A tryst with developing

aquaculture sector in Nepal :

our 14 days’ saga

Saloni shivam

b.f.sc iv ug

Fisheries college&research institute

Tanuvas,Chennai,tamil nadu, india.

&

Prem timalsina

m.sc aquaculture

institute of agriculture and animal

science (iaas) Rampur ,nepal

reports The overseas RAWE (Rural Awareness Work Experience ) program that was initiated last year by our beloved visionary Dean Dr.M.C. Nandeesha, set my tryst with the beautiful landlocked serene country of mountains ,NEPAL and provided me with a golden opportunity to meet the reknowned and acclaimed fishery scientist Dr.Madhav Shrestha and also to get a good friend Mr. Prem Timalsina. Mr. Prem accompanied me during my 14 days’ stay there, together we visited the premier agriculture institute of Nepal, the IAAS (Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science) ; fisheries research centre at Pokhara;Begnas & Phewa lakes and surveyed two villages one in Terai region and one in mid-hills.

The report presented here is a combined effort of both of us.

IAAS visit report

In Nepal the centre of excellence in imparting quality education in the field of agriculture and allied sciences is the IAAS, Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science . It comprises of different disciplines like that of agriculture, horticulture , medicinal plants ,entomology, aquaculture and vetenary science. The aquaculture unit of IAAS comprises of a carp hatchery , some ponds and a small laboratory where analyses in relation to water quality parameters and nutrition are carried. If we look at fisheries education here, it does not provide a specific degree like that of India or Bangladesh of 4 years specializing in fisheries science, instead they have an aquaculture course as a part of their 3 years B.Sc degree program in the form of general and elective course but it offers a specialized course in aquaculture after graduation, M.Sc Aquaculture. IAAS carries out various research programs and some of the research projects in which it is currently involved are

1. Improvement of women’s livelihood, income and nutrition through carp –SIS-prawn polyculture

in Terai

(DANIDA funded)

2. Scaling up of cage cum pond integrating system of tilapia/catfish cage and carps in pond

(NARDF funded)

3. Incorporation of tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) and sahar (Tor putitora) into the existing carp

polyculture system of Nepal (AquaFish CRSP - USAID funded)

4. Aqua-Internship Asia Link Project (EU funded)

5. Up-scaling of AwF-Nepal Project in mid-hills of Nepal through empowering women (AwF funded)

6. Growth assessment and development of culture technique of indigenous coldwater fish asala

and scaling up of Rainbow trout culture in Sindhupalchowk (NARDF funded)

7. Enhancing the Impacts of Decentralised (fish) Seed Production (DFID funded)

Visit to Fisheries Research Centre,Pokhra

We visited the Fisheries Research Centre at Pokhra, where Mr .Ram Kumar Shreshtha and

Mr. Agni Nepal explained us the facilities available . With regard to laboratory facilities, the

centre has a Chemical Laboratory where water quality parameters are analysed and a

Biological laboratory where nutrition related analyses are carried out. The centre has

breeding and seed production facilities of Sahar(Mahseer), Koi carp, Chinese carps and IMCs

and also feed house where feed is prepared and stored The centre is mainly engaged in

research and extension activities in Nepal.

The visit to the research centre will remain in our memories life-long as it provided us with

an opportunity where for the first time in our lives we witnessed the induced breeding of

Rohu.

Begnas & Fewa lakes Being synonymous to beauty, these scenic lakes are not just tourist attractions but provide livelihood opportunities to numerous poor people.In Pokhra valley ,other than Rupa lake,Begnas and Fewa are the main centres of cage culture operations. Lives of around 140 households of Jalari community, one of the most oppressed tribes, depend on these lakes. The operations in these areas assumes even greater significance as women are actively involved in it. The fishes like silver carp, grass carp and bighead carp are grown in the cages. The size of the production cage is of 5*5*2m.Within a culture period of 12 to 18 months the farmers get fishes weighing about 1kg on an average. The fishes are fed mainly on different types of grasses like napier, ipil-ipil e.t.c. and as such sometimes cases of nutritional disorders are seen. In Begnas fishes are sold through fishermen’s cooperative. We talked with some farmers regarding their problems and in addition to caudal fin bending they mentioned that plankton abundance was getting less in Begnas lake. In addition to cage culture, pen culture is also practiced in both the lakes.In pen fingerlings of carps are stocked and later after an year released into the lake.

Figure 1pen and cage culture in begnas lake

Figure 2 cage culture in Fewa lake

Figure 3 women involved in small snow trout collection, Pokhra

Survey report Today status of fish as health food and aquaculture as a means to attain nutritional security, to empower rural mass & alleviate poverty either by providing or improving livelihood opportunities ,no longer remains an enigma. The significance of aquaculture has increased enormously in the existing era where agricultural land is limited and is decreasing and hence agriculture alone cannot meet the nutritional requirements of teeming population of our earth. Aquaculture assumes even greater significance in developing countries which are characterized by challenges of overpopulation, unemployment

malnutrition, hunger and poverty but are blessed with rich flora, fauna and aquatic resources.

