The third International Training Course in Aquaculture, financed jointly by AGFUND and the Government of Hungary, was held from 16 May to 12 August 1988.
Eighteen participants from fourteen countries in Asia, Africa and the Caribbean attended this course on Fish Foods and Feeding.
The course was divided between two centres in Hungary, the first six weeks being spent at the Warm Water Fish Hatchery, Százhalombatta, and the final seven weeks at the Fish Culture Research Institute, Szárvás. Instruction took the form of approximately 60% lectures and 40% practical classes. Most of the teachers were Hungarian experts, with the addition of international consultants recruited by FAO to cover specialist topics when necessary. Field study tours to visit commercial fish farms and feed mills were also arranged.
The quality and success of the course was evaluated by the participants in confidential questionnaires. These revealed a good level of satisfaction with most aspects of the organization and teaching, though some improvements to the design and extent of practical classes, allowing more personal student involvement in tasks, were considered desirable, An increase in the amount of practical material covered in lectures, and a decrease in use of interpreters, were also proposed for any future courses. From the results of an examination and informal assessment, all trainees were judged to have satisfactorily completed and understood the course.
The completion of the Third International Training Course in Aquaculture brings this series of three English-language courses to a successful conclusion.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) indentified three key factors limiting the success and expansion of aquaculture in developing countries, i.e., an insufficient or unreliable supply of fish seed, shortage of skilled fish farm managers, and a lack of knowledge about and availability of fish feeds. To help address these problems, a series of three International Training Courses in Aquaculture were organized (project GCP/INT/435/AGF). The courses were to be taught in the English language, and each to be of three months' duration.
For some years, FAO has assisted the development of Hungary as a centre of expertise in warm-water fish culture. The Government of Hungary readily agreed to host the International Training Courses, to help finance them, and to make the necessary facilities and teachers available. Co-financing was generously provided by the Arab Gulf Programme for the United Nations Development Organizations (AGFUND) under a trust fund agreement signed on 18 March 1986. FAO took responsibility for implementation of the project in cooperation with the Hungarian Government.
This report reviews the implementation of the third and final course in the series, which was held in Hungary from 16 May to 12 August 1988. The course on Fish Foods and Feeding was designed to teach the subject in the widest possible way, covering the whole range of options from reliance on the natural food supply with no human intervention, through improvement in production of natural organisms by pond preparation and organic and inorganic fertilization, to supplementary feeding with artificial foodstuffs, and finally formulation and use of complete pelleted diets. Throughout, the aim was not to give the trainees rigid rules or figures to be precisely imitated at home, but on the contrary to teach them how to assess the availability of fish food resources and formulate the strategy best suited to conditions in their own countries.
Nominations were invited from 21 countries in Asia, Africa and the Caribbean in which FAO considered improved knowledge on fish foods and feeding to be needed. The 18 candidates selected came from 14 different countries: Cameroon, China, India, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kenya, Lesotho, Malaysia, Nepal, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Zambia and Zimbabwe. A list of the names, addresses, qualifications and special interests of the participants is given in Appendix 1.
Fifteen of the trainees were graduates in agriculture, fisheries or a related field, two held diplomas in agriculture and the other had a general certificate in the same subject. All were in Government service in their home countries, most as extension or fisheries development officers, some as fish-farm managers and two as full-time researchers in fish feed formulation. Their ages ranged from the mid-twenties to forty years. All but three participants had an excellent command of the English language. Even the three who experienced some language difficulty were able to follow the course adequately, and by the end of their three-month stay in Hungary their ability and confidence in spoken English had noticeably improved.
The course was held at two centres in Hungary: from 16 May to 25 June at the Warm Water Fish Hatchery (TEHAG), Százhalombatta, and from 25 June to 12 August at the Fish Culture Research Institute (HAKI), Szárvás. At TEHAG, accommodation was in the hatchery's own guest rooms, whilst at HAKI students lived in a motel close to the Institute.
