COFI:AQ/1/2002/3

Summary

1. It is widely recognized that aquaculture can and does play an important role in rural development. It is also recognized that aquaculture's potential for contributing to rural development has not been fully realized in many parts of the world. On the other hand, the integration of aquaculture into rural development to date has been associated with both beneficial and inauspicious trends. Effective rural development comes through sound governance. With participation at all levels, sustainable development will be people-oriented, integrated, and have a multi-sectoral agenda. Policy coherence must be a primary objective, developed through wide-ranging public involvement and, where necessary, through the promotion of effective representative organizations. Much greater emphasis on advocacy is required to raise awareness of the role of aquaculture in rural development and to raise the stakes for institutional change. Special attention is required to empower and link stakeholders to policy decisions. Experience does not yield a universal model for integrating aquaculture into rural development. Thus there are significant challenges in developing holistic, people-centered rural development plans where the role for aquaculture is determined by an understanding of people's livelihoods¹. There are opportunities and challenges for effectively integrating aquaculture into rural development.

Introduction
2. Rural development, the process of sustained growth of the rural economy and improvement of well-being of rural men, women and children, has various dimensions, but in many cases it is particularly the development of the agricultural sector which is widely believed to provide the main impetus not only for reducing poverty and hunger, but also for ensuring food security for all. If more rapid agricultural growth takes place in countries with impoverished rural populations, rural farm and non-farm incomes can rise sufficiently to enable the rural poor to become more food secure.²
3. The various types of aquaculture form an important component within farming systems development that can contribute to the alleviation of food insecurity, malnutrition and poverty through the provision of food of high nutritional value, income and employment generation, decreased risk of production, improved access to water, sustainable resource management and increased farm sustainability.
Scope of the document
4. The scope of this document is to briefly discuss the importance and the benefits of aquaculture within the broad framework of rural development. The opportunities and challenges for effectively integrating aquaculture into rural development are reviewed, and the members of the Sub-Committee are invited to advise FAO's Fisheries Department (FAO-FI) on how to optimize the benefits of aquaculture in rural development.
Food security, rural development and poverty alleviation
5. Food security, rural development and poverty alleviation are closely linked. In the next 30 years, food demand will continue to rise significantly, and expanding populations and changing eating habits will make a doubling of food output imperative. There are differing conclusions as to whether or not countries can meet their food production needs. However, it has been argued that, to the greatest extent possible, local food demand should be met by local food production.³ Rural development, in particular, a prosperous smallholder agricultural economy, is therefore widely regarded as the cornerstone in a multi-pronged strategy aimed at reducing poverty and hunger and ensuring food security for all.⁴

6. Alleviation of poverty is central to the concept of rural development. Different emphases and approaches to rural development have been followed in the past 30 years, focusing on the provision of basic needs, a joint social and economic sector approach, and employment creation through establishment of small enterprises in rural areas. Out of this emerged a general consensus, which considered that, whatever the sectoral emphasis, rural development required greater participation of the rural population and involvement of the people in planning for their own development. People's participation and "bottom-up" planning became essential elements of the development process.⁵

7. Aquaculture development followed a similar pattern. Starting in the 1970s, there was substantial support provided in Latin America, Asia and Africa. The tendency of these development initiatives was to focus mainly on large infrastructure development, technical packages and technical training, without sufficient attention being paid to the role of this often-new production system in the livelihood or farming system of the intended beneficiaries. The result was often lack of adoption by the one of the intended target groups - the rural poor. As a result of the apparent inability to impact the rural poor, donor support for aquaculture development has declined in the past 10 years. Paradoxically, the technical progress made in Asian aquaculture during this time led to a tremendous boom in commercial-type aquaculture by households with better resource bases. During this period, there has been a re-evaluation of the role of small-scale aquaculture in rural livelihood and its importance in poverty alleviation and household food security.