Realizing all these, the concept of Aquaculture without Frontiers , a Non – governmental organization was introduced in May 2003 at the annual meeting of World Aquaculture Society in Salvador, Brazil and officially launched in March 2004 at World Aquaculture Society meeting in Hawaii by Michael New.

In Nepal AwF had initiated aquaculture projects spanning 2 years (Jan2008-Dec2009) in the Terai region as well as in mid hills .To assess the impact this project created on the lives of the residents of concerned villages we conducted a survey. We began the survey with a village located in Terai region , known as Kathar. Jiyan Choudhary the village president and Laumi Chaudhary, the president of Rural Women’s Fish Farming Cooperative (RWFFC) coordinated the survey. The village comprised of around 140 houses out of which 130 belonged to the Tharu community and the rest to Gurung and Magur community. About 170 ponds were present in total and out of that 163 ponds were under the Rural Women’s Fish Farming Cooperative. For the survey we selected 10 fish farmers in such a way that they represented ponds of all sizes (small,medium to large ) and aquaculture operations of all levels.

Survey Findings:

The survey revealed that agriculture and animal husbandry continue to be the primary occupation for the majority of the respondents and for few government service & other activities , while aquaculture has a status of secondary activity. All the respondents had a small pond at the backyard of their houses which was either integrated or not integrated with the small livestock and other resources they had.

Figure 1 integrated pond Figure 2 unintegrated pond

80% of the respondents had primary education while the rest 20% were illiterate. Their land holdings varied from a minimum of 16.67sq.m to a maximum of 333.33 sq.m out of which the share of ponds varied from 2.5% to 20%. 90% of respondents owned perennial ponds while 10% had seasonal ponds. They cultured Magur,Common Carp ,Rohu , Mrigal (Naini), Grass Carp,Silver Carp,Bighead Carp and some Tilapia.99% of the respondents stocked fingerlings. They fed homemade feed on the basis of

approximation using broadcasting as the method of feeding .For fertilization the farmers used buffalo-dung, urea and diammonium phosphate. Their application rate and frequency varied with the water spread area of the pond and according to the requirements they perceived. Some apply the fertilizers monthly ,some in alternate months, some half-yearly while some on yearly basis. With regards to lime application majority of the farmers applied on yearly basis while few in alternate years. The respondents employed family labour for carrying out all aquaculture practices. Women were actively involved in all activities right from stocking to harvesting. The respondents used to keep records in the beginning but finding it cumbersome they do not maintain anymore.

Problems Encountered:

When interrogated about their problems in relation to carrying out aquaculture the farmers complained of regular water supply. Their source of water supply is Thulorapti river and long channels are required to bring water from the river to the fields. They face floods during monsoons and water shortage during winters. Although bore wells were available but they were not present in sufficient numbers. Their other complaints were in relation to fish seed availability .They charged Bhandara government fish seed hatchery from where they purchase seeds, of cheating with regard to seed numbers and also selling them to commercial farms . In case of less seed availability, they purchase from Sundi private hatchery but at a higher cost. They also complained that whoever member is selected by cooperative for training does not share the information on return so that they could be benefitted by the same. With regard to diseases they mentioned about caudal fin bending and said there was no other disease problem. The farmers also noted that now they were not practicing rice cum fish farming which they were used to earlier as the fishes escaped during floods and when water was less fishes died or served as feed for cranes. Snakes also posed to be a problem. Although extension agents visited them they do not find it sufficient. The respondents expressed their reluctance to visit the office at Bharatpur or Bhandara to sort out their problems due to tedious procedures involved and some women farmers were opposed to the idea out of shyness. The farmers expressed their gratefulness and happiness over the help provided by Dr.Madhav Shrestha and IAAS but expressed the desire and need for greater cooperation.

Advantage of Aquaculture On being questioned about the changes in their lives due to aquaculture they exultantly answered that it had increased their frequency of fish consumption and saved the money, earlier what they spent on purchasing it .They were also happy that although not much but they could make some extra money out of selling fish (the greater part of the produce is consumed by themselves and a small amount around one-third they sell ) and use it for education of their children. They mentioned that cooperative meeting fixes the price for selling and buyers themselves came to them as such there was not any need for them to worry for marketing their product.

The other village we surveyed was Dhamilikuwa perched in the mid-hills of Nepal at an altitude of 750m above mean sea level in Lumjung district. Here our survey of 6 fish farmers was co-ordinated by Mr.Hareram Devkota and Mr.Khagraj Nakhola the chairman of District fish farmers association(DFFA).

This beautiful village is habitat to around 1200-1300 houses belonging to different castes. The number of ponds is close to 92.In this village prior to AwF intervention some aquaculture was being practiced with the help of RDC but they lacked coordination and could not take aquaculture development further and later in 2008 AwF intervened initiating aquaculture projects.

