4. ANALYSIS AND CONCLUSIONS: DESCRIPTION OF THE SUBSISTENCE FISH FARMER

In this chapter, survey results are examined to determine if all farmers are equally likely to get involved. This is done first by comparing the respondents to the population of the province as a whole, and then by comparing farmers from the Chibote area with those living elsewhere in the province.

4.1 The Respondents Compared to the Population of Luapula Province

Women in Luapula head about one household in three. However, in the survey women accounted only for one respondent in a total of 94. There is no information in the survey which explains the low occurrence of women as fish farmers.

The following comparisons are between the respondents and the male, rural, heads of household in Luapula Province.

The age distribution of fish farmers is similar to that of the head of household as a whole but there are considerable differences in gender composition and in educational achievements. See Figure 4.1.

Table 4.1: Number of farmers by subcategory in: (i) the Chibote area (ii) other parts of the Province; and (iii) the whole Province

As recorded by Department of Fisheries

The average head of a fish farming household is considerably better educated than the average head of a household in the province. While for the province as a whole, 31% of the males 15 years and above lack formal education, only 3% of the fish farmers lack education. Only 47% of the population as a whole have attended primary school, while 61% of the fish farmers have completed primary school and 50% report that they know how to read and write a second language.

Fish farmers in the province seem to belong to an “elite” not only from the educational standpoint but also because they participate in the affairs of their community. As many as 72% of them have had salaried jobs, and half of them have held positions in organizations of various kinds, most commonly local sections of UNIP (United National Independence Party), co-operatives and churches.

Two thirds of the respondents report that they have lived outside their present place of residence for more than one year. One respondent in five has lived outside Zambia.

Quantitative information about the economic situation of the average household is difficult to come by. However, it seems quite plausible to the authors that the economic situation of households is linked to at least some aspects of their social situation. When these aspects (education, travel, and membership in formal organizations) are above average for a particular household, that household is likely to be better off also economically. Therefore, it seems fair to affirm that at present, fish farmers in the Luapula Province are more knowledgeable, and have a wider “outlook” than the population as a whole, while their general economic and social position is stronger than the average.

4.2 “Chibote” Versus “Non-Chibote” Farmers

Fish farmers in the Chibote area differ in many ways from those in the rest of the province. They all started their fish ponds recently. At the time of the survey none of them had yet harvested. Many expected to do so soon after the survey team's visit. It was estimated that 88 farmers in the area had ponds. In the rest of the province there were 192. Of the interviewed practising farmers, as many as 37% were from the Chibote area (see Table 4.1). Chibote farmers will markedly influence the findings for the province as a whole.

Fish farmers from the Chibote area are compared with those from the rest of the province in Table 4.2. The table shows that the Chibote fish farmer is younger than in the rest of the province: every second fish farmer is under the age of 28. This in turn, might explain why Chibote farmers are relatively well educated: 96% have some schooling, and one third say they know how to read and write a second language. Two thirds have started and 16% have completed secondary school (9 years in school).

Also, fewer of the farmers in Chibote have lived any time outside Zambia.

In Chibote the majority state they decide about the fish pond on behalf of themselves only; 60% as compared to 23% in the remainder of the province. This reflects the fact that in and around this village most of those engaged in raising fish in ponds are young, single men. All fish farmers in Chibote work actively with their fish ponds.

Luapula Province

Figure 4:1 Characteristics of population groups: Survey respondents versus Luapula population

Source: The Survey & 1980 CSO Census
Note: primary school - respondents
completed: province - attended

Table 4.2: Selected characteristics for farmers in (i) the Chibote area (ii) other parts of the province and (iii) the combined sample (Whole Province)

Source: The survey

Note: Unless otherwise indicated, the numbers in the table give the percentages of the sample (as described in the column heading) which had replied positively.

In Chibote none of the farmers own permanent buildings, mechanized farm equipment or vehicles. All of them get their cash from the sale of crops, compared to 92% elsewhere. Fish farmers in Chibote also seem to be socially more active than the others; three out of four have been office bearers in one organization. Elsewhere this proportion is only one in two.

It can be concluded that farmers in the Chibote area are less well off than other fish farmers in the province. This means in turn, that non-Chibote fish farmers are, as a group, even better off compared to the province as a whole, than what turned out to be the case when all fish farmers were compared with the rest of the province (see Section 4.1).

One explanation for the over-representation of the better off fish farmers in the sample is that such farmers are more likely than others to approach the extension service for advice and assistance. In an area such as Chibote, where extension and knowledge have been brought in with the assistance of a missionary, the activity can be taken up by most households; to be better off is not a condition for fish farming.

Ponds and their management differ between Chibote area and the rest of the province. See Table 4.3. In Chibote the ponds are smaller and each farmer has fewer ponds and has a markedly lower total farm area. The majority of the fish farmers in Chibote have been trained in fish farming and in general live relatively close to other fish farmers. Thus knowledge and management are better and the use of fertilizer, for example, is more common than in other areas. The Department of Fisheries has brought fish to the area. These have reproduced and fingerlings have been transferred to the ponds in the Chibote area. No unstocked ponds were encountered by the survey team in Chibote, and fish farming generally seemed to be flourishing.

It seems reasonable to expect that the physical productivity will be higher in Chibote than elsewhere, and that the production of farmed tilapia initially will increase rapidly.

Table 4.3 Selected characteristics of fish ponds in: (i) the Chibote area, (ii) other parts of the Province; and, (iii) the whole Province

Source: The survey

Note: Unless otherwise indicated the numbers in the table give the percentages of the sample (as described in the column heading) that had replied positively.