Reviews of the past and present aquaculture programmes in Latin American countries very clearly highlighted the crucial importance of trained manpower and the lack of technical know-how was repeatedly pointed out as the main handicap to the expansion of the industry in the region. Some of the countries have tried to remedy this by organizing national training courses and training of selected personnel in foreign countries. The disadvantages and defects of training in foreign countries with entirely different environmental and socio-economic conditions were pointed out and the urgency of training trainers within the region itself was specially emphasized. Taking into account the multidisciplinary nature of aquaculture, the nature and extent of physical facilities required for effective practical training and the scarcity of qualified trainers, the Workshop agreed that centralized training arrangements have to be planned for efficiency and economy.
It was agreed that the first step in this direction would be an assessment of the needs of different categories of trained manpower to implement the development plans in each of the countries on a continuing basis. For this purpose the categories of core personnel will have to be determined and a decision made as to which of the categories need institutionalized training and which could be adequately trained through in-service training. Based on this concept two categories of staff were identified as requiring specialized institutional training, viz., senior aquaculturists and aquaculture extension workers. The first category will need high level training in all aspects and disciplines involved in order to equip them for undertaking planning and execution of aquaculture development projects. The requirements of such personnel in any country will generally be limited and it will therefore be useful and advisable to organize training of such personnel on a regional or inter-regional basis. The number of extension workers required in most of the larger countries would justify continuing national training arrangements which could provide theoretical and practical instruction oriented to the implementation of the specific aquaculture programmes contemplated in the respective countries. Smaller countries or countries with smaller development programmes may find it advisable to establish sub-regional or group-country training centres for extension personnel.
In assessing manpower requirements, due account has to be taken of the loss of trained personnel that occurs in most agencies. This was considered high in many of the countries of the region because aquaculture, or even fisheries in general, has not been made a sufficiently attractive profession. Governments were urged to give special attention to this when deciding on the organization and administration of aquaculture programmes.
During discussions on education and training requirements the Workshop considered the need for textbooks and other training aids, including pamphlets, educational films and film strips. There is a great scarcity of such teaching aids in the region and the Aquaculture Development and Coordination Programme was urged to give high priority to the production of these.
As stated earlier, effective extension service was accepted to be of utmost importance in the implementation of a production programme, particularly on subsistence or small-scale basis. The technical knowledge and personal qualities required of extension workers make it essential to be very careful in the selection of such personnel. Appropriate extension methods have to be selected and as mentioned on page 20, close linkages have to be established with the provision of credit and other incentives. Experience in using agricultural or animal production extension services for aquaculture extension work shows that this arrangement is inadequate to meet the needs of aquaculture programmes, and that specialized aquaculture extension services are essential. Well organized demonstration farms will be most useful for "result and method demonstrations" for the benefit of farmers. They could also serve as suitable means of demonstrating the economic viability of aquaculture in general or of specific culture systems that are being introduced in a country.
The production and distribution of inputs like seed, feed, fertilizers and equipment are supporting services of significance. These are not developed in most countries of the region. Centralized mass production of high quality seed needs high priority consideration. As for feed, the first requirement is the development of suitable formulae- based on locally available and inexpensive ingredients to meet the nutritional I needs of the species cultivated in the region. When this is done, it should be. possible to induce, the existing animal. feed industries to undertake also the manufacture of fish feeds. In the early stages, governmental support: in the form of price subsidies or guaranteed purchase of agreed quantities Lies may be required. As the aquaculture industry gets established or expanded, such support can be expected to become unnecessary. The fabrication of some of the specialized equipment: can in most cases be undertaken through existing manufacturing industries.
The role of research as a supporting service for aquaculture. industry received special attention throughout the Workshop. While a crash production programme is necessary to demonstrate the potential of aquaculture. and to win confidence and credibility among entrepreneurs and the general public, systems-oriented research was considered essential for both the transfer of existing technologies as well as the development of new ones. As mentioned elsewhere, regional cooperation in undertaking long-term research and strengthening of selected national centres for research on problems of a local nature and the application of techniques developed in regional centres were accepted as essential support to aquaculture industries.