Like Kathar here too, the primary occupation of the respondents is agriculture, animal husbandry or government service while aquaculture is practiced as a secondary activity. All the farmers had primary education and few even higher. Majority of the respondents had taken up fish culture after AwF intervention. All the farmers had land holdings of less than a hectare (0.23ha to0.999ha) out of which the share of ponds varied from 1% to 10% which were integrated with the other resources they had. The annual fish production varied from 5kg to 250 kg and the contribution of aquaculture to total income ranged from 0.01% to 16%. Most of the farmers have integrated ponds with other agricultural enterprises like horticulture, vegetables and also with livestock. Some of the farmers even have rice fish integrated ponds. They culture Common carp, Grass carp, Silver carp, Bighead carp and Tilapia. Most of the farmers stock fingerlings and broadcast home made feed to them while few use tray feeding for around 20 days and later switch to broadcasting if they stock seeds of smaller size around 1.5cm.Some of the farmers feed the adult common carp and tilapia only with a grass locally called as vanmara and also with napier. Buffalo dung ,pig manure, urea and DAP are used for fertilizing the ponds. The amount and application rate of fertilizers and lime vary with farmer to farmer. The farmers of this village too employ family labour for carrying out all aquaculture activities. Women involve themselves in all activities. Extension agents pay regular visits to the farmers. As in case of Kathar farmers no more maintain record of any aquaculture activity.

Figure 3vanmara used for common carp & tilapia Problems Encountered

All the respondents mentioned that they have to bring seed from Bhandara,Chitwan or Pokhra which are quite far from their village and as the village lies in the hilly region transport facilities are very poor. They have to bear high mortality of seeds during transport. They also complain of malpractices as that of lesser number of seeds than that claimed. Some farmers desire to excavate new ponds but complain of lack of required finance. The farmers also cited nuisance of frogs, birds, snakes and water swimming beetles.One of the respondents mentioned the problem of erosion, his pond was destroyed by this phenomenon and he had to re-excavate it. They did not mention any disease problem except caudal fin bending in the fishes.

The village proves to be home to some really innovative farmers. To check the probem of birds one farmer Mr.Gopal Nepali hangs used cassette reels across the pond dykes and for checking the entry of snakes he sprays lime on pond dykes. Another farmer Mr. Lakshmi Bhatt uses rat traps and fish as baits to catch the snakes. He exclaimed while informing us that in this way he has caught 4 snakes. Mr.Hiralal Shrestha was constructing a bamboo trap for catching the snakes.Here we would like to mention about the laudable initiative of one fish farmer Mr.Krishnaraj Pandey who has taken the initiative of starting a common carp seed hatchery so that farmers do not have to go to far-off places for getting the seeds. He is the one farmer who performs the aquaculture activities on a more scientific note than his counterparts.

Figure 4 Krishnaraj Pandey Figure 5common carp breeding pool

Advantages of Aquaculture

The farmers of this village also expressed their happiness that now their frequency of eating fish as well as their income has increased. The farmers practicing rice cum fish farming exclaimed that their income is 15-20% more than that of cultivating rice alone.

CONCLUSION

A man’s labor is not only his capital but his life.To utilize it ,to prevent its wasteful squandering, to enable the poor man to bank it up for the use hereafter, this surely is the most urgent task before civilization. After witnessing both the villages Dhamilikuwa and Kathar no doubt it can be said that AwF has succeeded in creating an awareness on fish farming and its benefits. Almost every house has a pond now but the activity is merely at subsistence level. To keep up with this initiative and to take this successful small experimentation a step further, the problems confronting the farmers needs to be taken care of. With one- day training we cannot expect the farmers to remain motivated to continue pursuing an activity to which they are new .It’s a known fact that once a person really begins to carry out an activity then he comes to know the on-field problems. Also if one is iprovided with a training or suggestion when he/she does not require then with the passage of time its memories fade. Hence the emphasis should be on the provision of training and guidance which is according to their requirements and at the time of requirement. In difficult- to- reach places required assistance and the technology can be disseminated with the help of dedicated volunteers and fisheries professionals in addition to

government officials. We also believe interns like us could make significant difference if sent after providing proper on field training. In Nepal there is conflict among the different water users as between agriculture, aquaculture ,power projects, etc as such it becomes necessary for the government to intervene and adopt a policy which benefits all.

When it comes to job, happy workers prove to be the greatest asset and as the economies of many countries rest on the strong pillar of aquaculture it’s the duty of the people, AwF volunteers, fisheries professionals and the government to make this field more exciting and challenging, so that the farmers become assertive towards their future. Nepal is a small country with vast potential of developing its aquaculture sector and it’s time for Nepal to tap this potential & move forward from an aquaculture sector of subsistence level to scientific fish farming of commercial nature which can be possible only when the efforts of people, AwF volunteers, fisheries professionals and the government work tirelessly and in unison.