In October 1997, the Inland Water Resources and Aquaculture Service of the FAO Fisheries Department organized an identification mission to Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali, Zambia and Zimbabwe to assess the possibilities of establishing an African network on the Integration of Irrigation and Aquaculture (IIA). The mission recommended the organization of a workshop as a first step for the establishment of this network.
As a preliminary activity to the Workshop which was held in Accra, Ghana, in September 1999, irrigation and aquaculture experts from Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Mali and Zambia were requested to prepare a national review summarizing the status of IIA development and research activities in their respective countries. Simultaneously, representatives from institutions specialized in activities related to IIA with additional experience in networking were requested to prepare an outline of their organization including lessons learned of particular interest to the proposed network.
The Workshop was the result of fruitful collaboration between the Agriculture Department Group (RAFA) and the Fisheries Department Group (RAFI) of the FAO Regional Office for Africa, together with assistance from the FAO Water Resources Development and Management Service (AGLW) and the FAO Inland Water Resources and Aquaculture Service (FIRI).
Bringing together irrigation and aquaculture experts from the selected countries as well as representatives of international institutions, this Workshop was to assess the current status of IIA activities, to determine expectations for IIA research and development network activities (including information needs), to discuss how these could be met through networking and to agree on a proposal for establishing an African IIA Network and for defining its initial plan of action.
This document was prepared by Dr J.F. Moehl, Jr of the Fisheries Department Group and Ms I. Beernaerts of the Agriculture Department Group of the FAO Regional Office for Africa with the assistance of Drs A.G. Coche, M. Halwart and V.O. Sagua.
Distribution:
Participants in the meeting
CIFA Mailing list
FAO Fisheries Department
FAO Land and Water Resources Department
Fishery Officers, FAO Regional and Subregional Offices
Water Resources Development Officers, FAO Regional and Subregional Offices for
Africa
FAORs of participating countries
FAO Regional Office for Africa
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Moehl, J.F.; Beernaerts, I.; Coche, A.G.; Halwart, M; Sagua, V.O. Proposal for an African network on integrated irrigation and aquaculture. Proceedings of a Workshop held in Accra, Ghana, 20-21 September 1999. Rome, FAO. 2001. 75p. ABSTRACT The integrated irrigation-aquaculture (IIA) system fits well into the water control and diversification components of the FAO Special Programme for Food Security (SPFS). There is great potential for IIA in sub-Saharan Africa and the SPFS could demonstrate it wherever feasible. Three international institutions interested in IIA and experienced in networking were presented: the Regional Association for Irrigation and Drainage, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture with its Eco-regional Programme for Humid and Sub-Humid Tropics of Subsaharan Africa, and the West Africa Rice Development Association with its two regional research consortia, the Inland Valley Consortium and the Regional Rice Research Network. IIA field activities exist in Mali and Zambia and IIA-related research was reported from Burkina Faso and Ghana. All countries indicated a high potential for IIA. Possible actors involved in IIA activities represent a wide variety of research and development agencies in each country and collaboration between these is often lacking. Frequently, information to facilitate IIA development is lacking and joining national networks into a regional network would expedite access to and exchange of information. With reference to the proposed Regional IIA Network, the Workshop made the following recommendations:
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Moehl, J.F.; Beernaerts, I.; Coche, A.G.; Halwart, M; Sagua, V.O. Proposal for an African network on integrated irrigation and aquaculture. Proceedings of a Workshop held in Accra, Ghana, 20-21 September 1999. Rome, FAO. 2001. 75p. RÉSUMÉ L'intégration irrigation-aquaculture (IIA) est bien adaptée aux composantes «maîtrise de l'eau» et «diversification» du Programme Spécial pour la Sécurité Alimentaire (PSSA) de la FAO. Le potentiel de IIA en Afrique subsaharienne est énorme et le PSSA pourrait en faire la démonstration chaque fois que possible. Trois institutions internationales intéressées par IIA en Afrique et ayant de l'expérience de travail en réseau ont été présentées: l'Association Régionale pour l'Irrigation et le Drainage, l'Institut International pour l'Agriculture Tropicale et son Programme Ecorégional pour les Tropiques Humides et Subhumides de l'Afrique Subsaharienne ainsi que l'Association pour le Développement de la Riziculture en Afrique de l'Ouest et ses deux consortia régionaux de recherche, le Consortium Bas-Fonds et le Réseau Régional pour la Recherche sur le Riz. Des activités IIA de terrain existent au Mali et en Zambie et des activités de recherche dans ce domaine ont été mentionnées pour le Burkina Faso et le Ghana. Tous les pays ont reconnu que IIA présente un grand potentiel. Dans chaque pays, ce sont de nombreuses institutions différentes de recherche et de développement qui pourraient s'intéresser à des activités IIA et bien souvent la collaboration entre elles fait défaut. L'information pour promouvoir le développement de IIA étant fréquemment absente, la connection des réseaux nationaux en un réseau régional ne pourrait qu'accélérer l'accès à et l'échange de l'information. La Réunion a fait les recommandations suivantes concernant le Réseau IIA:
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