbandry);
the initial steps for the culture of the African catfish Clarias gariepinus (syn. C. lazera) and its induced reproduction; and
the development of small-scale rural fish culture through strong extension support.
A more recent example of regional cooperation is the African Regional Aquaculture Centre (ARAC), established since 1979 near Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria, within the framework of the UNDP/FAO Aquaculture Development and Coordination Programme (ADCP). It is a regional project sponsored by 18 African countries and financed mostly by UNDP and Nigerian contributions. For the past five years, ARAC has had three major objectives: (i) to establish and equip the centre's facilities; (ii) to train senior aquaculturists; and (iii) to carry out applied research programmes. For the last five years, these training facilities have been little used by the SADCC countries, as shown by the following number of senior aquaculturists trained at ARAC for each country:
| ANG | BOT | LES | MAL | MOZ | SWA | TAN | ZAM | ZIM |
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 1 |
More recently, the West African Economic Commission (CEAO) initiated the construction of a regional training centre for fisheries in Nouadhibou, Mauritania, for the basic training of middle and senior-level technicians in marine fisheries, inland fisheries and aquaculture. It is now planned to complete these last two specialized training curricula in the Ivory Coast, at a proposed CEAO centre for inland fisheries and aquaculture development.
The preparatory phase for a longer-term programme of technical cooperation with African countries in aquaculture and rural development should soon be initiated as a FAO/SIDA Sweden Cooperative Programme entitled “Aquaculture for local community development programme”. Its main objectives are: (i) to establish pilot community fish farming activities as part of an existing general rural development project; and (ii) to prepare guidelines for selection, formulation and implementation of similar development activities elsewhere, which will serve to complement and extend the conclusions obtained from the first pilot project. The programme, if approved, will be based in Zambia.
Of direct interest to the SADCC countries is the “Rural fish culture development and technology transfer” project actually under preparation by the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and FAO, for the Eastern/Southern Multinational Programming and Operational Centre (MULPOC). The ministerial meeting endorsed the proposal and requested ECA to prepare its implementation. A consultant is now visiting the countries to be involved to finalize the original proposal. The Workshop was briefed by Mr. T. Makonnen, ECA/FAO Representative and Mr. W.H.L. Allsopp, ECA/FAO Consultant, on the above activities. During the ensuing discussion, it was pointed out that because of the heterogeneity of the Eastern/Southern MULPOC sub-region, it might not be feasible to propose a single programme relevant to all 18 member countries. Thus it might become necessary to consider separately more homogeneous groups of countries, such as the islands, the coastal-countries and the land-locked countries. All participants agreed that the programme should be kept within a realistic size and should primarily focus on training needs within the SADCC sub-region.
The Southern African Development Coordination Conference (SADCC) is composed of nine countries. The Workshop was briefed by Mr. P. Maréchal, SADCC Fisheries Officer, on its organization and administrative procedures. The SADCC Coordinator for Fisheries/Forestry/Wildlife, Mr. Nkoko, has his headquarters in Lilongwe, Malawi. A sub-committee for Wildlife/Fisheries meets twice a year to review the national project proposals to be approved by the SADCC Committee and to be submitted to donors for funding. The need to have a regional element in the projects to be accepted by the Committee has proven to be a constraint for aquaculture projects.
Eight SADCC projects have been approved to date, of which only two aquaculture projects as follows:
it has been proposed by Malawi to renovate and expand the facilities at the Kasinthula pilot fish farm, for subregional training and demonstration purposes. The French Government has agreed to finance this project and the preparatory phase is to be initiated soon;
the development of duck-cum-fish culture in Lesotho will now be implemented through a FAO/TCP project centred on local duckling production, staff training and integrated fish production.
Tanzania is planning to propose a project for the establishment of a pilot fish farm near Morogoro, on the basis of a past UNDP/FAO proposal, for research, training, seed production and demonstration of integrated fish production. Future projects to be submitted by SADCC countries may also include cage culture in lakes/reservoirs, freshwater prawn culture and shrimp culture.
Recommendations
11.1 Future SADCC aquaculture activities should be closely integrated with those occurring outside the sub-region. Collaboration should be strongly encouraged with all future regional aquaculture projects in Africa, and in particular with the ADCP worldwide network, with CIFA and ARAC at the African level, and with future MULPOC activities in the eastern/southern sub-regions.
11.2 The MULPOC programme for aquaculture development under preparation should be kept to a realistic size, focussing primarily on SADCC training needs.
Discussion Leader: Dr. A.G. Coche
The Workshop recognized that the development of aquaculture at the national level should ideally consist of:
the definition of a national policy for this development;
the preparation of national development plans on long, middle and short-term bases;
the establishment of the necessary administrative structure;
the implementation of the successive short-term development plans, giving particular attention to:
It was underlined that most of these last activities could be regrouped in a national centre designed, for example, for the training of lower-level personnel and private farmers, for the initial production of seeds from improved broodstock, for adaptative national research, and for pilot-scale demonstrations.
For the development of aquaculture at the SADCC regional level, the Workshop agreed that a number of activities should be regionalized, for example, the training of medium-level staff (e.g. hatchery managers, extension coordinators, pilot-farm technicians), the introduction/acclimatization of new fish species, the genetic improvement of broodstocks, fish feeds development, and information storage/dissemination, including the production of development support material.
Doubts were expressed by the Workshop participants concerning the possibility of concentrating all these regional activities into one centre only, because of the wide range of ecological and socio-economic conditions present in the SADCC region. Instead, it was suggested that the facilities at a number of national centres be further developed, according to the specialized conditions present.
It was generally agreed that the regional coordination of all SADCC aquaculture activities was essential, if the limited financial resources were to be used in an optimum way. Several means to make such coordination effective were proposed such as, for example, a SADCC sub-committee for aquaculture, a SADCC aquaculture newsletter, regular exchanges of technical staff and regular meetings of both administrators and technicians.
Technology transfer should be reinforced by specialized workshops, training courses and study tours, as well as by the publication of specialized pamphlets, manuals, filmstrips and video-cassettes. The need to coordinate the training of senior staff and the basic research programmes, particularly at University level, was also emphasized.
Recommendations
Taking into account the review presented and the ensuing discussions, the following actions concerning aquaculture development in the SADCC region were recommended:
12.1 Plans for aquaculture development in the SADCC sub-region should be carefully integrated with the future Eastern/Southern MULPOC project now in preparation.
12.2 A sub-committee for aquaculture should be established within the SADCC Committee for Fisheries and Wildlife. This subcommittee should meet regularly but not more than once a year.
12.3 Donors should be requested to provide increased financial support to the SADCC countries for aquaculture training and applied research, as well as for the establishment of functional national aquaculture centres. Such financial support should also become available to technicians for attendance at SADCC coordinating and technical meetings.
12.4 As a reference for future development planning, FAO/FIRI should prepare “National Reviews for Aquaculture Development” for the SADCC countries not yet studied and in particular for Lesotho and Swaziland.
