As a follow up to the Study on International Fisheries Research (1989–1991), FAO, in collaboration with the Economic Commission for Africa and the European Commission, launched in 1992 a regional aquaculture study in sub-Saharan Africa, with the objective of defining an indicative action plan for research on the basis of a series of detailed national reviews on aquaculture development and research needs. By end of April 1993, twelve reviews had been received from Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. These selected countries produced together about 90 percent by weight (and 85 percent of the total value) of the 1990 aquaculture production in Africa.
The present document is essentially based on the analysis of these 12 national reviews prepared by African senior aquaculturists. It consists of two parts:
A synthesis of the information as presented by the authors of the national reviews on aquaculture development and research needs, identifies regional/subregional constraints and priorities.
An indicative action plan for aquaculture research in sub-Saharan Africa, proposing a strategy on the basis of which interested donors could reorganize the distribution of financial resources in favour of development-oriented research, by strengthening both the individual capabilities of the countries and regional/international cooperation.
PART I: AQUACULTURE DEVELOPMENT AND RESEARCH NEEDS IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
A. AQUACULTURE DEVELOPMENT
Aquaculture is still essentially a rural, secondary and part-time activity taking place in small farms in small freshwater ponds. Extensive to semi-intensive cultural systems produce limited fish yields which are mostly consumed directly, bartered or sold locally as cash crop. Organic fertilization, although preferred, is still far from generalized. Supplementary feeding also is limited, mostly by the local availability of feed ingredients. From the 20 different species known to be cultured, only three species (Nile tilapia, African catfish and common carp) are most commonly farmed throughout Africa.
Actual trends of aquaculture development include the increased use of brackish and marine waters, the renewed interest in the enhancement of fisheries in small water bodies and the gradual privatization of the production of juvenile fish. Progressive farmers tend to gradually intensify their pond cultural system toward a semi-intensive management and a small-scale commercial level, according to markets locally available. Within public administrations, there is a recent tendency to regroup all aquaculture-related activities.
The public aquaculture infrastructure is rather well developed, with more than 200 state fish farms and 400 ha of earthen ponds present. But most of this infrastructure is very old and little productive. Maintenance costs are high and management difficult. Relatively new fish farms exist in Cameroon, Malawi, Nigeria and Rwanda.
Aquaculture personnel for administration and state farm management varies greatly, both in quality and quantity, from country to country. On average, there are - per country and per hectare of state fish farms - 0.33 senior staff, 0.7–1 medium-level staff and two low-level staff. The two top categories of staff are poorly represented in Rwanda and Zambia, while the presence of all three categories is very limited in the Central African Republic.
The major support activity for aquaculture development consists in specialized extension. A notable exception is Zimbabwe, where the extension service is pluridisciplinary and agriculture-oriented. Rwanda, Malawi and Zambia have also initiated such collaboration. The production and distribution of juvenile fish to farmers at subsidized cost is another common way to support development. Legislation and credit schemes are practically non-existent. With the exception of Nigeria, the support received from aquaculture research entirely depends on the foreign financial assistance available in each country (see also next section).
Evaluations of aquaculture development have mostly focused on development potential and constraints. Some market surveys and target groups studies have also taken place. But economic aspects have generally been ignored.
The aquaculture institutional framework is normally characterized by poor stability, dispersed administrative responsibilities and lack of efficient coordination. Aquaculture development generally has a very low priority status.
Planning is greatly handicapped by the absence of a National Aquaculture Development Plan and poor planning capabilities. Only two countries have elaborated a specific development Plan (Nigeria, Madagascar) and three others have taken definite steps towards its elaboration (Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania). Further handicaps in each country are the general lack of an adequate aquaculture data base coupled with the absence of reliable production statistics.
Aquaculture education facilities are mostly non-existent at university level. Only two anglophone universities (Malawi, Nigeria) propose an aquaculture curriculum. Four anglophone universities have varied specialized courses related to aquaculture. On the contrary, at the secondary level, specialized aquaculture education is rather well represented. On-station training is available in most countries.
