a combination of increasing demand for food and other goods from the finite natural resource base
and efforts by farmers, researchers, national gov- ernments and development assistance agencies.
We examine the evolution of African aquaculture at continental, national and farm levels, and pro-
pose ways in which its rate of development may be speeded up yet avoid the environmental pitfalls
of
some rapid
aquaculture development
elsewhere.
2. Aquaculture development
2
.
1
. Continental and national de6elopments While still small, African aquaculture produc-
tion has entered a steady phase of expansion. Reported production of 121 905 tons in 1997 is
more than three times the level of 36 685 tons reported by the Food and Agriculture Organiza-
tion of the United Nations FAO in 1984. While the output of capture fisheries has stagnated at
about 8 kg per person, aquaculture’s contribution, while still very low at about 1.3 of total fish
intake, doubled from 50 g per person in 1984 to 100 g per person in 1992 FAO, 1995.
Freshwater production dominates in Africa. One-third of total production is from tilapias,
especially Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus. Al- most half of the total reported production from
African aquaculture came from Egypt. However, between 1984 and 1997, the number of countries
reporting production of over 500 tons per annum increased from two Egypt and Nigeria to 11
Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Madagascar, Morocco, Nigeria, Seychelles, South
Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia, and Zambia. The sector is also diversifying. In 1997, 42 coun-
tries produced 65 different species, or species groups compared to 36 countries reporting 26
species or species groups in 1984 Source: FAO statistics. Overall, the recent trends fit the pattern
of development described by Powles 1987 and extended to the present in Table 1. The table also
illustrates how recent a phenomenon aquaculture development is in Africa.
2
.
2
. Farm le6el Aquaculture
presently plays
two roles
in African economies: commercial development and
rural development. Commercial enterprises are based on an agribusiness approach and usually
culture high value species fed prepared diets. Both investment and profit are measured only in cash.
Aquaculture provides jobs, earns or saves foreign exchange and creates wealth for the investors.
They tend to focus on export or local luxury markets. Under Katz’s Katz, 1995 scheme, com-
mercial aquaculture would be labeled as an emer- gent sub-sector less than 1000 tons production
and relatively few species in most African coun- tries. In Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa, it
would be classified in the established but simple sub-sector. The main constraints to the develop-
ment of a more commercialized and productive aquaculture sector are common to most agribusi-
ness in Africa Table 2.
Aquaculture for rural development involves production systems operated by smallholding
farmers and based on locally available pond in- puts and species that are easily grown and repro-
duced. Investment is in the form of land, water and labor. Impact is measured as food security,
poverty alleviation, an improved rural environ- ment and greater farm output and stability. The
main production system is the small pond of
Table 2 Constraints to further development of African commercial
aquaculture and their effects Constraint
Effect of constraint Poor infrastructure
Difficult fish storage; poor market ac- cess; equipment difficult to maintain
Small government Rural credit and subsidies limited
budgets Input prices and
Business planning and yield predic- supplies volatile
tion difficult Threats to economic viability of en-
Political instability terprise and security of investment
and investors Poverty of con-
Small local markets; reliance on ex- sumers
ternal markets Lack of local ex-
Increases risk; limits range of techni- cal options
pertise
Table 3 Common constraints to further development of African aqua-
culture for rural development Constraint
Lack of cash: e.g. Malawi: average smallholding 1.2 ha; nearly two-thirds of farms have no excess production for
sale; 55 are unable to even feed their families World Bank, 1996.
Shortage of labor: Little labor skilled in pond construction, management Kapalamula, 1993;
Christensen, 1994. Social leveling mechanisms and cultural constraints:
Harrison, 1994. Quality of government extension: ICLARM-GTZ, 1991.
Land tenure and ownership arrangements: Brummett and Noble, 1995.
Biophysical limitations: nutrients and water in limited supply andor highly seasonal in availability Brummett,
1997.
and nutrient levels are manipulated to enhance returns to capture fisheries. Small waterbodies of
less than 20 ha are the most common targets of these strategies, but larger reservoirs, coastal lakes
along the Mediterranean and inland flood plains have also been put forward as having potential
Coates, 1995; De Silva, 1995. Introductions such as
the small
pelagic kapenta
Limnothrissa miodon into Lake Kariba have produced signifi-
cant fisheries, although other introductions have had catastrophic consequences for indigenous bio-
diversity e.g. of the Nile perch Lates niloticus into Lake Victoria. Estimates of the optimal
potential yield from small waterbodies in sub-Sa- haran Africa alone range about 1 million tons per
year Coates, 1995. Little additional technical knowledge is required to achieve large gains, al-
though environmental degradation, loss of biodi- versity, lack of good management regimes and
socioeconomic factors could be major constraints Pitcher and Hart, 1995.
3. Lessons from the past: getting the right assistance to the farmer