8. Poverty is a complex phenomenon that cannot be understood in purely sectoral terms. A series of consultations⁶ on small-scale rural aquaculture concluded that aquaculture should not be viewed as an isolated technology, but be considered as one aspect of rural development and form part of a holistic approach to development. Interdisciplinary approaches were seen as an essential prerequisite. More recently, it is increasingly realized that rural people do not depend for their livelihood on the agricultural sector alone, but rather on a range of livelihood options, which together, they hope will offer their families food security and reduce their vulnerability to conditions over which they have no control. Such options may be found in the diversification of activities in the agricultural sector, through the use of open access or common property resources in the natural environment, and through off-farm employment, whether close to home or far away in the cities. Different members of the family may be involved in each of these different options, to varying degrees and at different times of the year. Rural poor people in resource-poor environments tend to have a broader range of livelihood strategies, precisely because their situation is one of insecurity.⁷

9. More recently, this perception has led to the emergence of the concept of sustainable (rural) livelihoods as a framework for analysis of poverty and possible interventions for its alleviation. This framework sees the position of rural households as depending on the availability of various capital assets, including natural, physical, human, financial and social capital. These basic assets may be threatened by two sets of factors. The first set of factors includes vulnerability to forces that may involve sudden shocks in the physical environment, such as droughts, floods and typhoons, and longer term trends in the economic environment or resource stocks, both of which can reduce the assets normally available to the household. The second set of factors is the structures and processes in the institutional environment, which encompasses both public and private institutions. These include laws and policies which can work positively or negatively to affect access to capital and maintenance of it. The challenge for aquaculture is to help strengthen the assets available to rural households, so that rural people are better able to withstand shocks, become less vulnerable and are better able to influence the policy/institutional environment in their favour.

The contribution of aquaculture to rural development

10. Aquaculture comprises diverse systems of farming plants and animals in inland and coastal areas, many of which have relevance for the poor.⁸ Fisheries continue to play an important role, and in many areas remain adequate to satisfy subsistence and may even offer a valuable source of cash income for farmers. Aquaculture becomes an attractive and important component of rural livelihoods in situations where increasing population pressures, environmental degradation or loss of access limit catches from wild fisheries. The benefits of aquaculture in rural development relate to health and nutrition, employment, income, reduction of vulnerability and farm sustainability.

Aquaculture production intensity, risks and benefits

11. Extensive to semi-intensive aquaculture systems produce the bulk of aquaculture products. Extensive farming usually involves unsophisticated methods, relies on natural food and has a low input to output ratio. As production intensity increases, fish are purposely stocked, and the natural food supply is enhanced by using organic and inorganic fertilizers and low-cost supplemental feeds derived from agricultural by-products. The system found most frequently is the farming of fish in ponds, but rice-fish farming and the stocking of fish into natural or impounded water bodies are also included. It is difficult to estimate this type of aquaculture production, since small-scale and dispersed production data do not appear in official statistics and the produce is typically consumed or traded locally. Specific examples of aquaculture activities that have positive impacts on the rural poor include fry nursing and the development of nursing networks, the integration of fish farming with rice crops in floodplains and the more remote mountainous areas in Asia, and sustaining and restoring aquatic biodiversity through appropriate management methods. In coastal areas, the farming of mudcrabs, oysters, mussels, cockles, shrimps, fish and seaweeds has resulted in the creation of jobs for the rural poor mainly related to labour inputs, as well as seed and feed collection.

12. Intensive aquaculture systems yield more output from a given production unit. This is achieved through the use of technology and a higher degree of management control, which typically involves well-designed facilities operating with higher stocking densities and the use of compound manufactured feed and chemical prophylactics on a regular basis. Intensive inland and coastal cage aquaculture of high-value salmonids has been encouraged and supported to develop remote rural areas in Europe and South America. Similar systems have emerged in Asia and Australia for warm-water piscivorous fish such as groupers, yellowtail, snappers and sea bass. Coastal shrimp farming, which is often done in remote areas, has raised particular interest throughout the tropics because of its high value and opportunities for export and earning foreign exchange. Whilst increasing the cash economies of coastal areas and stimulating local development, there have been wide ranging negative social and environmental impacts as a result of shrimp culture development. Thus, opportunities have been created and infrastructure developed, but at a cost that is unacceptable in some situations.

