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Journal of Applied Aquaculture
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Impacts of Aquaculture Development Projects in Western Cameroon
Victor Pouomognea; Randall E. Brummetta; M. Gatchoukoa
a Humid Forest Ecoregional Center, Yaoundé, Cameroon
Online publication date: 10 May 2010
To cite this Article Pouomogne, Victor , Brummett, Randall E. and Gatchouko, M.(2010) 'Impacts of Aquaculture
Development Projects in Western Cameroon', Journal of Applied Aquaculture, 22: 2, 93 — 108
To link to this Article: DOI: 10.1080/10454431003736078
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Journal of Applied Aquaculture, 22:93–108, 2010
Copyright ©Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
ISSN: 1045-4438 print/1545-0805 online
DOI: 10.1080/10454431003736078
Impacts of Aquaculture Development Projects
in Western Cameroon
VICTOR POUOMOGNE, RANDALL E. BRUMMETT,
and M. GATCHOUKO
Humid Forest Ecoregional Center, Yaoundé, Cameroon
To measure the impact of past projects on the sustained adoption
and development of aquaculture, and to assess the potential for
future growth, a participatory rural appraisal (PRA) based on the
Research Tool for Natural Resource Management, Monitoring and
Evaluation (RESTORE) of 100 farmers (62 with fishponds, 38 with-
out) was undertaken between January and August 2001 in the
Noun Division of Western Province, Cameroon. The average house-
hold of 14 persons possessed 5.5 ha of land. Educational level is
low (less then 35% above primary, 24% illiterate). Most fish pro-
ducers were small-scale farmers (79%). Of the 360 fish farmers
possessing 445 fish ponds (250 m2average surface area), only
23% were active. Production is primarily based on earthen ponds
stocked with mixed-sex tilapia ( Oreochromis niloticus) grown
alone (42%) or in polyculture (54%) with the African catfish
(Clarias gariepinus). Most ponds are poorly managed, containing
underfed fish despite the availability of large quantities of agri-
cultural by-products that could be used as pond inputs. Average
annual yield is 1,263 kg/ha. Despite a number of aquaculture
development projects over 30 years, there were no significant dif-
ferences (P <0.05) in household economics and farming systems
between fish farming and non-fish farming families. According
to active fish farmers, the major constraints to increasing aqua-
culture production to make it economically interesting are: lack
of technical assistance (46%) and lack of good fingerlings (30%).
Recent political and economic changes have altered the outlook for
Address correspondence to Victor Pouomogne, Humid Forest Ecoregional Center, P.O.
Box 2008, Yaoundé, Cameroon. E-mail: pouomognev@yahoo.fr
93
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94 V. Pouomogne et al.
aquaculture in Cameroon, and a development strategy based on
new rural development policies is discussed.
KEYWORDS Africa, small-scale farms, impact assessment
INTRODUCTION
Fish farming as an economic option for small-scale farmers started in Cameroon
in 1948 under the French colonial administration. Its subsequent develop-
ment can be chronologically summarized as follows:
●1954: Twenty-two public stations are built to strengthen the action of ex-
tension agents. More than 10,000 private earthen ponds are built in the
country, mostly in the West.
●1960: Cameroon achieves independence. Aquaculture extension is neg-
lected in favor of coffee and cocoa. Most ponds are abandoned by 1963.
Competition with capture fisheries in newly constructed hydroelectric
dams reduces the economic viability of aquaculture.
●1968–1976: A UNDP/FAO regional project increases the number of exten-
sion stations to 32. The central research and training station at Foumban
trains more than 150 extension agents. However, a financial crisis among
donor agencies impedes the completion of the revival project.
●From 1980–1984: USAID and Peace Corps develop common carp cul-
ture in the western highlands (Peace Corps volunteers remained the main
manpower for aquaculture extension until 1998).
●1986 to 1990: IDRC supports a project of integrated fish farming.
●1990–1995: Belgian and Dutch projects on catfish domestication; French
assistance to small-scale integrated aquaculture in central region.
●1990–present: Country-wide agriculture (including aquaculture) support
through a national extension and research project financed by the World
Bank and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and
smaller, more regionally focused general agriculture technical assistance
from the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ).
