tion have followed the rapid and indiscriminate expansion of aquaculture in other parts of the
world. Cage culture of carnivorous fishes in Japan, Hong Kong and Northern Europe, for
example, has resulted in severe water pollution Csavas, 1993. Clearing of mangroves and inten-
sification of shrimp farming has caused erosion, loss of fish habitat, soil acidification and saliniza-
tion Beveridge et al., 1994, 1997 and displaced small-scale fishers and farmers in many coastal
areas in Asia and Latin America Primavera, 1997. Similar growth patterns in Africa may
solve some short-term economic problems, but at a cost that may be unsupportable in the longer
term. More commercial fish production systems will most certainly develop and thrive, but to
justify intervention on the part of the interna- tional community, the model for this development
must take into consideration the important issues of equity and sustainability.
5. Promoting evolution at the farm level
The efficacy of a rural development strategy in equitably addressing food insecurity depends
upon increasing the numbers of producers and then incrementally improving individual farm out-
put through on-farm evolution of technologies that are both more productive and also preserve
the integrity of the environment. To achieve this requires supportive policies and user-inclusive
technology development and transfer mecha- nisms. It also requires a revaluation of environ-
mental
goods and
services provided
to aquaculture Berg et al., 1996.
The existing spectrum of African aquaculture systems is the result of variable environmental,
social and economic conditions Brummett and Haight, 1997. This variety precludes mass appli-
cation of technology. Early development projects failed to recognize this and attempted to import
more or less uniform technology packages or modules. Little effort was made to transfer the
basic principles of aquaculture to farmers and extension personnel. This resulted in a limited
ability to flexibly adapt technology to particular situations. Without an understanding of princi-
ples, even those farms that could use a technology package were constrained in their ability to evolve
into more productive systems. Recent African success stories show that aqua-
culture is more likely to be sustained where it is called for as a component of broader, integrated
rural development initiatives. Leadership that comes from local actors rather than from develop-
ment agencies garners more and longer-term sup- port. This should lead to the evolution of
practices that meet the needs of both rural com- munities and national budgets. The aquaculture
industries in Scotland, Norway Aarset, 1997, South Africa, Israel and the USA Perez, et al.,
1996 have followed such an evolutionary path- way from a beginning among relatively small-
scale
entrepreneurs working
closely with
university andor government researchers to im- prove output and markets over time. Government
policies and assistance often followed. In Africa, engendering an evolutionary ap-
proach will require a new interactive relationship between researchers and farmers Brummett and
Haight, 1997. This evolution will most profitably begin at the smallholder level where the majority
of agriculture producers operate. A likely entry point is the integration of aquaculture into exist-
ing farming systems. Research in Malawi Stew- art, 1993; Brummett and Noble, 1995; Scholz and
Chimatiro, 1995 and Ghana Prein, 1994; Rud- dle, 1996 has shown that a fish pond integrated
into a farm in such a way that it recycles wastes from other agricultural and household enterprises
can increase production and profitability. As farmers gain a greater understanding of how this
new system functions and an appreciation of its potential, they become increasingly able to guide
further evolution towards increasing productivity and profitability Brummett and Noble, 1995;
Brummett and Chikafumbwa, 1998. Fig. 1 illus- trates this phenomenon for a group of farmers in
Malawi.
Case studies also indicate that fish farming can be sustainably transferred into a broad range of
farming systems, and that appropriate aquacul- ture methods spread rapidly from farmer to
farmer Chikafumbwa, 1995. Beginning this pro- cess with the rural development end of the contin-
uum has the additional potential advantage of minimizing problems of inequity in access to the
produce of aquaculture. Many smallholders lack the means to buy fish in the open market, but can
get access to a significant proportion of the fish grown in smallholder systems. These are bartered
or consumed directly by the farm family Brum- mett and Chikafumbwa, 1995.
When they evolve from local initiatives rather than being imposed from outside, even small-scale
commercial producers may be locally successful ALCOM, 1994 and, being further along on the
development continuum, might quickly grow into even larger scale commercial systems, which can
give larger increases in production in the short term. These might be expected to compete with
cheap imports rather than focusing on export markets thus increasing the availability of valu-
able protein for indigenous consumption. The key to success will be in filling the small and diverse
niches within both the local and export markets. To do this requires a reliance on the basic princi-
ples of aquaculture, flexibility in production and marketing strategies and, as for smaller scale pro-
ducers, an evolutionary attitude and approach.
6. Engendering evolution at the national level