13. Aquaculture, particularly the farming of herbivorous/omnivorous fish in smallholder systems, provides high-quality animal protein and essential nutrients, especially for vulnerable groups such as pregnant and lactating women, infants and pre-school children, generally at prices affordable also to the poorer segments of the community. It creates "own enterprise" employment, including work for women and children, and provides income through the sale of what can be a relatively high-value product. Income through employment opportunities is possible on larger farms, in seed supply networks, in market chains and through manufacture/repair functions. Indirect benefits include an increased availability of fish in local rural and urban markets and concomitant reduction in price, allowing savings to be spent on other income-generating farm products. Aquaculture can also offer benefit from the utilization of common resources, particularly for the landless, through cage culture, culture of molluscs and seaweeds, and enhanced fisheries in communal water bodies.

14. An important, though often overlooked benefit that is particularly relevant for integrated agriculture-aquaculture systems, is their contribution to increased farm efficiency and sustainability. Agricultural by-products such as manure from livestock and crop residues can serve as fertilizer and feed inputs for small-scale and commercial aquaculture. Fish farming in rice fields contributes to integrated pest management and integrated management of vectors of human medical importance. Experience in Central America and elsewhere has shown that ponds become more important as on-farm water reservoirs for irrigation and livestock watering than for the fish production in areas where there are seasonal water shortages.⁹

15. In view of all these benefits, it is perhaps not surprising that aquaculture production has grown rapidly since the 1970s, and has been the fastest growing food production sector in many countries for nearly two decades. A summary of global aquaculture production trends (1970 to 1999) is given in COFI:AQ/I/2002/2.

16. FAO's latest studies on future demand for, and supply of, fish and fishery products predict a sizeable increase in demand for fish. The majority of this increase will result from expected economic development, population growth and changes in eating habits. Fish supply from capture fisheries in most countries is expected to remain constant or even to decline, since catches have either reached or are close to the maximum sustainable yield. Inland fisheries may yet be able to yield more fish as effort increases, but due to the increased effort required, will become increasingly unattractive or unviable. This suggests that the bulk of the increase in supply, if any, will have to come from aquaculture. Indeed, the growth of global aquaculture is forecasted to continue for some time.

Aquaculture intensification and expansion

17. This trend of increased production can be maintained through intensification or expansion, or from a combination of the two. Generic technologies for intensification of existing production systems are in place, and it is mainly socio-economic, policy and institutional issues that will be the most important constraints for a greater contribution by aquaculture to rural development. The expansion of land-based culture systems in inland areas has the greatest potential because aquaculture can be integrated with agriculture on current agricultural land in smallholder and commercial farms. Considerable potential lies in the integration of aquaculture and irrigation systems¹⁰, and aquaculture can also make use of land that is unsuitable for agriculture, such as swamps or saline areas. In addition, there is a wide diversity of inland and coastal aquatic resources including rivers, floodplains, lakes, reservoirs, rice fields, estuaries, lagoons, coral reefs, mangroves and mudflats, that provide opportunity for the integration of aquaculture or some form of aquatic animal management into rural development.

18. Increasing yields through intensified production requires an increased use of feeds and fertilizers, which may be derived from on- or off-farm sources or a combination of the two. Development of infrastructure reduces costs and increases availability of feed and fertilizers, and in some cases, allows farmers to intensify production. The development of markets and access to finance permit increased investment and form part of an enabling environment that may favour the development of a more business-oriented, commercial aquaculture¹¹ that to some extent, shares as well as complements the benefits of small-scale aquaculture.¹²

19. As mentioned previously, many of the technical aspects of aquaculture are relatively well developed; however, there is a gap between what is known globally and what knowledge is available to farmers. Weak rural extension systems and lack of local examples of intensified aquaculture also limit farmers' ability and willingness to risk intensification.

