Corporate
A Lasting Catch
Ebbe Schioler
ISBN
983-2346-12-6
Not just another anniversary
report
Probably your first reaction when you received this
book was "ah, another anniversary report". In one sense, of course, you
are right. But read on, because we think that you will find that this is
something a little bit different.
Realising that you 25th Anniversary was approaching fast, we brainstormed the options for flagging our milestones. Many of us thought that a solid history of our institute or an impressive scientific reader would be appropriate. And we still plan to do this. Then, during the course of our discussions, someone pointed out that either of these options would give us "just another Anniversary Report". What is more, we realised that such a project would probably have a prety narrow, specialist readership. So, we opted, for a different approach, and decided to take a "bottom-up" approach instead.
The WorldFish Center's work is about people. So, we decided that this report should focus on the people we work with.
We want this Anniversary Report to be enjoyed by the broadest possible group of readers, including youngsters and non-specialists, tex-payers and decision-makers and, perhaps, even by some of the thousands of families thouched by our work. But how could we do this and, at the same time, explain our goals and our achievements over the past few years? The answer was obvious, by telling you the stories of some of the many villagers, fishers and farmers who are our partners and clients.
So, we decided to inform you and entertain you at the same time, not by telling you the history of the Center, but by telling you the stories which bring that history to life. These stories come not just from the field but, really, from our heart.
Of course, at the end of the day, what it all boils down to is "was it
worth it"? For us, and for our many partners, the answer is definately
"yes". We believe you will understand, when you delve into these stories,
why we have worked so hard over the years and why we are prepared to keep
up this dedicated pace.
Meryl J. Williams
November 2002
|
Bangladesh |
Common Sense
Like most of those living in Goakhola village in Bangladesh, Basonti Audhikary has benefited greatly from the village's new policy of cooperative management of its water resources. Traditionally, when the rains created temporary lakes (called 'beels'), villagers would catch as many fish as they could. As Bangladesh's population grew, such opportunism meant that these waters were quickly fished out. To solve this, researchers and villagers decided that the fish needed somewhere safe to breed and grow. So Goakhola's management committee (on which Basonti sits) banned fishing in five local water holes (or 'kuas'). When the next rains came, they contained a good stock of well-grown fish which were washed into the 'beel'. Basonti, who wisely invested in land and fishing rights in the middle of the 'beel', prospered. So now, as well as land, she has a new toilet and tube well and, very soon, she will have a new concrete roof for her house. |
|
Bangladesh |
Where women are experts too
Could you feed and support four children if you owned only one-fifth of an acre of land? Sumitra Biswas and her husband, Gopal, do. In fact, using knowledge gained from a variety of courses on aquaculture, they are prospering. But, while they share their pond and farm work more or less equally, the 'know how' which has transformed their smallholding into a model of integrated agriculture and aquaculture is being channelled through Sumitra. Sumitra has attended a number of courses run specifically for women in south-western Bangladesh. The knowledge she has gained and shared with her husband, and the techniques they have applied, have significantly improved the output of their smallholding. In fact, with the help of her trainers, Sumitra has calculated that her family's annual income has more than doubled. Now this husband-and-wife team can do more than simply feed their children, they can afford to send them to High School! |
|
Egypt |
They don't see it's ugly
It's mean in looks and personality - so why is Egyptian fish farmer Hamid Mohammad Abdel Semi keen to breed the native catfish in his ponds? Because, as well as being tasty and fetching a good market price, the Egyptian catfish is tough. It can survive in water with low oxygen levels, is far less sensitive to agricultural pollution than other fish and requires little extra feed. What stopped Hamid stocking catfish in the past was the cost of catfish fry. But now, research by the World Fish Center has overturned the myth that catfish have to be bred in laboratories or caught in the wild, which pushed costs up. They taught Hamid that, by lowering the water level of his pond at the critical time, he could 'trick' his catfish into breeding. With the potential to produce 900 fingerlings or more, Hamid looks forward to profiting greatly from raising his own stock of catfish. |
|
Egypt |
Spreading the News