Of the 54 aquaculture development projects financed in the countries under review, mostly from the seventies on, most relied on grants from UNDP and USAID, while some projects were financed through reimbursable loans in West and Central Africa only. Most projects were implemented by FAO/UN.
Although the geographical distribution of these projects was rather well balanced among all four reviewed agro-ecological regions (West, Central, East and Southern Africa) for FAO and US/PCV assistance, it was on the contrary heavily concentrated in the southern region for most other executing agencies.
The major project objectives were institution-building (infrastructure, equipment, staff), production/distribution of juvenile fish as a development support activity, and extension activities for subsistence and small-scale commercial farmers.
Sustainability was rated bad-to-limited for half of the projects, average for one quarter and good for 15 percent of them. Major reasons for failures were the limited financial means available within the country at take-over.
For the 12 countries under review, 42 constraints to aquaculture development have been identified, 15 of them being present in at least half of the countries. These constraints mostly relate to public administration/organization and socio-economics/human resources.
At the continental level, the major identified constraints are:
At the sub-regional level, however, the type of constraints varies from one area to another. They are less numerous in West Africa and most numerous in Central Africa.
B. AQUACULTURE RESEARCH
Aquaculture research is mostly carried out by public institutions. Through the Department of Fisheries, a university department or a research institute (mostly fisheries-oriented), those institutions depend generally from either Scientific Research of Forestry/Natural Resources or Agriculture. The private sector is active in Kenya, Zambia and Zimbabwe only.
Research objectives are mostly defined according to institutional objectives or international programmes, except in the private sector. They are usually defined independently from development planning. Their orientation is mostly toward biotechnological aspects, although some economic and social aspects are also considered.
Eight identified research stations are ranked from “very good” (Côte d'Ivoire, Rwanda) to “good” (Cameroon, Malawi) and “poor” (Kenya, Nigeria × 2, Zambia), on the basis of available infrastructure, equipment and support facilities.
National financing is limited in all countries. Research heavily relies upon foreign financial assistance.
In general, three to ten national senior staff may be involved in each country in aquaculture research, generally on a part-time basis. This staff consists mainly of biologists and ecologists.
The objectives of the aquaculture research programmes are normally related to identified development constraints (see above) and to research priorities (see Section D). Top-ranking objectives of the 73 reviewed programmes are:
Research programmes are mostly of short duration, lasting from two to four years only. Most of them are reported from West and Southern Africa.
The institutional framework for aquaculture research has the following characteristics:
There is a definite need for improving the coordination between research and development as well as for a better system for using research as a support for development.
The collaboration between aquaculture research and production sectors is generally limited. It exists in all countries because of individual, informal personal contacts. Other main reasons are the involvement of producers in the identification of research programmes and their own research activities, especially at the commercial scale. As a general rule, researchers are not involved in the identification of development policies, except in Nigeria.
Whenever the above collaboration takes place, it is usually on technical subjects, although in some instances economic and social subjects have also been jointly considered.
The most common collaboration mechanism is extension (in all countries), but direct transfer of technology by researchers may happen on several occasions also. Publications and training are little used for such purpose.
The results of the main research programmes reviewed are as varied as the programmes themselves. They testify of the need for solving practical technological problems locally, using various culture systems. Induced results relate mostly to aquaculture development.
Sustainability and continuity of efforts are estimated to be “good” in 57 percent and from “limited” to “bad” in 26 percent of the cases.
In the presence of good research staff, successful research depends mostly on adequate financial support. The use of imported inputs has often caused problems.
Discussions amongst the authors of this document have led to the identification of several needs related to future aquaculture research activities in Africa:
Adequate education and training facilities should be developed, aiming specifically at the development of the required qualified manpower.
An improved information flow throughout Africa should be created, at least in its two main official languages, English and French. This should include both past and present research information.
A normal aquaculture information flow should be established as soon as the political situation permits between aquaculture researchers at a full continental scale, including the actual Republic of South Africa.