This aquaculture project history is typical of many African countries and,
as in most of these, the results obtained remain far below expectations (Satia,
Satia & Amin 1988; Nji & Daouda 1989; Lazard et al. 1991; Hirigoyen, Manjeli,
& Mouncharou 1997). For example, in the locality of Foumban where the
main Cameroonian aquaculture research and training institutions are located,
it is difficult to find a well-managed pond within 50 km.
However, since the economic crisis in 1986, which saw an almost
50% decline in per capita income and precipitated the devaluation of the
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Aquaculture Development in Western Cameroon 95
Central African Franc (CFA) in 1994, meat consumption by Cameroonian
households has decreased in favor of cheaper smoked and frozen fish. To
meet the constantly increasing demand for fish in Cameroon, the govern-
ment imported 54,000 metric tons (MT) in 1997, 64,000 MT in 1998, and
78,000 MT in 1999 of frozen fish, primarily small mackerels (Scombridae)
from Senegal and Mauritania. In value, this represents an average of CFA 20
billion (approximately USD $30 million) per year, i.e., second in rank in food
imports only to cereals (Oswald & Pouomogne 2000). Along with improving
markets, new policies on social organization and personal liberty imple-
mented in December 1992 have helped to revive interest in aquaculture
(Oyono & Temple 2003).
This study was conducted to facilitate the formulation of new aqua-
culture development activities in Cameroon. The main objectives were to
measure the impact of past aquaculture projects on farming systems and
household economics, and to identify opportunities and options for future
work.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Background knowledge on geography, ecology, agriculture, and demography
of the eight subdivisions of the Noun Division of Western Province, Cameroon
(Figure 1) was gathered from governmental and non-governmental sources
(MINEPIA 2001). A six-person team comprised of two agronomists, three
aquaculture technicians, and a senior aquaculture research and extension
officer serving as team leader conducted the investigation. Prior to begin-
ning fieldwork, the team received training in participatory methods (including
guidance on humility and listening behaviors), and on the use of participatory
rural appraisal (PRA) and rapid appraisal of agricultural knowledge system
(RAAKS) as surveying tools (Pouomogne 1998).
The investigators, with official documents of introduction from the local
research institute, first met the chief of each village or the group leader of
the area who directed them to known fish farmers, active or not, where they
could collect general biophysical information on the ponds and conduct a
brief dialogue with the owner. A total of 360 farmers possessing 445 ponds
were thus identified. Data collected included farmer’s name and precise loca-
tion, general information on ponds (e.g., number, size, depth, production
system, state of activity), and the farmer’s perception of key constraints to
aquaculture development in the area.
Following this census, a deeper investigation of the whole farming
system was conducted using a comprehensive questionnaire based on the
Research Tool for Natural Resource Management, Monitoring and Evaluation
(RESTORE), a farming systems analysis software package developed by
WorldFish Center (Lightfoot et al. 1993, 1999).
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96 V. Pouomogne et al.
FIGURE 1 Map of Noun Division, Western Province, Cameroon, including number, location,
and status of fishponds.
For data collection and analysis, a representative stratified sample of
62 fish-farming households was chosen from the census list. To estimate
the impact of fish farming on household economics, this number was
supplemented with 38 farmers (also stratified, from all subdivisions) who
had never practiced fish farming. Characterization included farm household
structure, land/water ownership and management, farming enterprises and
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Aquaculture Development in Western Cameroon 97
other income-generating activities, total farm economy and productivity, and
the generation and use of agricultural by-products. This data was supple-
mented with information related specifically to aquaculture: pond design
and sizes, common breeding techniques, harvesting and marketing, tech-
nical assistance, and farmers’ expectations from research and extension.
The application of this questionnaire took an average of 2.5 hours per
farmer.
After all 100 farmers had been interviewed, group meetings were
organized at four representative subdivisions to synthesize and validate the
information gathered. A final meeting took place in the division capital,
Foumban, with representatives from each of the eight subdivisions surveyed.
Following validation, selected farming systems and household parameters
were separately compared using Student’s t-test (Zar 1974). The reported
value for each of these parameters was calculated as the arithmetic mean
of that parameter for the household. Frequencies for a given characteristic
were calculated as a percentage of farmers showing that characteristic.
