by
|
Boston SIMWANZA |
Charles MAGUSWI |
Summary
Today, irrigated areas in Zambia cover some 26 000 ha. Irrigation is dominated by medium- to large-scale schemes developed mainly through private commercial and parastatal initiatives. Crops under irrigation include wheat, sugar cane, coffee, fruits and vegetables. Irrigation research is being conducted at the National Irrigation Research Station (NIRS). Introduced in Zambia in the 1950s, aquaculture is practised by small-scale farmers. There are five stations carrying out aquaculture research but farmer-based research is gaining prominence in research programmes. The Aquaculture for Local Community Development Programme, which covers all the SADC countries, assists in the design of small-scale fish farming extension programmes and training. As far as integration of irrigation and aquaculture is concerned, activities are carried out in the framework of the SPFS. The latter has integrated vegetable production with aquaculture while introducing low-cost irrigation technology with the treadle pumps. Although there is a high potential for IIA development in the Central Province, there are still many constraints to alleviate problems such as access to land, to inputs and to technical knowledge.
Résumé
La superficie totale sous irrigation est aujourd'hui d'environ 26 000 ha. L'irrigation est largement dominée par les moyens et grands périmètres, aménagés par l'entremise d'initiatives privées commerciales et parastatales. Les cultures pratiquées sous irrigation sont le blé, la canne à sucre, le café, les fruits et les légumes. La recherche sur l'irrigation est entreprise par la Station Nationale de Recherche sur l'Irrigation. Introduite en Zambie dans les années 50, l'aquaculture est pratiquée par de petits fermiers. Cinq stations entreprennent des activités de recherche qui sont de plus en plus pratiquées en milieu paysan. Le Programme d'Aquaculture pour les Communautés Locales qui couvre les pays de la SADC assiste dans la mise au point de programmes de vulgarisation et de formation pour la pisciculture à petite échelle. S'agissant de l'intégration irrigation-aquaculture, les activités sont conduites dans le cadre du PSSA qui intègre la production de produits maraîchers avec l'aquaculture et introduit la technologie de l'irrigation à faible coût à travers les pompes à pédales. Quoiqu'il existe un potentiel élevé pour l'intégration irrigation-aquaculture dans la Province du Centre, il y a encore beaucoup de contraintes à lever telles que les problèmes d'accès à la terre, d'acquisition des intrants et des connaissances technologiques nécessaires.
1 STATUS OF IRRIGATION IN ZAMBIA
1.1 Irrigation Development
Irrigated lands are dominated by medium- to large-scale schemes developed mainly through private commercial or parastatal initiatives. In these schemes, crops grown are sugar cane, wheat, coffee, fruits and vegetables. Main irrigation systems used are sprinkler, drip, overhead sprinkler and furrows. About 75 percent of the 600 000 farm households in Zambia present a high degree of potential for small-scale irrigation development. To assist such development, IDE (through the support of Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries and FAO) has issued and distributed thousands of manuals on irrigation, operation and maintenance of the treadle pumps, well construction and maintenance, etc.
Important policy issues to be addressed are the following:
- No clear policy on social and inputs infrastructure to support irrigation development.
- Past Government policies have placed low priority on irrigation development.
- Lack of credit institutions to support investment into irrigation.
- Poor market infrastructure has hampered irrigation development.
- Women's involvement in irrigation has been low.
- Inadequate knowledge of water management and appropriate systems among smallholders and extension staff.
- Top-down approaches for irrigation development were non- participatory and inevitably created a dependency syndrome.
In addition, lack of irrigation equipment, lack of electrification in potential areas, lack of appropriate irrigation technologies compatible with cultural norms, lack of inputs, lack of social infrastructure and lack of market infrastructure coupled with limited financial resources make irrigation development quite difficult.
1.2 Irrigation Research
Irrigation research is carried out at the National Irrigation Research Station (NIRS) which was created in 1972. Research work has included the establishment of pilot irrigation settler schemes.
Constraints to irrigation research are as follows:
2 STATUS OF AQUACULTURE IN ZAMBIA
2.1 Aquaculture Development
Aquaculture was introduced to Zambia in the 1950s and practised as an extensive or semi-intensive activity by foreign settlers. Fish were raised in earthen ponds of varied sizes constructed by the farmers according to local conditions.
Aquaculture is practised by small-scale farmers who form the majority of the agricultural population. There are currently over 5 000 small-scale fish farmers owning over 10 000 fish ponds whose size ranges from 100 to 400 square metres. Large private commercial scale aquaculture exists along the rail line near major cities. Those concerned have larger ponds ranging from 0.25 to 1 ha.
Small-scale aquaculture revolves around tilapia species: Tilapia rendalli, Oreochromis andersonii, O. macrochir and recently O. niloticus. Common carps have also been introduced for large-scale commercial production. Other species cultured on a lesser scale are African catfish and crayfish. Yields vary according to level of management, from 12 to 15 kg/100 sq.m/cycle in small-scale ponds, to 3 to 16 tonnes/ha/year for larger commercial enterprises.
Aquaculture systems in use are diverse and dependent on the locality and the agro-ecological zone. Apart from the conventional earthen pond system, others include raceways, tanks, weirs, cages, and small water reservoirs (dams), fed by diversion canals, underground water seepage, springs and rain water. Integrated systems with animal husbandry (chicken, duck, pig) and horticultural practices also exist in some areas, the former being common with commercial-scale aquaculture.
Aquaculture development in the country is generally hampered by limited Government funding. The existing extension services are inadequately equipped to provide farmers with the necessary information. Accessibility and timely availability of fish seed for stocking farmers' ponds is still a constraint as farmers are not yet totally independent from the assumed better quality fingerlings from government centres. Supplementary feeds and effective pond management practices are lacking. Existing extension services still rely on different extension approaches making its effectiveness doubtful.