20. A recent expert workshop revealed that the risks to rural, small-scale aquaculture and resulting sustainable livelihoods from the introduction of aquatic animal pathogens and health problems originate from several fundamental inadequacies, with lack of knowledge in understanding and managing risks being a "major concern-base". The workshop considered that health management interventions should be a component within programmes aiming at harnessing aquaculture's potential (including enhanced fisheries) for rural development. The workshop identified a number of strategies with the potential to reduce risks to livelihoods from such problems.¹³

21. Biotechnology in aquaculture represents a range of opportunities to increase growth rates in farmed species, improve nutritional value of aquafeeds, improve fish health management, restore and protect environments, extend the range of aquatic species and improve the management and conservation of wild stocks.¹⁴ Modern biotechnologies are usually developed for farming systems with high inputs of feed, labour and husbandry. However, many biotechnologies could also be directed at low-input systems, farming systems in marginal areas, or to meet other needs specific to a given rural community. Because the application of biotechnologies often requires a certain level of capacity and resources¹⁵, consideration must be given to the specific stage of rural development in a given area, extension programmes, and how to integrate such activities within prevailing livelihood strategies.

22. The introduction of exotic species is another strategy used to increase value from farming systems in rural areas.¹⁶ Introduced species often are genetically improved or domesticated species, to some extent, and share many of the same opportunities and risks.

Strategies for an increased contribution of aquaculture in rural development
Approaches to better integration

23. Human resource development and institutional strengthening are widely held to be the principal requirements for improving integration at the level of individual farms and communities, in river basin and coastal area management, and at the level of sectoral and macroeconomic policies. At the farm level, attention needs to focus first on resource use efficiency and the economic or livelihood incentives that influence farm household members when they decide on cropping patterns and the use of water, feeds, fertilizer, chemical treatments and other inputs. Next, the emphasis should be on farmers' knowledge of available production and pest management options, as well as on their ability to apply these. Agriculture and aquaculture offer a large variety of cropping patterns under different climatic and soil conditions. If they have the right skills and access to the necessary inputs, farmers will adopt the farming or aquaculture system that is most suitable to their specific situation. Since farmers' management strategies are not based solely on economic criteria, but also include minimization of risk, cropping flexibility, cultural preference for species, time and labour requirements, extension and training through farmer participation and learning are crucial for informed decision-making. The presence of an enabling infrastructure such as availability of inputs, markets and financial or credit facilities is indispensable for the optimal development and integration of farming and aquaculture systems.

24. Co-management and community-based management approaches to the use of common-property resources have received increasing attention in recent years because of their assumed greater efficiency and prevention of undesired distributional implications. Factors that the users themselves identify as being important for successful resource management include: small group size (which facilitates the formulation, observance and monitoring of a collective agreement); social cohesion; resource characteristics that facilitate the exclusion of outsiders; and visible signs of successful collective management. These factors could well apply to a number of fisheries in reservoirs and other small water bodies, where the potential for self-management is not currently utilized because responsibility is not delegated to the local level and collective rights are insufficiently protected. Similar favourable conditions exist in many other situations for resources such as seasonal wetlands, swamps, flooded forests and mangrove forests where, again, the potential for effective management has yet to be realized. In addition to the recognition of common rights, community-based and co-management need support through extension and training services and scientific assessments of resource abundance. The capacity to deliver such support is lacking in most countries, as it requires significant modification of working practices to allow a more interactive, participatory approach to the management of collective resources.

25. At the level of river basins and coastal areas, integration is aimed at managing sectoral components as parts of a functional whole, explicitly recognizing that management needs to focus on human behaviour, not physical stocks of natural resources such as fish, land or water. Integrated river basin and coastal area management employs a multi-sectoral strategic approach to the efficient allocation of scarce resources among competing uses and the minimization of unintended natural resource and environmental effects. Land use planning and zoning, together with environmental impact assessment procedures, are vital tools for minimizing conflicts between resource users, negative environmental impacts and enhancing sustainable development. The involvement of fisheries agencies in these activities therefore is clearly essential.

