Tilapia culture by farmers in Luapula Province, Zambia

Wijkstrom, U.N.,Wahlstrom, K.O.

Tilapia culture by farmers in Luapula Province, Zambia

Year of publication 1992

Place of publication Rome, Italy ;

Pages p.74

Author Wijkstrom, U.N.,Wahlstrom, K.O.

Product type Project

Edition 1

Full item page

Synopsis (short abstract) In 1988, ALCOM carried out a fish farmer survey in Luapula Province of Zambia in cooperation with the Department of Fisheries. Field work was done during June-August 1988. The purposes of the survey were: to describe the current situation of fish farmers and to find out how it can be improved; to identify the farmer who is likely to successfully raise fish in ponds; to describe how the farmers do that; and, to identify the constraints which farmers face. Agriculture in Luapula Provin ce is carried out at a subsistence level. Farmers spread their risks and assure their own sustenance by culturing several crops and by engaging in off-farm activities. A relatively small part of their total incomes is in the form of cash. About half of the adult male population in the province engage in capture fisheries or ancillary activities. In 1985 the production was estimated at about 23 000 tons. The conditions for fish farming are good. Land and water are available, and the population eat fish. About 280 farmers in the province engaged in fish farming in 1988. The survey was intended to cover about 25% of the practising farmers plus intending farmers. This meant a goal of 100 interviews. The survey was preceded by a Department of Fisheries census to identify existing (and past) farmers with fish ponds. The interviews were carried out during two visits in the course of June and August 1988. The survey team consisted of an aquaculturist and a social science graduate. Altogeth er 94 interviews were carried out of which 51 were with practising fish farmers, 20 with former fish farmers and 23 with potential fish farmers. The survey questionnaires were designed by ALCOM and slightly modified after their use in the North-Western Province.

Language English

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Project

Fish-farmers in rural communities:Evaluation of Questionnaires and Survey Routines used during a pilot survey in the Northern Province of Zambia
Evaluation of questionnaires and survey routines used during a pilot survey in the Northern Province of Zambia (October 1987)
1988

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This report presents recommendations for modifications to the procedures and questionnaires used during the pilot survey, as well as the rationale for those modifications. The pilot survey was carried out in the Northern Province of Zambia in October 1987. The survey team included two aquaculturists, Mr Hans Aase (with project GCP/INT/436/SWE) and Mr H.C. Kabunda of the Misamfu Fish Farm, Northern Province; and two sociologists, Ms Phebby Ntembe and Ms Nelly Mazingaliwa. The four assembled in Lusaka before spending three weeks in the field. During that time 89 interviews were carried out. They included 46 interviews with farmers practising tilapia farming, 22 with farmers who used to raise tilapia in ponds, and 21 with individuals believed to be potential fish-farmers. The survey team travelled in two four-wheel drive vehicles placed at the disposal of the survey by NORAD. Three out of four interviews were conducted in the mother tongue of the respondent. None of the farmers contac ted by the survey teams refused to be interviewed, and none terminated the interview on his own initiative. Those who carried out the survey found no serious discrepancies between what they observed and the findings as reported (Results of a Socio-Economic Pilot Survey on Fish - Farmers in Rural Communities in the Northern Province of Zambia, October 1987). There are a few additional data which might be useful for the survey results, and which might be collected without any major additional effort. They are: depth of ponds, water-flow through ponds and destination of run-off water, distance between main household compound and pond, feed and fertilizer - their use and availability. The pilot survey as a part of the “Current situation and outlook” intended to establish the “health” of existing fish pond through comparison of an estimated rate of production at a normal rate. This proved not to be possible.
Project

A study of fish farmers in North-Western Province, Zambia, June 1989 1993

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In June 1989, ALCOM carried out a socio-economic study of the relationship between small-scale rural aquaculture and farming systems in Mwinilunga District, North-Western Province, Zambia. Informal interviews were held with 23 randomly selected fish farmer households. ALCOM's 1988 fish farmer survey in the province served as the background for a deeper study of production achievements, management practices, labour and resource allocations, harvesting strategies and disposal of harvested fish. The Farming Systems classifications defined by the Adaptive Research Planning Team (ARPT), the Zambian research body on farming systems, constituted the reference against which fish farming activities were investigated. There are two major farming systems in Mwinilunga District: “the traditional cassava-based subsistence shifting cultivation system”, encompassing the majority of households; and the “small-scale semi-commercial farming system”, practised by about 10% of the households. Of the i nterviewed households, 13 belonged to the “semi-commercial” group and 10 to the “subsistence” group. Production from fish ponds is low, in most cases within the range of 3–6 kg/are annually. Semi-commercial farmers produce more fish than subsistence farmers; motivated by their higher returns, they expand farms more often, using their own means. New ponds, however, are smaller and have a shorter life-span than the ponds built by subsidies provided by externally funded projects in the 1980s. P onds are inadequately fertilized. The main reason is scarcity of manure. The available manure is applied mainly during the cold dry season, both to fish ponds and vegetable gardens, not during the warm rainy season when the fish grows. Seasonal shortage of labour to collect and apply manure is one reason. Semi-commercial farmers have better manured ponds than subsistence farmers, the most apparent reason being their more numerous farm animals (cattle, goats and chickens).
Project

Socio-economic study of fishing communities along Lake Mweru, Luapula province, Zambia 1994

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A survey was carried out of fishing communities along Lake Mweru in Luapula Province, Zambia. The survey consisted of three elements: discussions with fisheries officials; a literature review; monitoring and research activities. Two research teams of three each, assisted by government personnel, surveyed two research sites: Kasembe along the northern coastline, and Kafulwe/Kasungwa along the west coast. The survey yielded information about the infrastructure, services and development activiti es in the area. Socio-economic data on the population was obtained. An activity profile and a resources profile were drawn up. Information was obtained about the social organization of fishing camps, and the effects of high immigration on this social organization.

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