2.2 Aquaculture Research
Aquaculture research has been centred for many years at Chilanga Fish Farm near Fisheries Headquarters. Research has mostly been production-oriented and adaptive. It has addressed issues of environment, fish feeding habits, feed formulation, artificial fish propagation, pond limnology, fertilization with animal wastes, pond recycling of agricultural by-products and integrated animal husbandry-cum-fish production systems. Pond production systems of carps and tilapias are still being investigated (monoculture, polyculture, stocking ratios, etc.). Potential for aquaculture production in small-water bodies is being studied in the drought-prone areas.
Aquaculture research has been of an ad hoc nature in the 1970s. In the 1980s, its thrust was revitalized by an FAO national aquaculture project dealing with topics such as improved fish seed production, species selection through comparative growth performance studies, integrated duck- and pig-cum-fish trials and organic manuring.
There are currently five stations identified to carry out aquaculture research, sited at Chilanga, Chipata, Kasama (Misamfu Fish Farm), Kitwe (Mwekera Fish Farm) and Mansa (Flynngoli Fish Farm). The facility at Mwekera has also been upgraded into a National Aquaculture Research and Development Centre (NARDC).
Aquaculture research programmes are faced with a number of constraints such as critical shortage of qualified staff, run down infrastructure, lack of transport facilities for data collection, etc. There is also the problem of selection of priority topics by researchers, the complex reality of small-scale farming systems being too seldom taken into consideration when research and development are being planned.
3 INTEGRATED IRRIGATION-AQUACULTURE
A pilot programme on integrated irrigation-aquaculture has been introduced into the Central Province. Farmers have constructed their ponds in the middle of their sloping land and gardens are cultivated on both sides of the ponds. So far, there are 50 fish ponds which are operational and 1.2 ha is under fish culture.
Treatment of gardens is as follows:
- In down-slope gardens, irrigation is by the use of siphons or discharge pipes feeding pond water by gravity; farmers grow rapes, onions, cabbages, tomatoes and okra in small fields.
- In up-slope gardens, irrigation is either by treadle pumps if pond water is used or directly by furrows in other situations.
In both cases, pond water is fertilized by vegetable by-products. When farmers clean their ponds, the rich pond mud is spread over their gardens to improve the soil.
3.1 SPFS Programme and IIA
Because of the potential to integrate vegetable production and aquaculture, phase I of the SPFS was initiated in 1997 with a few farmers. Groups and communal operations and management of water and land resources were strengthened in order to ensure a sustainable resource base. Appropriate "Water Users Associations" (WUA) were formed to operate the irrigation system. The introduction of low-cost irrigation technology (treadle pumps) was implemented through a range of well scheduled and prepared training sessions in which farmers determined the type of treadle pump to be introduced.
The Fisheries Department in the District provides extension services and fish seed to the farmers. Communication channels used to reach small-scale farmers are meetings with traditional leaders, village meetings and farm visits.
The SPFS focuses on small-scale farmers, whose increased production should contribute to higher agricultural output, improved rural livelihood, household food security and nutrition.
SPFS has initially focused on three Districts representative of major agro-ecological zones.
- At Kalomo (Zone 1), it has concentrated on drought-resistant maize varieties, inter-cropping and improved soil and water management practices.
- At Kaoma (Zone II), fast maturing cassava varieties together with improved practices have been introduced.
- At Mkushi (Zone III), improved small-scale irrigation technologies for horticultural products and aquaculture have been adopted.
Other potential sites for pilot integrated irrigation-aquaculture practices have already been identified in Mkushi and Serenje Districts, in the Central Province.
Integration of aquaculture and irrigation has many crosscutting issues requiring a holistic interpretation. Current operational linkages between irrigation and aquaculture exist on an ad-hoc basis only; the SPFS is encouraging collaboration of subject matter specialist Departments.
3.2 Constraints to IIA Development
- Management of both ponds and gardens seems difficult to farmers.
- Selection of adequate topographical sites, land, and water resources are complicated issues. Resource use can offset problems provided low-cost inputs are used in pond management.
- Competition for land, labour and other resources is minor because small-scale farmers are settled in traditional lands where land tenure problem does not arise.
Other constraints related to IIA development are the following:
3.3 IIA Research Topics
At farmer level, water, irrigation and aquaculture constitute an integrated entity. Integration of activities in these disciplines addresses the problem of water use and reuse and aims at identifying techniques that optimize the use of available resources for increased food production for smallholder farmers.
The SPFS promotes appropriate technologies adapted to various sites and through IIA, the programme could identify, test and demonstrate optimal water resources use. The irrigation component should determine means of increasing available water for irrigation in relation to beneficiary populations. The technology should be developed with the participation of the beneficiaries so that appropriate technologies for integration under varied local conditions can be identified.
The availability of necessary inputs has to be investigated as well as the role that irrigation could play in making them available (e.g. green plant materials for water fertilization and feeding of fish).
3.4 IIA Potential
Areas of highest potential for IIA are found in the high rainfall areas of Serenje and Mkushi Districts, in the Central Province. Two sites have been identified in the Serenje District and three sites in the Mkushi District.
4 IIA INFORMATION NETWORK
The Aquaculture for Local Community Development Programme (ALCOM) is a regional FAO aquaculture and fisheries programme, headquartered in Zimbabwe. It is assisting SADC countries in designing small-scale fish farming extension programmes and in training development workers. Communication channels could be established at national and regional levels.