26. The participation of all resource users and other stakeholders at an early stage is indispensable for effective land use planning and zoning, not least because of their intimate knowledge of local socio-economic conditions and the state of natural resources. At the government level, the functions of the various agencies with regulatory and development mandates need to be well co-ordinated. Multi-sectoral integration tends to be preferred over structural integration.¹⁷

FAO-FI medium-term planning

27. With regard to the role of aquaculture in rural development, FAO-FI concentrates on two main thematic areas: (i) the promotion of responsible aquaculture and inland fisheries and (ii) the increased contribution of aquaculture and inland fisheries to world food security.

The promotion of responsible aquaculture and inland fisheries

28. The aim of this main theme is to promote the sustainable use of fisheries resources, including aquatic genetic resources, and to reduce environmental and biodiversity impacts from inland fisheries and aquaculture activities. Major outputs include the development of a series of methodologies on the management and conservation of resources used by aquaculture and inland fisheries, and the development of technical guidelines for implementation of Article 9 and other Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (CCRF) provisions relevant to aquaculture and inland fisheries. The technical areas of intervention are diverse and comprise inter alia:

• land, water and feed/nutrient use in aquaculture;
• sustainable intensification of freshwater aquaculture production in LIFDCs¹⁸;
• integrated aquaculture-agriculture in rural development;
• sustainable coastal aquaculture development;
• rehabilitation of inland fish habitats;
• integrated floodplain fisheries development;
• and genetic resources management.

The increased contribution of aquaculture and inland fisheries to world food security

29. This main theme's objective is to assist countries in increasing aquatic production through sustainable development of aquaculture and inland fisheries for national food security and rural development in coastal and inland areas. Major outputs encompass studies and methodologies on improved efficiency, management of, and intensification of aquaculture and inland fisheries production systems and on the development of integrated aquaculture-agriculture practices for sustainable rural livelihoods. Technical areas comprise inter alia:

• efficient water use;
• seed production and genetic improvement;
• aquatic animal health management and disease control;
• health certification and quarantine for live aquatic animal movements;
• aquatic animal nutrition and feed technology, with emphasis on the availability and use of local feed ingredients;
• integrated small-scale aquaculture as part of farming systems;
• coastal polyculture systems;
• indicators for appraisal and evaluation of aquaculture for sustainable rural livelihoods;
• application of participatory methodologies in rural aquaculture development; and
• strategies for the promotion of regional co-operation in rural aquaculture development in Asia and Africa.

Conclusions and recommendations from recent FAO initiatives

30. Recent meetings and consultations organized and supported by FAO and partner organizations have reached a number of conclusions and recommendations aimed at increasing the contribution of aquaculture to rural development.

31. Land-based culture systems in inland areas have the greatest potential because aquaculture can be integrated with the existing agricultural practice of small-scale farming households. Coastal aquaculture also contributes to rural development by alleviating poverty and enabling livelihood diversification of subsistence fisherfolk.

32. In the past decades, there has been a move away from technical issues to sustainable livelihoods. Social, economic, policy and institutional issues have been recognized to be the most important constraints to greater contributions by aquaculture to rural development. However, the impact of aquaculture on food security and poverty alleviation in rural areas is poorly documented and known. There is a need to assess the impact of aquaculture on sustainable livelihoods and to advocate products and benefits.

33. The differences between countries and regions with regard to physical resources, norms and traditions, as well as economic conditions, are significant, and hence, the development status of aquaculture also differs widely. In addition, the areas and means of intervention for more or less intensive forms of aquaculture development need to be separated. The conclusions and recommendations listed below therefore have to be seen in the context that there cannot be one universally acceptable aquaculture development strategy for all.

Documentation and advocacy

34. It is important to raise awareness amongst policy makers of the role of small-scale rural aquaculture and aquatic resource management in rural livelihoods. This includes the actual contribution and the unfulfilled potential of aquatic resource management, including aquaculture to rural development: Specific recommendations include:

• documenting indigenous aquaculture systems and farmer-proven examples of aquaculture;
• developing livelihoods-based indicators for the monitoring of aquatic resource management and aquaculture's impact on food security and poverty alleviation;
• encouraging and promoting commercial aquaculture as a complement to small-scale aquaculture, wherever possible;
• encouraging and promoting the consumption of aquaculture and inland fishery products; and
• publicizing and promoting the benefits of aquaculture and aquatic resource management enterprises and their products.