The National Project Manager, Mr Istvan Ozorai, handled administrative and financial matters from his office at the Ministry of Agriculture and Food in Budapest. The Course Director was Dr Janos Olah from HAKI, but most organizational work at the Institute was done by HAKI's Training organizer, Dr Agnes Kintzly. During that part of the course held at TEHAG, Mr Inre Varga took on the responsibilities of the Course Director. Administrative matters at TEHAG were handled by Ms Judit Dorogi. Representing FAO, the Course Co-Director and Coordinator was Dr David Edwards, who was also responsible for formulating the programme of instruction in collaboration with the staff of both host insititutes. Most of the teaching was done by professional staff of TEHAG and HAKI, with additional inputs from teachers belonging to the Hungarian Limnological Research Institute at Tihary, the Hungarian Veterinary Institute in Budapest, the Hungarian Water Quality Research Institute in Százhalombatta, the Agrober Company, and the Agriculture University of Gödöllö.
The course in Fish Foods and Feeding covered the nutritional requirements, feeding habits, natural and artificial foods, and feeding technologies applicable to various species of fish. Since developing countries generally suffer from a shortage of ingredients available as artificial foodstuffs for fish, the course concentrated on cheap methods to increase the production of natural food organisms in fish ponds by proper pond preparation, organic and inorganic fertilization, and integrated culture of animals and fish. The importance of proper fish stocking structures, especially polyculture, was also stressed. In addition, the use of supplementary feeding and complete diet (pellet) feeding in intensive and semi-intensive culture systems were also covered. To provide a proper understanding of food and feeding strategies, a knowledge of the development biology of the cultured species and the technology used to farm them is needed, and these aspects were therefore taught to the extent thought necessary by the instructors.
The Hungarian teachers naturally concentrated mostly on fish species cultured commercially in Hungary, i.e., common and Chinese carps and European catfish, with lesser attention being given to ornamental fishes, pike and pike-perch, tench and sterlet. To reinforce the local knowledge, Dr A. Tacon, a consultant with many years experience in Asia and Latin America, was recruited by FAO to lecture in foods and feeding with emphasis on tilapias and Asian fishes. In addition Dr E. Woynarovich, a senior consultant from Hungary, covered special feeding requirements of the Indian major carps. The Course Co-Director, Dr D. Edwards, described culture and feeding practices for rainbow trout and other salmonid fishes.
On most days, morning periods (08.30–12.15 h) were devoted to lectures, and afternoons (13.30–16.00 h) to demonstrations and practical classes. In response to the requests of trainees on previous courses, attempts were made to involve participants more personally in practical classes. To this end, at Százhalombatta the trainees were divided into five groups, each of which was made fully responsible for the operation of a 100 m2 nursing pond through a full carp nursing cycle of four weeks. Starting with the preparation of broodfish for propagation, the participants themselves stripped eggs and milt, treated and incubated eggs, prepared ponds by liming, fertilization and treatment with organophosphorous esters, then transferred their own larvae to the ponds. After stocking, they routinely measured water oxygen concentration, pH and temperature, and sampled phyto- and zoo-plankton to estimate the quantity and composition. The young fish were fed with supplementary feed and their growth and survival were monitored. The group work was sometimes done during teaching hours, but more often before classes began in the morning or after they finished in the evening. At the end of the nursing cycle, trainees harvested, counted and weighed their fish, and compared results. This practical training was much enjoyed by the participants. In addition to this work and the other “conventional” practical classes and demonstrations, students were given the opportunity to work alongside production workers at TEHAG and to a lesser extent at HAKI outside normal class hours. In this way, each trainee could gain extra practice in those areas of special interest to him.
Study tours were organized to commercial state and cooperative fish farms, research institutions and commercial feed mills. There were also excursions to places of historic, cultural and entertainment interest. Round-table discussions were held to help trainees relate the course to practices and conditions at home, and each participant gave a short lecture to the class about fish culture and feeding in his/her own country. A programme of activities is given in Appendix 2.
Throughout the participants attendance and interest in both lectures and practical classes were excellent. Informal evaluation of students' understanding and progress was made during question and answer sessions following lectures, and by observation of their competence in performing tasks during practicals. In addition, a small written examination in the form of a multiple-choice questionnaire was given at the end of the first section of the course. Most trainees scored highly, with marks ranging from 50 to 100%. By these evaluations, all the trainees were considered to have performed satisfactorily and to have understood the main concepts of the training.
The training course was officially opened and closed by Mr I. Murka, Secretary General of the Hungarian National FAO Committee, and Dr A.G. Coche, FAO/FIRI Rome. A certificate was awarded to each trainee at the end of the course.
Teachers were invited to submit written texts on the subject covered by their lectures in advance of the course. Edited copies were given to the trainees on arrival at TEHAG and HAKI.
Background reading material was provided for each student in the form of relevant FAO publications. All printed material given remained the property of the trainees, and will thus be available to them for future reference at home.
It is planned that selected papers written by lecturers for the three courses in the present series will be edited into an instructional handbook to be published in Hungary. This English language manual will subsequently be translated into Spanish and French for use in future courses.
Following the first part of the programme, held at TEHAG, the trainees were asked to fill in a confidential questionnaire designed to evaluate the perceived usefulness of the course so far and their degree of satisfaction with it. At the end of the course a similar questionnaire tested the response to the second period of instruction, at HAKI, and to the course as a whole.
Trainees' responses to multiple choice questions are summarized in Appendix 3. The overall level of student satisfaction at both institutes was good, and all trainees reported themselves either well or moderately satisfied with the whole course (6:12:0)1.
Concerning the technical quality of the course, all participants felt that both the lectures (10:8:0) and practical classes (10:8:0) at TEHAG would be useful to them in their future jobs. The standard of lecturing at TEHAG was rated satisfactory to good (6:12:0), and a large majority of students (15:3) considered the practical work to be well organized. Both lectures and practical sessions at HAKI attracted a little more criticism, but still a clear majority of trainees were satisfied with the standard (5:10:3) and usefulness (7:11:0) of lectures and the organization (14:4) and usefulness (4:9:5) of practicals.
At both centres, a majority of participants again expressed the opinion that more practical training and fewer lectures would have improved the course (T 0:6:12, H 0:7:11), and at HAKI a significant minority also felt that the lectures contained too much theoretical material (T 4:14:0, H 8:9:1). Most trainees considered the number of fish species covered in the lectures to be about right (T 0:15:3, H l:10:7). About half the participants found the Hungarian lecturers difficult to understand when they spoke in English (T 8:10, H 10:8), and the same proportion had difficulty following lectures delivered via interpreters (T 9:9, H 9:9). The time available for discussion with teachers (T 15:3, H 18:0) and between trainees (T 15:3, H 14:4) was thought sufficient.
Field trips were found both very useful (T 18:0, H 16:2) and enjoyable (T 18:0, H 18:0), and a large majority thought the accommodation (T 17:1, H 13:5) and food (T 14:4, H 14:4) satisfactory at both institutions. All participants found the written texts of lectures either useful or very useful (T 9:9:0, H 6:12:0). The number of students on the course was thought about right (T 3:14:1, H 1:17:0).
Considering the course as a whole, the round-table discussions and trainees' presentations were rated very useful (18:0) and about right in quantity (0:14:4), as was the quality (18:0) and quantity (1:12:5) of the FAO publications given. A large majority felt that holding the course at two centres either improved it or made no difference (10:7:1), and that the two parts merged together well (13:5). However, a majority (8:10) also found too much overlap in the material covered by the two institutes.
In addition to the multiple choice questions, students were invited to list those topics of instruction they considered received too much or insufficient coverage, and those which would be most useful to them. General comments about the whole course and suggestions for improvements in future courses were also solicited.
In summary, those subjects for which further information was sought were:
Subjects which the trainees considered to have received too much attention were:
As to be expected in view of the widely varying interests and experience of the participants, there was no concensus about which sections of the course were most useful. Almost every field of study was highly valued by someone. The specific topics listed by the trainees were:
The following general comments and criticisms were made:
The following suggestions for improvements in future courses were given:
The evaluation questionnaire revealed that the trainees themselves perceived the objectives of the course as having been largely achieved. During round-table discussions, question sessions during lectures and practical classes, in informal conversations, and from the results of the written examination, it was clear to the project management that a good level of knowledge about fish foods and feeding had been acquired by all participants. The course must therefore be regarded as a successful conclusion to the series of three International Training Courses in Aquaculture.
Though the present series has ended, it is understood that further courses on aquaculture are planned in Hungary for the future. These may be in the Spanish and French languages. When detailed plans are made for these courses, those responsible should draw the following lessons from the experience gained during the present project:
The proportion of practical work, during which trainees are directly involved in physical tasks, should be greatly increased.
The truly practical (as opposed to research-oriented) content of the curriculum should be increased.
Trainees often find Hungarian lecturers difficult to understand. This applied whether they speak in English or via an interpreter.
The use of interpreters makes lectures slow and rather boring. It should be reduced in favour of the use of more audio-visual aids in the language of instruction.