From the long list of development constraints identified earlier (see Section A above), it is to be stressed that only a few of them could be alleviated by research. These constraints relate to:
C. AQUACULTURE DEVELOPMENT PRIORITIES
Priorities for aquaculture development in the short and medium terms have been identified in each country, mostly during meetings involving only representatives of the Ministry (or Ministries) directly engaged in aquaculture development.
Most of these identified priorities consist in non-technical subjects, such as public administration, education/training, socio-economics, infrastructure building, extension services reorganization/strengthening and private-sector development.
For the implementation of most of the 58 priority development programmes proposed by the countries reviewed, both financial and technical assistance are requested by all countries, except Nigeria.
Major identified priorities for the development of aquaculture in sub-Saharan Africa are as follows:
It clearly appears that the lack of regular development planning exercises has resulted in a biased appreciation of the development priorities. On the basis of the negative past experiences with credit for small-scale farmers, it is unlikely that this development priority will be resolved in the short to medium term, as proposed in the national reviews.
D. AQUACULTURE RESEARCH PRIORITIES
Priorities for aquaculture research in the short and medium terms have been mostly identified either in general meetings/working groups or by the author of the national review himself.
These identified research priorities consist mainly in biotechnical subjects such as fish propagation, genetics, nutrition, biology, culture systems, fertilization, feeds and feeding. Non-biotechnological subjects pertain to education/training of senior researchers, extension packages, socio-economics, equipment, and the establishment of research facilities.
For the implementation of the 57 priority research programmes proposed in the reviews (equally divided into short- and medium-term priorities), financial assistance is requested by all countries for all programmes except in Nigeria and Tanzania. Technical assistance is requested by all countries (except Cameroon) for 60 percent of the programmes.
Major identified priorities for aquaculture research in sub-Saharan Africa are as follows:
The lack of planning exercises has also resulted in an incomplete correspondence between identified development constraints and research priorities to alleviate these constraints. Additional research priorities should therefore be considered. The authors of this report have identified the following subjects:
Lack of information about sound economic data and realistic financial viability of proposed development projects at the commercial scale may hamper the granting of loans by commercial banks. But research on such subjects being rather site-specific, it is felt that it should not require joint efforts at regional level.
To guide and support future aquaculture research programmes, the need for direct access to past and up-to-date information is stressed again (see also Section B). It is felt that geographically separate but closely linked anglophone and francophone centres would be more efficient at collecting, storing and disseminating such information, both on a regional and a continental basis.
PART II: INDICATIVE ACTION PLAN FOR AQUACULTURE RESEARCH IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
A. DESIGN CRITERIA
Through a logical process, identified aquaculture development priorities, development constraints and research priorities have been matched and classified into four broad development priority areas: (i) Aquaculture information, (ii) Administration and management; (iii) Aquaculture production; and (iv) Education of researchers.
Research programmes have then been designed to help meet the identified aquaculture development priorities in each of these priority areas, either directly or indirectly. Most of them are formulated at the regional level to address constraints within and among the five sub-Saharan agro-ecological regions (West, Central, East, Southern Africa and Sudano-Sahelian regions).
The proposed research programmes will mainly be implemented by networks of existing national institutions, drawn as far as possible from each of the agro-ecological regions. Some of these institutions may require strengthening to fully implement programme activities. One of each network-participating institutions is designated as the lead centre, responsible for overall coordination and organization. Each of the institutions involved in the specific programme has been chosen on the basis of its competence and interest in the proposed research programme.
It is expected that the activities of each research programme and its network will be varied, including not only applied research but also desk studies/reviews, formal training of researchers, study tours/fellowships, reports on research progress/results in newsletters, progress reports and scientific publications, information exchange with other research centres and programmes, monitoring/evaluation of research activities and seminars/workshops on specific topics.
All regional research programmes will have important interactions. These should take the form of information exchange, exchange of scientists and collaborative research on specific interdisciplinary topics. Such interactions should be coordinated by the lead centres of the six most interactive programmes. The information programme should establish its own mechanism for information dissemination and interaction with all research programmes.
