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Begun in 1996, the Rural Aquaculture Promotion project (RAP) is primarily the fruit of collaborative effort between the Zambian Department of Fisheries (DOF) and the U.S. Peace Corps. The initiative's goals include improved yield of rural farmer's ponds- to 3000 kg/hectare/year, improved fish farmer per capita income- increase of over 170%, fish farmer independence, retraining of fish culture extension agents, and development of an appropriate national plan for rural aquaculture. The program also encompasses ongoing challenges in the field such as localized fingerling production, identification of efficient local inputs, and harvest marketing.
To address these goals the program is instituting mechanisms based on teaching farmers appropriate methodologies. The program design includes a curriculum of fish farming techniques ranging from pond site selection and pond construction to pond management and marketing to be mastered and put into practice by interested farmers. This curriculum, these techniques, are based on the vast and varied experience of the multitude of efforts in rural aquaculture in Zambia and abroad. At the initial level of the program, attainment of objectives depends on an intensive extension effort, with regular and frequent visits to initial farmers. This is being met currently by mixed teams of DOF agents and Peace Corps Volunteers, though the DOF agents are concentrating more on infrastructure support such as fisheries station maintenance and fingerling transport. The limited number of fisheries agents, complicated by inadequate resources, necessitates a short term intervention by qualified agents who can meet the need to establish the foundation of fish farming knowledge in the villages, and thus the invitation for Peace Corps Volunteers.
The "curriculum" of information being transferred to the farmers represents all the information necessary for them to become independent in their endeavor. To further aid them in becoming successful fish farmers the program encourages them to maintain a standard level of quality in their practices. These standards include the following items pertaining to site selection, pond construction and management:
Site Selection
The farmer has a year round, undisputed, sufficient water supply for proposed ponds.
The farmer has complete legal and traditional rights to the proposed site.
The site is located no more than 20 minutes walk from his/her home.
The farmer has agricultural resources within the vicinity of the pond/s.
The site has an adequate soil quality for pond construction and water retention.
The site is spacious enough for a multiple pond system.
The slope of the site is sufficient for a gravity flow fill/drain system.
Pond Construction
Pond surface area should be in the area of 2 ares.
Ponds are derivation, independently filling and draining.
The pond has a water depth of 1 meter at the deep end, and 80 centimeters at the shallow end.
Dikes are constructed of the following dimensions:
- 1 meter minimum top width,
- 3:1 width to height ratio on interior slopes,
- 2:1 width to height ratio on exterior slopes,
- 30 centimeter minimum "freeboard" between water level and dike top.
Dikes should be water retentive.
Compost fences are constructed in the following manner:
- to cover 10% of the pond surface area,
- one fence per are of surface area (thus a 2 are pond needs two fences)
- fence top does not exceed water level.
Horizontally growing grass should be planted on all dike tops and exterior slopes.
One overflow and one drainage pipe should be installed per are of surface area.
All pipes should be double screened.
Stocking
Stocking is done only once the pond has achieved a phytoplankton bloom.
Stocking rate is one 5 centimeter fingerling per square meter of surface area plus 10% for mortality.
Management
Compost fences are filled one time per week.
Compost is turned every day.
Fish are fed supplementary feeds two times per day.
Daily observation is made at the pond- of pipe and canal blockage, feeding activity and behavior, predation, leaks, etc.
The pond site is continuously maintained- grass/weeds cut, etc.
Water level is kept stable- no flow through unless supplementary aeration is needed.
Farmers maintain their own records of stocking, management and harvest results.
Harvest and Post Harvest
Harvests are total.
Pond is completely dried before re-filling.
At the center of the extension approach lies the formation of "model farmers". These are fish farmers who have the capacity to understand and apply productive fish farming techniques, who adopt these techniques as habit in their livelihoods, achieving desired yields on a regular basis, and who are completely independent in the realization of their success. Their work serves as a living model to their community as to how to be successful in the fish farming activity. Of these model farmers it is essential that a number will also have the ability to go beyond the model, and actually share their knowledge with others in the form of teaching. To assist the empowerment of these farmers and their continuity the program will encourage work groups and farmer associations. Model farmers represent not only the program beneficiaries, but the primary counterparts as well. They receive the major investment from the program in terms of transfer of knowledge and technique.
While RAP has targeted 5 provinces in Zambia that have the highest potential for success in the activity, it is hoped that the model and the lessons learned will eventually encompass the entire country. Currently RAP works with over 700 farming families in 17 districts, with the count growing quarter to quarter. As of the end of 2000, RAP farmers had produced over 12,000 kilos of fish.
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