Analysis Sub-Saharan Africa Extensive or intensive fish farming? The debate continues on whether to recommend intensive or extensive fish farming to farmers in sub-Saharan Africa xtensive fish farming usually refers growing food crops, and then by to fish farming conducted in diversifying the farmer’s activities over a Emedium- to large-sized ponds or range of agriculture and non-agriculture water bodies; the fish production relies ventures in pursuit of his income merely on the natural productivity of the generating strategies. The rationale water which is only slightly or moderately behind this is to manage risk (ex ante) and enhanced. Externally supplied inputs are to cope with loss (ex post). limited; costs are kept low; capital investment is restricted; the quantity of The strategies devised will have to take fish produced per unit area is low. In brief, into account his assets (resources, human the control over the production factors is capital, know-how) and his investment kept low. The return on labour is high. capacities. To carry out his strategies and best achieve his objectives, enabling Intensive fish farming, on the other hand, market conditions need to be present. implies that the quantity of fish produced These are essentially a market system for per unit of rearing area is great. To agricultural and non-agricultural factors intensify the culture, production factors, and products. For instance, food or labour such as feed, quality of water and quality scarcities can alter performance of the of stocked fingerlings, are controlled to markets and prevent the farmer from improve the production conditions. There achieving his objectives. is steady monitoring during the production cycle. In support of his strategies, the farmer aims at optimizing the use of resources in It goes without saying that all these his reach, putting to use unused or controls entail high-tech practices and underused resources. The objective capital-intensive investments, which add reason for going into fish farming is, to the production costs. The returns must therefore, the expected return to be made justify increased production costs. The from fish farming. The choice of contribution of natural productivity into income-generating activities, amongst fish production is low or negligible. several options available, is made on the Besides this, intensive fish farming carries grounds of their expected returns and with it high costs or threats to the risks involved. environment. Farmers can be largely divided into three Apart from these two forms of fish categories: farming, some speak about semi-intensive fish farming, referring to intermediate • those with little resources and practices, taking elements of both forms. land, no cash, short of labour, who This is, however, ill-defined. are risk-prone and try to diversify their production in spreading Before suggesting which of these forms is risks, but who have little to he recommended, one should look at manoeuvring range; the context under which fish farming is practised. What are the farmer’s • those with more resources, objectives? The first objective is to ensure on-farm and off-farm; and food security/livelihood for his household. This can be secured, firstly, by • the rich ones. SAMUDRA NOVEMBER 1996 23 Analysis Analysis he first group of farmers will basket weaving, herbalist activities, wine practise fish farming as a or beer production, and so on). These Tcomplementary or supplementary incomes are often quite important, as they activity, while the two other groups can are part of the risk-spreading strategy to envisage fish farming as an secure a living. income-generating activity on its own. In cases of failure of agricultural This means that, for the first group, fish production due to climatic or other farming needs to be integrated into a reasons, farmers will increasingly rely on whole farm system, while, in the other off-farm income to tide over the critical two cases, it could stand on its own and period, though, in some cases, as in rural develop into a primary economic activity. Mozambique, off-farm income has no discernible effect on calorie availability. The greater the role fish production plays in the generation of income, the larger the A possible explanation might be that market needs to be to absorb the off-farm activities are primarily accessible produced supply. The less fish is to men, while women are mostly produced, the greater will be the home responsible for the supply of food. consumption of the fish produced. Non-farm income-generating activities Many smallholder farmers, except for the are also important to provide means to poorest ones, have off-farm incomes pay for hired labour in agriculture; (trading activities, handicraft production, women will have to depend more on 24 SAMUDRA NOVEMBER 1996 Analysis mobilizing inter- and intra-household • fish production has proved to linkages to provide for extra labour. provide excellent returns to land and labour and is, therefore, a Cash incomes are also important for the profitable production; and purchase of planting material or fish seed and farm inputs, as formal credit facilities • fish is a high-value commodity. from banking institutions are not available. Incomes generated through On the negative side, several constraints off-farm work, sales of cash and food restraining the adoption of fish farming crops contribute to the emergence of food must be considered. These, mainly, are: and non-food markets with effective demands. With the monetisation of the • the ability to master the know-how economy, reliance on non-market of the new technology; relations, such as informal or exchange labour, is regressing; hired labour to be • the security of land tenure, which paid for in cash and kind is increasing. For justifies the setting up of a costly instance, in Nigeria, traditional patterns of investment (the construction of the gender role in agriculture are changing, pond); and resulting in increased participation of Igbo women in agricultural production • the access to fish seed, to stock the due to greater male participation in pond, and to a market, to sell the non-farm activities and in wage fish. employment. In certain countries, access to wetland Alternative productive activities with areas can be more difficult, as they are a little requirements for capital will be common property resource, as in Malawi. favoured. These offer a rapid return on Secure land tenure should not be investment, which can incorporate understood in its formal sense since, as marginal labour force (children or the such, it is not a necessary condition for elderly). investments on land. Any move into fish farming will be Social and cultural institutions, which supported by an assessment of the assure individuals that they are part of a required conditions, i.e. suitable land stable, equitable, well-adapted set of (water-logged soil or proximity to a water rights and duties, give the tenure stream), availability of water and inputs arrangements meaning. Also, security of (agricultural by-products and manure), land tenure is less important if the the anticipated returns from the available investment pay-back period is short. resources, and whether these are greater than those (expected or real) generated by The various types of fish farming other uses of the same resources accessible to farmers in rural or pen-urban (production of rice in marsh areas, areas in developing countries are, compared to that of fish), and expected essentially, fish farming in earthen ponds, marketing facilities for the fish produced. irrigated rice fields, dams and reservoirs, and in pen or cages. The benefits generated by fish farming are: Irrigation The ponds are either drainable, i.e. fed • a homestead pond has multiple from an irrigation canal or rainfed, or purposes and contributes to non-drainable, dug in the water table. increasing overall farm Existing irrigated rice fields can be used. productivity; This is done by stocking them with fish • fish is an important ingredient in and shrimps. Fisheries production in human nutrition, as a source of dams, reservoirs and natural water bodies animal protein, as a tasty relish can be enhanced by stocking fish in them. and as a prestige food; Further, pens and cages can be set up in dams, reservoirs and lakes to rear fish. SAMUDRA NOVEMBER 1996 25 The bulk of fish produced in sub-Saharan labour force, and the use of hired labour Africa by fish farming comes from ponds must be minimized. and irrigated rice fields. What should be the level of intensity of fish farming? Once these conditions are met and fish Analysis Analysis Before recommending anything, it farming is adopted by the farmers, the fish should be remembered that fish farming produced can be self-consumed and thus can only be envisaged as an economic contribute to the household food security. activity and, therefore, there is a need to However, sustainability of fish farming investigate the prerequisites for the will be enhanced if there is an excess of establishment of a healthy farmed-fish farmed-fish production, a fair outlet for market. Amongst these, successful fish marketing the fish and the establishment farming is one prerequisite. of a farmed fish market. o be successful, the technology To this effect, there must be a demand for should be feasible, productive and farmed-fish; the cumulative offer of Tprofitable. This means that fish farmed-fish produced by the fish farmers farming should be within the capacity of must meet a certain number of criteria: the the farmer—understood as the farmer’s supply must be regular, the quality of household and not as the male or female supply must be adequate and the fish heading the farming household, i.e. must fetch a fair price. The market compatible within his/her indigenous requires that enough cash be in knowledge system; be easily circulation, or at the disposal of the accommodated within his/her time or customers, to enable transactions to take labour availability, cash or capital place easily.