The discussions on supporting services for aquaculture development highlighted some of the difficulties created by the separation of marine and inland fisheries administrations in national governments. Freshwater, brackishwater and marine aquaculture development activities have to be integrated for efficiency and economy.
Among the supporting services required for aquaculture, the Workshop placed high priority on effective extension services. General fisheries training provided in some of the countries of the region includes a few courses in aquaculture, but this is far from sufficient to equip fishery officers for participation in production programmes or providing sound technical assistance to the farmers. The possibility of utilizing agricultural extension services for aqua-culture extension work was discussed in some detail and the general consensus was that, even if they are given some specialized training, no major impact can be expected as it may happen that sufficient attention is not given to either aquaculture or agriculture. It is, therefore, of utmost importance that specialized training is provided in aquaculture including extension methods for the required number of extension workers on a national basis, or a group-country basis if the language of instruction can be the same and production conditions are similar. The success of training will, to a large extent, be dependent on the quality and level of knowledge of the trainers. The training of trainers is therefore of special importance and the required number of core personnel for training and demonstration work should be given advanced training on a regional or inter-regional basis.
The overall requirements of manpower for production programmes should receive the attention of governments at the planning stage itself. Estimates have to be made on the basis of production targets, extent of water areas to be brought under culture, and other relevant factors. This will indicate whether permanent training facilities are warranted or ad hoc arrangements would suffice. Besides training aquaculturists, extension workers, and other government staff, it may be necessary to organize short-term training courses for farm operators and managers also.
Method and result demonstrations will form some of the main activities of extension services and the Workshop felt that demonstration centres should be established in strategic areas in each country for this purpose. These centres could also undertake a number of other activities, as for example: the training of extension workers, other field personnel and farmers; production and distribution of aquacultural inputs, such as seed and feed; provision of technical assistance including the diagnosis and control of diseases; and the provision of credit. The effectiveness and desirability of demonstration on private farms were recognized, but it was agreed that, at the present stage of development in Africa, demonstration centres with multiple functions have to be established by governments,
The economies and efficiency of centralized seed production received special attention of the Workshop, When aquaculture develops and becomes a major industry, seed production may have to pass into the private or cooperative sector but, in the initial stages, seed production and supply should preferably be developed as a governmental support service to the farmers. Assistance will also be required in the procurement of fertilizers, drugs and chemicals for disease, pest and weed control, farm equipment, etc.
The success of some of the main systems of culture that may be developed in Africa in the near future will depend largely on the availability of suitable feeds at reasonably low prices. Locally available cheap ingredients, such as agricultural and industrial wastes, have to be used for this purpose. Governmental assistance will be required for establishment of feed production as an auxiliary industry. Animal feed industry has been developed in some of the countries in the public or private sectors and if the necessary incentives are provided, there may not be much difficulty in incorporating fish feed production also in these industries, The Workshop emphasized the immediate need for external assistance in the formulation and preparation of feeds for local cultivable species, using easily available cheap ingredients,
Although there is a need to create employment potential in rural areas of Africa and consequently the use of manual labour for farm construction would be valuable, this will greatly hamper rapid development of aquaculture and in most cases prove uneconomical. It will therefore be necessary to use mechanical equipment for construction purposes. In areas where private construction companies with the requisite expertise is not available to undertake construction work at reasonable rates on contract, the governments should consider the establishment of farm construction units to assist the farmers in site selection, farm design and construction on a non-profit basis.
Research is one of the important services to be provided by the government to support the development of aquaculture. Most of the participating countries have experimental stations where some limited studies of a biological nature are undertaken. Hardly any of them have an inter-disciplinary team of workers to undertake concerted research to solve the problems relating to any culture system. Most of them do not have enough equipment, facilities and scientific manpower to carry out short- or long-term research. It is necessary to upgrade the facilities and study programmes in these stations and, for this, external assistance may be required. Production-oriented studies, particularly related to the application of technologies developed in larger research centres, should become the main function of the small national research stations. They could also provide the necessary support services for extension work. The views of the Workshop on linking these national research stations to a regional research and training centre in order to establish a network of stations with free exchange of expertise and experience are described on page 10. Such a network will be able to adapt its programmes to suit changing needs of aquaculture in the region and provide the much needed contacts between scientists and technicians to the benefit of all concerned,
