GCP/RLA/075/ITA Field Dcoument 1/E NATIONAL AGRICULTURE FEED SURVEYS (NAFS) FOR AQUACULTURE PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 1. GUIDELINES CONTENTS

G O V E R N M E N T   C O O P E R A T I V E   P R O G R A M M E

By

A.G.J. Tacon, G. Maciocci and J.E. Vinatea

A report prepared for the FAO Trust Fund GCP/RLA/075/ITA Project
Support to the Regional Aquaculture Activities for
Latin America and the Caribbean

This report was prepared during the course of the project identified on the title page. The conclusions and recommendations given in the report are those considered appropriate at the time of its preparation. They may be modified in the light of further knowledge gained at subsequent stages of the project.

The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this document do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the United Nations or the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal or constitutional status of any country, territory or sea area, or concerning the delimitation of frontiers.

FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS
Brasilia, Brazil
June 1987

Hyperlinks to non-FAO Internet sites do not imply any official endorsement of or responsibility for the opinions, ideas, data or products presented at these locations, or guarantee the validity of the information provided. The sole purpose of links to non-FAO sites is to indicate further information available on related topics.

CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION

2. NAFS GUIDELINES

2.1 Background information - Country profile

2.1.1 Demography and the general economy

2.1.2 Agriculture and food policy

2.1.3 Fisheries and aquaculture

2.2 Agricultural feed survey

2.2.1 National fertilizer and feed resources

2.2.2 Animal feed manufacturing industry

2.3 Presentation and interpretation of the NAFS report

3. REFERENCES

LIST OF TABLES

LIST OF FIGURES

1. INTRODUCTION

The potential for aquaculture development in Latin America and the Caribbean is substantial. However, if this potential is to be realised in the form of rural or commercial farming activities, then considerable inputs of fertilizer and feed will have to be provided. Sadly, little or no information exists on the available aquaculture fertilizer and feed resources of most countries within the Region. Clearly, this situation must be remedied if maximum social and economic benefit is to be gained from the farming systems employed; the resident aquaculture sector must be made more aware of the national agricultural feed resources available to them and how they can best use this resource (whether it be poultry manure, composted coffee pulp or fish meal) within aquaculture feeding strategies.

One of the major constraints to the development of appropriate national aquaculture feeding strategies within developing countries has been the direct application of complete diet feeding strategies from Europe, North America and the Far East (for which most information and expertise in complete diet feeding exists). Whilst complete diet feeding strategies can be economically viable within intensive farming systems, there is a need to develop simple and inexpensive semi-intensive feeding strategies which can be readily adopted by the subsistence or rural farmer with limited financial resources and labour inputs. It is imperative therefore that a national solution is found to solve a national problem; emphasis must be placed on utilizing feed ingredients and agro-industrial by-products available within the country and developing cost-effective feeding strategies suited to local conditions and customs. Such an approach is vital if Latin American and Caribbean countries are to develop their own aquaculture feeding strategies and reduce their reliance on imported feed ingredients and ‘ready made’ feed technology packages. This paper aims to provide the guidelines for conducting a National Agricultural Feed Survey (NAFS) so as to enable the aquaculture producer, public or private, to develop his or her own national aquaculture feeding strategy.

2. NAFS GUIDELINES

2.1 Background information - Country profile

An essential component of NAFS is the collection of baseline data on the social, cultural, economic and political environment within the country, together with basic information on the status of the existing agriculture and fisheries (including aquaculture) sectors. This background information will enable the user to form an overall picture or profile of the environment he operates in, and will help to identify the economic, cultural and environmental constraints which will indirectly or directly affect his choice of feeding strategy (Ben-Yami, 1986; Tacon, 1986; Wijkström and Jul-Larsen, 1986).

2.1.1 Demography and the general economy

The information required can be presented in statistical form as shown in Table 1 and 2. For certain information (ie. population density, major cities, transport and communications, ethnic/language groups, land and water use) the data can be presented in map form, whereas the major economic indicators (ie. balance of payments, growth of domestic product, money supply, wages, prices, inflation, total external debt, unemployment rate, and value of exports or imports) can be presented graphically as trends.

Table 1. Human resources and economic data

Table 2. Commodities and service price index

¹ Average retail price at representative outlets in thecountry
² Major transport and communication networks within thecountry can be shown in map form if required

2.1.2 Agriculture and food policy

The major agriculture sectors operating within the country (ie. rural/ small-holder/large-holder) should be briefly described; including historical development (if appropriate), geographical location (map), major food items produced (crops and livestock), area farmed, role in the economy, and labour inputs. In addition, the national agriculture and food policy should be described, indicating government priorities and development plans, together with financial incentives and constraints (ie. credit lines, subsidies, and import/export taxes and exemptions). Finally, information should be collected on the nutritional habits or food supply of the population (Table 3).

