Aquaculture is often viewed simply as the intensive culture of salmon and shrimp providing high value products for luxury markets. It is often associated with environmental degradation and its record for contributing to rural development is poor, especially in Africa. Could aquaculture contribute to the livelihoods of the poor, asks recent research by the Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand?

In some part of Asia, aquaculture is traditional practice, although a number of constraints prevent its expansion. A major policy question is, how far can aquaculture contribute towards poverty reduction? The use of participatory rather than technology-driven approaches is leading to the adoption of aquaculture by new entrant poor farming households in Africa and Asia.

Aquaculture is defined as farming fish and other aquatic organisms. Land-based systems are commonly integrated with agriculture by stocking fish in rice fields and ponds. Water-based systems involve stocking fish directly in enclosures or attaching them to substrates in water bodies such as rivers, lakes, reservoirs or bays. This system may provide an entry point for landless people and poor fishers to farm fish.

Aquaculture can potentially contribute to the livelihoods of the rural poor because it generates:

• Food of high nutritional value, especially for vulnerable groups such as pregnant and lactating women, infants and pre-school children.
• ‘Own enterprise’ employment for women and children too.
• Income through sale of relatively high value produce.
• Increased availability of fish in local rural and urban markets, which may reduces prices.
• Employment on larger farms, in seed supply networks, market chains and manufacture/repair functions.
• Benefit from common pool resources, particularly for the landless, through cage culture, culture of molluscs and seaweeds, and enhanced fisheries in communal water bodies.
• Increased farm sustainability through: a) construction of ponds which also serve as small-scale, on-farm reservoirs, and b) rice/fish cultures as a component of integrated pest management.

Aquaculture is a relatively new and underdeveloped farming practice compared to agriculture and animal husbandry, even in many parts of Asia. Its positive social and environmental attributes make it an attractive entry point to improve the livelihoods of the poor in rural development programmes.

Aquaculture comprises diverse systems of farming plants and animals in inland and coastal areas, many of which have relevance for the poor. Asia, and China in particular, is dominant in global aquaculture production. For aquaculture to make greater contributions to rural development, policy implications include suggestions that:

• Social, economic and institutional issues limit the contributions that aquaculture might make as generic technologies already exist. Land-based culture systems in inland areas have the greatest potential as aquaculture can be integrated with existing small-scale farming.
• A new professionalism is needed involving changes in values among development professionals and increased use of participatory farming systems approaches to empower the poor and local communities are required.
• The poor need to be targeted and provided, at least initially, with public sector support although aquaculture has to function on a self-financing basis within the private sector.
• Government needs to address both the design and implementation of policy, with feedback mechanisms allowing the poor to influence development.

Source(s):
‘Aquaculture, Poverty Impacts and Livelihoods’. ODI Natural Resource Perspectives #56 by P. Edwards (2000) Full document.
Rural aquaculture: overview and framework for country reviews’. Bangkok: RAP/FAO, by P. Edwards and H. Demaine (1997) ‘

Funded by: DFID and others

id21 Research Highlight: 25 January 2001

Further Information:
Peter Edwards
Aquaculture and Aquatic Resources Management
School of Environment, Resources and Development
Asian Institute of Technology
PO Box 4, Klong Luang
Pathumthani 12120
Thailand

Tel: 00 +66 (2) 524 5477
Fax: 00 +66 (2) 524 6200
Contact the contributor: pedwards@ait.ac.th

Asia Institute of Technology, Thailand

Other related links:
The International Centre for Living Aquatic Resources Management provides research on all aspects of fisheries and other living aquatic resources.

Search the International Institute for Environment and Development for research papers on related issues

Future Harvest speaks for a network of nonprofit food and environmental research centres around the world

World Resources Institute features regional and thematic resources

Search the UNU Environment and Sustainable Development site for further related research

Refer to the FAO Fisheries site for up-to-date news and resources