The best word to describe Nazmy Abdel Rahman Shafi is 'dynamic'. At 73 he runs, with his partner Mohammed Gouda, a successful fish farm in the Fayoum province of Egypt. Not only were these men the first to begin farming fish in this area, they were also the first to really grasp the benefits of efficient management. As self-taught aquaculturists, they recognised the opportunity offered by the establishment of a new WorldFish Center office in Egypt in 1995. So they volunteered to take part in an experiment on fish-farm management. They learned that you don't have to produce more fish to make more profit. You only have to be more efficient. By gaining a better understanding of how their ponds worked, they learned that they did not need to continuously fertilise their ponds or provide excess food. By providing just the right amount of everything and reducing wastage, they doubled their annual profits. |
|
Thailand |
A Living Gift What do cutting-edge technologies and international breeding programmes have to do with fish farming in rural Thailand? Quite a lot actually, as Preecha Nawatrilap and his son, Prachaya, will tell you if you visit their farm in Chachoengsao province. By stocking a hardy, fast-growing tilapia developed by the WorldFish Center and its associates as part of the Genetic Improvement of Farmed Tilapia project (GIFT), and by eagerly embracing the latest technologies and applying stringent quality control measures, Preecha has transformed the 4-acre holding he began with 25 years ago into a modern, 300-acre hatchery operation. Now the P. Chareon farm produces over 100 million fingerlings annually, and sells these high-quality baby fish to local fish farmers. So, not only has Preecha's dedication ensured the financial security of his own family, it has had an enormous, positive effect on the quality of fish farmed and sold throughout this part of Thailand. |
|
Malawi |
Fish in the tea
When the rains fail in Malawi, life gets really tough. But in the Thylo district, Friday Limited Nikoloma has discovered integrated agriculture and aquaculture. This allows him to produce more, and to keep his crops green even if the rains fail. Back in 1986, on a two-week course run by the WorldFish Center and its partners, he learned how to use agricultural waste to fertilise his ponds, and pond water to irrigate his crops. But, being a true visionary, Nikoloma did not simply apply the techniques he learned-he actually improved upon them! Perhaps most impressively, Nikoloma realised that, by running water downhill through progressively narrower pipes, he could create enough pressure to run a sprinkler system. Now, water management on his farm is so efficient that, whilst producing fish, he is able to irrigate not only his own crops, but also those of his neighbours. |
|
Malawi |
On Her Own Feet
Mrs Jessie Kaunde is proud to be one of the small, but growing, number of women who farm fish on their own. She recognised fish farming as an opportunity to provide herself with a better future back in 1999, when she heard a radio programme describing the technique. But what has made Mrs Kaunde so successful is that she really took to heart the idea of integrated farm management. So, as well as growing crops and fish, she also raises more than 500 chickens and ducks at a time, and uses their droppings to fertilize her ponds. Having sought expert advice from the World Fish Centre, Mrs Kaunde is now digging more ponds and improving the design of the first one she built. After all, as she said herself, "fish in the pond are like money in the bank". |
|
Vietnam |
A Growing Success
The early years of Pham Van Ung's marriage to Ta Thi Tram weren't easy. Born and raised in Tam Hiep Village, to the west of Hanoi (Vietnam's capital), they and their four children struggled to survive as subsistence level farmers. But help was on the way -- from Africa! In a bid to increase their income, they took up fish farming about ten years ago, which certainly helped. But things really began to improve for them in 1996, when they were given an improved strain of the African fish tilapia. The new fish, developed and distributed as part of an international effort led by the World Fish Center, increased their income tenfold. Why? Because the farm, efficiently run by the newly trained couple, now produces 25 tons of fish a year, as well as extra baby fish (fingerlings) which can be sold to other farmers. No wonder they are smiling. |
|
Vietnam |
More than just a rice field
Would you risk a long journey just to see if there was a better way of farming? Tran Van Viet did. But then, he is a remarkable man. In 1997, when Vietnam began to redistribute state-owned land as part of the country's economic reforms, Viet acquired a total of 3.5 hectares of land and decided to travel to learn how best to make use of it. When he returned, he dug canals around his fields, raised dykes, and began to farm fish in the same water as his rice. When the researchers responsible for these techniques learned of his endeavours, they visited Viet in order to offer him, and the other farmers in Dao village, their advice. Now, as well as providing a few home comforts, Viet's improved income has allowed him to send his children to school and buy new agricultural equipment - further improving the productivity of his farm. |
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