2.1.3 Fisheries and aquaculture

The status of the capture fishery (marine and freshwater) should be described; including historical development, geographical location of the industry (map), major fishery products produced, role in the economy, employment, utilization of the catch, commodity and trade balance (Table 4), development prospects, government policy and development plan, and financing and fiscal facilities (ie. credit lines, subsidies, and import/export taxes/ exemptions).

Finally, so as to complete the background information, the aquaculture sector (public and private) will also have to be described; including historical development (ie. farming tradition), major indigenous and imported cultured species, annual production, farming intensity (intensive/semi-intensive/extensive), geographical location of the major farms (map), feeding strategy employed (fertilization/supplementary feeding/complete diet feeding), production unit (lagoon/pen enclosure/cage/raceway/tank/pond), labour input (full-time/part-time), investment and economic viability (if known). Information should also be collected on the national government aquaculture policy, including priorities, financial incentives, and support services (seed supply, disease diagnosis, research, training, and information).

2.2 Agricultural feed survey

Prior to the selection of fertilizers and feeds to be used within a semi-intensive or intensive aquaculture feeding strategy it is first necessary to conduct a thorough survey of the available fertilizer and feed resources of the area, district, state or country. Such a survey should identify what fertilizer and feed resources are available and where, how much is available and when, who is currently using this resource and how, the composition and cost of this resource at source and with transportation, and an assessment of the existing animal feed manufacturing industry.

2.2.1 National fertilizer and feed resources

The information required should be presented in statistical form as shown in Table 5. The geographical source of the major fertilizer and feed resources should be presented in map form as shown in Figure 1.

Table 3. Per caput food supply

Table 4. Fishery commodity and trade balance

Table 5. National food, feed and fertilizer resources ¹

¹ The information contained within this Table should be obtained for all the major food, feed and fertilizer items available in the country

Figure 1. Proposed format for displaying the geographical source of feed or fertilizer resources - Example shown is for an agricultural feed survey conducted in Papua New Guinea (Tacon, 1986a)

2.2.2 Animal feed manufacturing industry

The status of the animal feed manufacturing industry operating in the country should be analysed as shown in Table 6.

Table 6. Status of the animal feed manufacturing industry

Finally, a directory should be compiled of all the animal feed manufacturers and agricultural support agencies/suppliers within the country; including national agricultural associations, agricultural suppliers (grains, oilseeds, fertilizers), abattoirs, feed milling companies, and other feed/food processors such as bakeries, breweries, canneries and sugar mills.

2.3 Presentation and interpretation of the NAFS report

The NAFS report should be presented in the form of an illustrated atlas of national fertilizer and feed resources, with text being restricted to the analysis of agriculture policies, development plans, cultural farming traditions, and the social and economic climate of the country (for details see the Papua New Guinea NAFS report of Tacon, 1986a). Although the physical task of collecting the resource data may appear daunting, the information can be readily abstracted from government agricultural statistical reports, national and regional development banks, national geographic institutes, international support agencies, and through field visits and questionnaires.

The value of the NAFS report will eventually depend on the users interpretation of the data presented. As a guide, the following factors should be considered by the user before choosing an extensive, semi-intensive or intensive aquaculture feeding strategy:

• The aim of the proposed aquaculture activity - rural/subsistence farming activity or commercial/cash income farming activity

• Time allocated for the farming activity - full or part-time farming activity

• Farming traditions, ‘taboos’ and managerial ability of the farmer

• Financial resources of the farmer - amount of capital available for investment; availability of sources of capital and credit/foreign exchange facilities; interest repayment rates on borrowed capital

• Market value of fish/shrimp species to be farmed

• Feeding habit of fish/shrimp species to be farmed - carnivore, herbivore or omnivore

• Feeding behaviour and requirements of fish/shrimp species to be farmed-benthic, pelagic or surface feeder; day-time, twilight or nocturnal feeder; live-food, moist diet or dry diet feeder; visual or olfactory feeder

• Water quality requirements of fish/shrimp species to be farmed - oxygen, temperature, salinity, ammonia, pH, water exchange, suspended solids

• Service availability and cost - electricity, gas, water, fuel

• Intended production unit - lagoon, pen enclosure, cage, raceway, tank, earthen pond

• Fertilizer and feed availability and cost

• Fertilizer and feed transport and processing cost

• Food and feeding cost/unit of production/unit of time

• Fixed or non-food cost/unit of production/unit of time

3. REFERENCES

Ben-Yami, M., 1986 Aquaculture: The importance of knowing its limitations. Ceres, 112:15–19

Tacon, A.G.J., 1986 Aquaculture feeding options and choice of feeding strategy. Proceedings of the first Inter-American Congress on Aquaculture, Salvador, Brasil, 14–21 September, 1986; 17 p.

Tacon, A.G.J., 1986a Development of carp feeds. A report prepared for the Project TCP/PNG/4503 re-establishment of carp fishing in the highlands of Papua New Guinea. FAO Field Document 3, July 1986; 42 p.

Wijkström, U. and E. Jul-Larsen, 1986 Aquaculture: Tackling the major constraints. Ceres, 112:19–23