Most proposed research programmes would benefit from a close collaboration with advanced research teams and institutions from both developing (Asia in particular) and developed (Europe and North America in particular) countries. The proposed research networks could even be extended to include specialized research laboratories and institutes from developed countries.
During the next Consultation of Fisheries Donors it is hoped that the proposed research programmes will raise the interest of donors. For each selected programme, a formulation mission will then be necessary to estimate the financing required for the implementation of the programme.
During a next phase, detailed planning of the funded programme should be done in preparation for the implementation itself, which could start as soon as the necessary administrative agreements have been reached.
B. REGIONAL AQUACULTURE RESEARCH PROGRAMMES
Nine regional research programmes (see description later) have been elaborated, grouped into short-(five years) and medium- (ten years) term time frames, and assigned relative priorities based on regional aquaculture development and research priorities as follows:
| Research programmes | Duration | Priority |
| Information centres | Short term | 1 |
| Production indicators | " | 1 |
| " | 1 | |
| Socio-economic | Medium term | 1 |
| Fertilization-feeds | " | 1 |
| Broodstock management | " | 1 |
| Small-water bodies | " | 2 |
| Irrigation schemes | " | 2 |
| New indigenous species | " | 3 |
| Marine aquaculture | " | 3 |
It is strongly recommended that all five research programmes indicated as first priority be considered for implementation as a single block.
Market research, which is specific to local markets, deserves attention at the national rather than regional level in nearly all countries:
1. AQUACULTURE INFORMATION CENTRES
The overall objective is collection, storage and dissemination of past and present aquaculture information at closely linked centres established in anglophone and francophone Africa.
The expected outputs of this programme are:
The programme will be established and become fully functional within five years. Thereafter it will operate in support of the other research programmes and serve aquaculture development activities in general.
To not only represent the two main languages of Africa but also different geographical regions, it is proposed to establish two lead centres in:
Cote d'Ivoire, Bouake, at IDESSA, which currently houses a good library, especially strong on Sudano-Sahelian, West and Central Africa.
Malawi (University of Malawi, Zomba, or National Aquaculture Centre, Domasi), where the definitive collection for East and Southern Africa is currently established.
Other information centres which could be linked to these two lead centres exist for example in Kenya, Mali, Rwanda and Zimbabwe.
The Information programme will directly strengthen the existing capabilities of and collections at the centres. Strong linkages will be established between all the centres for exchange of information between the two linguistic areas of Africa, and among the different agro-ecological zones. The information lead centres will establish formal linkages with the lead centres of the other research programmes through regular communications with their information officers. Research network members will communicate directly with either information centre on requests for or submission of information.
The two Information lead centres will establish links to exchange information with the major international information centres on aquaculture located in Asia, Europe, Latin America and North America.
2. SOCIO-ECONOMICS OF AQUACULTURE AND TARGET GROUPS
The overall objective is development of aquaculture techniques with regard to the availability and use of productive resources by farmers and the disposal of fish produced.
The expected outputs are:
The outputs will be achieved in the medium term, within ten years. But some outputs should become available to researchers in the other research programmes within a shorter term.
Lead centre: Chancellor College, University of Malawi, Zomba, which will work in collaboration with the National Aquaculture Centre, Domasi, Malawi.
Other network centres:
This programme will provide important information for research under the Organic Fertilization and Feeds Programme, the Production Indicators Programme, and the Irrigation Schemes Integration Programme. It should develop linkages with institutions dealing with the socio-economics of aquaculture in Asia for exchange of information and expertise.
3. PRODUCTION INDICATORS FOR AQUACULTURE
The overall objective is to identify and test indicators of aquaculture production and socio-economic impact which are measurable and reliable in the rural farming context.
The expected outputs are:
The outputs will be achieved in the short-term, within five years. Thereafter, the guidelines will be used by national-level aquaculture extensionists, technicians and planners as part of the aquaculture planning and monitoring process.