Policy and planning issues

35. Governments should address the design and implementation of policy, ensuring feedback mechanisms allowing the poor to influence development. This may be done through the establishment of a multi-sectoral co-ordinating process, at both the sectoral policy formulation level and at the extension service level. Aquaculture development should complement or substitute wild fisheries, as needed. Negative impacts of aquaculture projects towards the food supplies of the poor should be avoided. Other recommendations aimed at improved planning and policies include:

• establishing national aquaculture development and inland fisheries management plans and policies in consultation with stakeholders; and
• integrating aquaculture planning into water resource management planning for inland areas and into coastal management planning in coastal areas, as well as into other economic and food security interventions for rural areas.

Technologies

36. Generic technologies for sound aquaculture production exist. Some of the indigenous systems require more detailed study and documentation. More emphasis should be given to:

• developing low-risk, low-cost technologies that are beneficial to rural poor communities;
• developing culture systems that use readily available culture species and local materials;
• promoting decentralized seed production and seed nursing and trading networks;
• developing and promoting polyculture and other culture systems with aquatic species feeding low in the food chain that are preferred for local consumption; and
• strengthening and promoting these systems through participatory approaches.

Services and inputs

37. Governments should aim at providing services and facilitating access to inputs. The rural poor need to be provided, at least initially, with public-sector support, while commercial aquaculture requires less intervention. In the longer term, aquaculture has to function on a self-financing basis within the private sector. Necessary action includes:

• focusing limited public resources on strategic government infrastructure and flexible and efficient extension services that meet producers' needs;
• promoting and facilitating private-sector investment in aquaculture, especially in the domestic production of fish feed and seed;
• facilitating the formation of farmers' associations and encouraging community production; and
• encouraging investment in building the institutional capacity and knowledge base concerning sustainable aquaculture practices to manage the sector.

Information exchange and transfer

38. Positive examples and case studies of traditional and other aquaculture systems that have proven to be sustainable should be promoted and disseminated. This includes:

• promoting collaboration, coordination and information exchange between national and regional aquaculture institutions and agencies;
• using innovative participatory methods and non-formal field education for information exchange; and
• developing strategies for an effective transfer of aquaculture know-how, particularly into areas and regions where aquaculture has no tradition.

Suggested action by the Sub-Committee

39. The Sub-Committee is requested to exchange/share experience with regard to national/regional efforts in promoting the role of aquaculture in rural development, the obstacles encountered, the solutions found, and the feasible approaches to be recommended for national and international action.

40. With due consideration of the recommendations given above, the Sub-Committee is requested to provide guidance as to how FAO should best use the limited resources to support member countries in achieving an increased contribution of aquaculture to rural development.

41. In particular, the Sub-Committee is requested to advise on the possible establishment of a programme for the assessment of the impact of aquaculture in rural development and, if appropriate, to give guidance on the elements such a programme should contain.

¹ Livelihoods consist of the capabilities, assets - both material and social resources - and activities required for a means of living. A livelihood is sustainable when it can cope with and recover from stresses and shocks, maintain or enhance its capabilities and assets, and provide net benefits to other livelihoods locally and more widely, both now and in the future, while not undermining the natural resource base. http://www.fao.org/sd/PE4_en.htm

² The FAO State of Food Insecurity Report 2000 estimates that 792 million people in 98 developing nations are not getting enough food to lead normal, healthy and active lives. Even in the industrialized nations and the countries in transition (those in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union), the number of undernourished remains significant at 34 million children, women and men.

³ This is due to a number of reasons including: that agriculture is the foundation of rural development and the most important provider of gainful employment; that local food production is the basis for sustaining and caring about landscapes and the environment; that food demand cannot be met logistically from surpluses elsewhere; and that the availability of foreign exchange is expected to remain a major problem for most poor countries. The FAO State of Food and Agriculture Report 2000 argues that local production by small-scale farmers is the best way to ensure food security at the household level in developing countries, because it both increases food availability and provides income and employment.

⁴ Mainstream thinking anticipates no major obstacle to producing sufficient quantitites of food for a growing world population, at least over the next 25 or so years. But what about food security? In the words of the World Food Summit: "Poverty is one of the major causes of food insecurity and sustainable progress in poverty alleviation is critical to improved access to food." Poverty is linked not only to poor national economic performance, but also to a political structure that renders the poor people powerless. So policy matters of a general nature and in particular, good governance, are of overriding importance for food security.

⁵ In the agricultural sector, these ideas were reflected in the emergence of the Farming Systems Approach (FSA). Previously it had been assumed that agricultural scientists were the key actors in improvements in productivity, that technical innovation derived from work in research stations could solve the problems of rural hunger and poverty. Although in Asia, in particular, the technology of the "Green Revolution" had made significant production increases possible, it was also recognized that the technology was having little impact on poorer farmers, especially in resource-poor environments. FSA partly reversed the research-development process by emphasizing the need to start with careful analysis of the real conditions of small-scale farmers, to understand farms as complex integrated plant-livestock-fish systems with multiple goals and multiple livelihoods, and to understand the links between external services and internal functions of the farm system.

⁶ E.g. Asia-Pacific Fishery Commission - Report of the Ad Hoc Working Group of Experts in Rurral Aquaculture. Bangkok, Thailand, 20-22 October 1999. FAO Fisheries Report. No. 610. Rome, FAO. 1999. 22p.

⁷ A recent FAO/World Bank Farming Systems study [Dixon, J., Gulliver, A. and Gibbon, D. 2001. Global Farming Systems Study: Challenges and priorities to 2030. Synthesis and global overview. FAO and World Bank. Rome, FAO] noted the importance of five major household strategies for escaping poverty (intensification, diversification, increased asset base, increased off-farm income, and exit from agriculture) for 70 farming systems across the world. Diversification, which includes aquaculture, was judged to be the single most promising source of farm poverty reduction in the coming years.

⁸ FAO defines aquaculture for statistical purposes as the "farming of aquatic organisms, including fish, molluscs, and crustaceans and aquatic plants. Farming implies some form of intervention in the rearing process to enhance production, such as regular stocking, feeding, protection from predators, etc. Farming also implies individual or corporate ownership of the stock being cultivated."

⁹ FAO Farm Management and Production Economics Service; FAO Inland Water Resources and Aquaculture Service. 2000. Small ponds make a big difference. Integrating fish with crop and livestock farming. FAO, Rome, 30 p.

¹⁰ The integration of irrigation and aquaculture aims at increasing overall farm production through improved efficiency of water use, use of labour and other inputs, as well as through the diversification of the farming system. The issue of integration has featured prominently in recent Consultations such as the APFIC Ad Hoc Working Group of Experts in Rural Aquaculture, with findings published in FAO Fisheries Report No. 610 (Report of the Ad Hoc Working Group of Experts in Rural Aquaculture. Bangkok, Thailand, 20-22 October 1999. FAO Fisheries Report No. 610. Rome, FAO. 1999. 22p.) and also reflected in the current NACA-DFID-VSO-FAO initiative (DFID = Department for International Development of the UK; VSO = Voluntary Services Overseas of the UK) on Support to Regional Aquatic Resources Management (STREAM). The Committee for Inland Fisheries of Africa (CIFA) at its Eleventh Session (24-27 October 2000 in Abuja, Nigeria) unanimously endorsed a sub-regional programme for West African countries (Report of the eleventh session of the Committee for Inland Fisheries of Africa. FAO Fisheries Report No. 644. Accra, FAO, 2001. 53p.), and the FAO Fisheries and Agriculture departments are arranging for detailed discussion at an upcoming workshop in Côte d'Ivoire in 2002.

¹¹ Little more than two years ago, FAO's Fisheries Department (FAO-FI) initiated a technical assistance programme aiming to promote the development of commercial aquaculture in developing countries with emphasis on sub-Saharan Africa. The specific goal of the programme is to encourage governments to develop policies, strategies and programmes aiming to promote commercial culture of finfish and crustaceans. The programme has assessed the policy framework, investment and economic feasibility, the markets, status and potential, as well as the legal, regulatory and institutional framework for sustainable commercial aquaculture in sub-Saharan Africa. The results of these assessments have been published inter alia in FAO Fisheries Technical Paper No. 408 (Promotion of sustainable commercial aquaculture in sub-Saharan Africa, Volumes 1 to 3). In December 2001, the FAO Technical Consultation on Legal Frameworks and Economic Policy Instruments for Sustainable Commercial Aquaculture in Africa South of the Sahara met in Arusha, Tanzania for four days. Delegates reviewed the work done and agreed on a set of conclusions and recommendations.

¹² Commercial aquaculture generates many advantages. It can contribute to food security, directly by producing fish for food and indirectly by generating employment income for the purchase of food. Access to institutional loans is easier with commercial aquaculture. It will pay taxes, thereby contributing to government revenues, and it can also be a source of hard currency through exports. Even if consumed domestically, the output from commercial aquaculture may replace imported fish, and thus save foreign exchange. When located in isolated rural areas, commercial aquaculture can create pressure for improved infrastructure, promote the development of small communities and discourage youth from migrating to cities. Commercial aquaculture uses family and hired labour on farms and in secondary (e.g. processing, marketing, and transportation) industries. Labour productivity is higher in commercial aquaculture, which drives living standards up and ultimately alleviates poverty. It can stimulate research and technological development, some of it funded by the industry itself. Commercial aquaculture can support rural aquaculture, in the sense that rural aquaculture farms can be guaranteed an income by providing seed inputs to a "nucleus" commercial farm. The diffusion of knowledge from commercial farms to rural aquaculture farmers through on-site training, technology transfer meetings and formal training sessions is possible. Commercial farms can also provide the latter with feed and seed loans and offer them market guarantees.

¹³ DFID/FAO/NACA/GoB. 2000. Primary Aquatic Animal Health Care in Rural, Small-scale Aquaculture Development. Report of an Asia Regional Scoping Workshop held in Dhaka, Bangladesh, from 27 to 30 September 1999. Department for International Development, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific, 36 p.

¹⁴ There is significant potential to improve production through genetic improvement programmes. Selective breeding programmes have yielded significant and consistent gains of 5-20% per generation in species such as Atlantic salmon, catfish, and tilapia. Improved breeding capabilities, larval nutrition and advances in genetic technologies now permit a wide range of genetic manipulations to be performed on aquatic species. The restocking of natural water bodies with indigenous and/or endangered species is another example of a situation where attention must be paid to the genetic aspects of the breeding programme.

¹⁵ Small hatchery operations increase the local supply of fingerlings and can enable farmers to enter aquaculture as an activity. They are essential for the development of rural aquaculture, but because they often have limited pond areas or water availability, they may be unable to maintain the genetic quality of their broodstock and over a period of time, lose genetic quality and performance. In this situation, the intervention of government hatcheries or a larger scale commercial hatchery is required.

¹⁶ For example, tilapia production is much higher in Asia than in its native Africa.

¹⁷ Two broad distinctions can be made in the wide range of possible institutional arrangements for integrated river basin and coastal area management: Multisectoral integration - This involves co-ordinating the various agencies responsible for river basin and coastal management on the basis of a common policy and bringing together the various government agencies concerned, as well as other stakeholders, so that they can work towards common goals by following mutually agreed strategies. Structural integration - Here, an entirely new, integrated institutional structure is created by placing management, development and policy initiatives within a single institution. Multi-sectoral coordination tends to be preferred, since line ministries are typically highly protective of their core responsibilities that relate directly to their power base and funding. The establishment of an organization with broad administrative responsibilities overlapping the traditional jurisdictions of line ministries - as would be the case if management, policy and development functions were integrated within a single institution - is often likely to meet with resistance rather than cooperation.

¹⁸ Low-Income Food-Deficit Countries.