Farmers

The aim of the overall project of which this report is part is to identify possible solutions for regulating access to aquatic genetic resources and legal protection of the results of research and development in aquaculture using such resources. The case study of the collaborative program on Genetic Improvement of Farmed Tilapias (GIFT) serves as a basis for comparison with two other case studies from Norway on salmon and cod. This study aims to address the following questions: How has the legal regime for GIFT material developed since leaving WorldFish?

Red tilapia (Oreochromis spp) has become popular in Asian countries due to its greater economic value relative to Nile tilapia. As there is a growing demand for quality seed of this species, the WorldFish Center has initiated a genetic improvement program for red tilapia in Thailand and another one in Malaysia. The ultimate aim of the project is to develop a genetically improved strain of red tilapia with uniform red coloration, high survival and good adaptation to local environment.

There is an increasing demand for fish in the world due to a growing population, better economic situation in some sectors, and greater awareness of health issues in relation to food. Since capture fisheries have stagnated, fish farming has become a very fast growing food production system. In this presentation, the author gives an overview of the technologies that are available for genetic improvement of fish, and briefly discuss their merit in the context of a sustainable development. He also discusses the essential prerequisites for effective dissemination of improved stock to farmers.

The potential for integrating aquaculture with agriculture has been widely recognized as a means of improving the use of inputs, diversifying output and economic opportunity, and enabling smallholder producers to maintain and strengthen livelihoods. This paper describes the outcomes of this approach and explains the extent to which it has been taken up and has led to sustained and self-generated capacity. Based in particular on experience in Malawi, Ghana and Cameroon, it also considers implications more widely in the region.

The article outlines the information needs of small scale fish farmers in Kenya.

Aquaculture is the world’s fastest growing food production sector. Developing countries produce the bulk of aquaculture production, and smallholders dominate the rural landscape throughout the developing world, making up a large proportion of people involved in aquaculture production in many countries.

The Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) in India developed bivalve farming technologies in the 1970s, but these were not widely adopted at the time. In 1993, CMFRI undertook an action research program to encourage farming of edible oysters (Crassostrea madrasensis), mussels (Perna viridis and Perna indica), clams (Paphia malabarica) and pearls (Pinctada fucata) along the southwest coast of India.

The study has conducted the micro level analysis of hatchery operators, fishseed-rearing farmers and carp farmers with respect to their socio-economic characteristics, infrastructural development, husbandry practices and economics returns, based on the survey and on-farm trial data collected by the research partners in six Asian countries, viz. Bangaldesh, China, India, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam. The genetically-improved carp strain is economically viable and socially acceptable.

Based on on-farm surveys implemented in the Ganges Delta in Bangladesh and the Mekong Delta in Vietnam, the dynamics of shrimp aquaculture in salinity-influenced coastal areas were analysed. Qualitative data were collected through interviewing both individual and group farmers in 2005 and 2006, as well as key informants and value chain stakeholders, to obtain an overview of the dynamics of salinity-influenced aquaculture in these two deltas.

Fish contain important nutrients such as essential fatty acids, iron, zinc, calcium, vitamin A and vitamin C. Production of freshwater fish depends on the strategic application of various management techniques. The demand for fish products has increased beyond the natural supply, resulting in a high pressure on fisheries. Development of aquaculture is necessary for a rapid growth in fish production. A number of constraints hamper the development of aquaculture.