The lead centre will be located at an institution to be identified in Kenya, which has a large number and variety of rural fish ponds and several institutions with capabilities in data collection and analysis. The other network centres will be located in Nigeria and Zambia for similar reasons.
The programme will interact with the Socio-economics Programme, which will provide socio-economic information on aquaculture production and target groups. It should work closely with national planning units on the identification of needs and testing of results.
4. POND FERTILIZATION AND FISH FEEDS
The overall objective is to establish a regional network specialized in research on organic fertilization, supplementary feeds and integrated fish-livestock production to obtain the fundamental understanding of how small earthen ponds respond to these inputs. On this basis, practical methods should be developed to optimize the juvenile and food-fish production in small earthen ponds on an economic basis, using locally available inputs.
Lead centre: IDESSA, Bouake, Côte d'Ivoire
Other network centres:
This programme consists of the three closely interrelated sub-programmes indicated below.
4.1 Organic Fertilization Strategies
Objective: To increase the role of natural food in semi-intensive pond systems. The contribution of natural food organisms such as microbes, phytoplankters and zooplankters, to the nutrition of farmed fish can be significant, particularly under tropical conditions where natural primary/secondary productivity can be relatively high. Compared to the nutritional needs of fish, natural food organisms generally contain an excess of protein, the most limiting and most costly nutrient in supplementary feeding.
Expected outputs: If the contribution of natural food organisms to the nutrition of fish raised in earthen ponds is increased through organic fertilization, it can be expected that:
4.2 Supplementary Feeds and Feeding Strategies
Objective: To improve the utilization of local fish feed ingredients in semi-intensive pond systems.
Expected outputs:
4.3 Integration of Fish and Livestock Production
Objectives: To increase the efficiency of organic fertilization of extensive and semi-intensive pond systems through associated livestock production.
Expected outputs: In addition to the outputs of sub-programme 4.1 (see above), this particular sub-programme will define the most appropriate technologies for integrated fish-livestock productions on scientific bases.
5. FISH BROODSTOCK IMPROVEMENT AND MANAGEMENT
The overall objective is to establish a regional network specialized in broodstock improvement (through selection) and management for the most commonly farmed species.
Expected outputs are fish strains with proven growth potential and increased yields plus higher economic returns for fish farmers.
Lead centre: Agriculture Faculty, University, Butare, Rwanda
Other network centres:
Remark: This research programme would give the opportunity to compare the growth performances of two tilapia species currently used in African temperate climates: Oreochromis andersonii (Zambia) and O. niloticus, Egyptian strain (Rwanda).
6. SMALL-WATER-BODY FISHERIES ENHANCEMENT
The overall objective is the enhancement of the small-scale fisheries practised in small water bodies.
Expected outputs are:
Lead centre: Nigerian Institute for Freshwater Fisheries Research, New Bussa, Nigeria
Other network centres:
7. AQUACULTURE IN IRRIGATION SCHEMES
The overall objective is to promote the integration of aquaculture into large surface irrigation schemes, as one of the production diversification possibilities.
Expected outputs are:
Lead centre: Kumasi University, Kumasi, Ghana
Other network centres:
8. INDIGENOUS FISH SPECIES CULTURE
The overall objective is to establish a regional network specialized in the selection and thorough testing of indigenous species to be used in aquaculture.
Expected outputs: Once new indigenous species have been tested and found to have the required characteristics for profitable farming, they should be made available to farmers, through extension services. Native species having feeding habits different from the species commonly used can fill unexploited niches in ponds and small water bodies, increasing their yields and farmers earnings. They could also be useful to control water-borne disease vectors, macrophytes and fish populations.
Lead centre: National Institute for Freshwater Fisheries Research, New Bussa, Nigeria
Other network centres:
9. MARINE AQUACULTURE
The overall objective is greater applied research on important topics related to the production of shrimp, crab, mollusc, finfish and seaweed in African coastal waters as well as dissemination of results throughout the continent.
The expected outputs are:
Lead centre: Marine Fisheries Research Station, Swakopmund, Namibia
Other network centres:
