Consultant Facilitator

A report prepared for the
Inland Water Resources and Aquaculture Service
of the FAO Fisheries Department

The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

In the context of the Strategy for International Fisheries Research, the follow-up to the Study on International Fisheries Research (SIFR, 1989-91), FAO launched in 1992 a Regional Study on Aquaculture Development and Research in sub-Saharan Africa, in collaboration with the Economic Commission for Africa and the European Commission.

The resulting synthesis on the information presented in 12 national reviews on development and research needs provided the basis for proposing an Indicative Action Plan for Aquaculture Research in sub-Saharan Africa (CIFA Technical Papers 23 and 23 Suppl., 1994). This Action Plan was presented to and discussed with the countries involved in the Second Session of the Working Party on Aquaculture of the Committee for Inland Fisheries of Africa (CIFA - Harare, Zimbabwe, 13-17 September 1993). It was endorsed during the Ninth Session of CIFA (Harare, Zimbabwe, 5-9 December 1994)

The Action Plan comprised eight regional research programmes, addressing themes which could alleviate identified development constraints. Among these research themes to be studied through specialized regional networks in the medium term were:

In 1997, as no positive response from donors had been elicited to start implementing the proposed research programmes, the Inland Water Resources and Aquaculture Service of the FAO Fisheries Department decided to go ahead using its own financial resources coupled with the Partnership Programme Scheme. A formulation mission was fielded in October 1997 to visit several countries in sub-Saharan Africa to study the existing possibilities for the initial establishment of a multidisciplinary Research Network for the Integration of Aquaculture and Irrigation, including fishery enhancement in small irrigation reservoirs.

Coche, A.G.

Supporting aquaculture development in Africa: Research Network on Integration of Aquaculture and Irrigation.

CIFA Occasional Paper. No. 23. Accra, FAO. 1998. 141p.

ABSTRACT

This is the report of a mission fielded in October-November 1997 to visit successively Ghana, Burkina Faso, Mali, Zambia and Zimbabwe, previously identified as potential contributors to a research network on the integration of aquaculture and irrigation, including fishery enhancement in small water bodies.

Available resources (infrastructure, staff, finances) for aquaculture and irrigation research, as well as the development status of these two sub-sectors, were identified and evaluated. Interest and willingness to participate in the network were ascertained.

Main findings were the following:

In general, resources are very limited except for infrastructure in Ghana and Zambia, where human resources should also improve in the near future.
Government resources to support aquaculture development are rather limited, particularly in Burkina Baso, Mali and Zimbabwe. Although some private initiatives exist in Mali and Ghana, they are particularly developed in Zambia. This contributes to make of Zambia one of the main aquaculture producers in sub-Saharan Africa.
Currently, most SWB fishery enhancement activities are private iniatives, either at village level in Mali and Ghana or at farm level in Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Guidelines are now being finalized by ALCOM for the rapid evaluation of SWB fishery potential and for community-based enhancement/management of SWB fish resources in southern African countries.
Several types of integration of aquaculture and irrigation have been tried in Mali and Ghana, on a relatively small scale. The Zambia SPFS is actively carrying out trials on small-scale fish farming integration in wetland areas.
Large-scale schemes with surface irrigation and full or partial water control are particularly well developed in Mali, but also in Zambia and Zimbabwe where more than 20000ha are available.
The largest irrigation potential exists in Ghana. Good potential is also present in Mali and Zambia.
The Special Programme on Food Security is well ahead in Zambia and has been initiated in the field in Burkina Faso. In Mali, it is still in the preparatory phase, while in Ghana and Zimbabwe, the National Programme is under preparation.

Recommendations are as follows:

National institutions to become involved in the African Research Network for the Integration of Aquaculture and Irrigation have been identified as follows:

Burkina Faso: Institut de D�veloppement Rural

Mali: Institut d’Economie Rurale

Ghana: Water Research Institute

Zambia: Mount Makulu Regional Research Centre

In Zimbabwe, the ALCOM Programme should take overall responsibility, both at regional SADC level and at national level, in cooperation with the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Management and AGRITEX.
The new network should closely collaborate with existing networks, in particular ARID, FARMESA and SADC/FANR networks.
Future actions should include the preparation of national syntheses and the organization of a seminar regrouping irrigation and aquaculture specialists, in view of discussing the organization and research priorities of the future network.

CIFA Occasional Paper No. 23 CIFA/OP23

SUPPORTING AQUACULTURE DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA:

RESEARCH NETWORK ON INTEGRATION OF AQUACULTURE

AND IRRIGATION

Preparation of this document

ABSTRACT

CONTENTS