RESULTS
The Noun Division of Western Province, Cameroon (5◦45’ N – 10◦55’ E) cov-
ers 7,687 km2(Figure 1). Most of the land is hilly savanna with wooded
valleys. The altitude varies from 500 to 2,270 m (average 1150 m). The cli-
mate is unimodal with one long rainy season from April to November, and a
dry season from December to March. Annual rainfall averages 1,500 mm, and
mean annual temperature is 22◦C (minimum 19◦C in September, maximum
29◦C in March). Evaporative losses from stagnant water bodies during the dry
season can reach over 0.8 m. Soils are generally ferrallitic (oxysoils in the
U.S. classification), with hydromorphic soils (gleysoils) in swampy areas, and
red basaltic soils (cambisoils) in the valley of the Noun River (Pouomogne
1994). Topsoils in the Noun valley are very fertile, with organic matter >4%,
pH >6, a cation exchange capacity (CEC) of >12 meq/100 g, and retain-
able phosphorous above 10 ppm (Bindzi Tsala & Njomgang 1989). Although
temperatures are suboptimal for many tropical fish species, suitable sites for
aquaculture are common.
The majority of the Noun’s 470,000 inhabitants are small-scale farmers
of the Bamoun ethnic group. The second largest ethnic group is the Bororo
(a subgroup of the Fulani), who are primarily cattle-herding pastoralists. The
rural population density of about 35 inhabitants per km2is relatively low.
Household Characterization
There were no significant differences (P <0.05) between fish farming and
non-fish farming households for the parameters measured (Table 1). Almost
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98 V. Pouomogne et al.
80% of the farmers are 30 to 50 years old. Average household size is 14
persons. Just over half of the households are polygamous, with an average
of four adult females and seven children. Almost 80% of household members
spend more than 60% of their time on agriculture.
Nearly 79% of households farm as their main source of income.
Overall, 73% of household revenues are derived from sale of farm produce.
Fish accounted for only 0.67% of total income derived from farming.
Gross household revenue averages USD $3,857 per year (USD $276 per
person). Cash transfers from relatives in urban areas appeared insignificant.
Farm production expenses represent 51% of total household expenditures,
while purchase of additional food for the family took 18% and health care
another 13%.
The annual per capita consumption of animal protein is 15.6 kg of fish
(smoked, frozen or fresh), 9.2 kg of beef, 2.2 kg of bushmeat, and 1.9 kg of
poultry. Cash expenditures for animal protein average USD $286 per year,
equal to 7.4% of total household expenditures.
The Noun Division has the lowest schooling rate in Western Province
(UNDP 1999), with 68% of the farmers having no education beyond primary
school. According to the farmers themselves, less than 10% of household
revenues (i.e., <USD $400 for 7 children per year) are invested in children’s
education.
All farmers own their land. Farms are usually large (average 5.5 ha),
gently sloping, with fertile to highly fertile soils in 90% of cases. Potential
areas for fish farming (e.g., wetlands) account for 17% of total land holdings.
Farm Productivity
The main crops produced in Noun Division, in order by weight, are toma-
toes, plantains, maize, cassava, and sweet potatoes (Table 2). Average annual
production (from mixed crop fields) of the main crops is about half of that
reported as typical of African smallholdings by Raemaekers (2001). Maize
is the principal staple food crop with an annual per capita consumption of
81.3 kg.
Despite the relatively low yields, an abundance of by-products (Table 3)
in the form of weeds, kitchen refuse, and crop residues are produced. Nearly
three tons per household of such materials are used primarily as organic
fertilizers to mixed-crop food fields or discarded.
Only 3% of fish farmers met their total family fish needs with home pro-
duction. Other fish farmers and non-fish farmers bought frozen or smoked
fish in almost the same quantities. Fresh fish are sold (often on credit that is
never paid in cash) on the pond bank (25.4%), eaten by the family (60.4%)
or given away as gifts (14.2%). In spite of low yields, more than 56% of
fish farmers say they are content with aquaculture as a secondary farming
activity.
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Aquaculture Development in Western Cameroon 99
TABLE 1 Comparison of Socioeconomic Characteristics of Fish Farming vs. Non-fish Farming
Households (N =100 Farms) in Noun Division, Western Province, Cameroon
Parameters Characteristics
Fish farmers
(62)
Non-fish
farmers (38)
Age Below 30 5.00 13.00
Between 30 and 60 78.50 79.00
Above 60 16.50 8.00
Religion Islam 76.70 73.00
Christianity 23.30 27.00
Marital status Polygamy 52.50 73.00
Monogamy 41.40 27.00
Single (unmarried,
widowed, divorced)
5.72 0.00
Membership of a tribal mutual
aid association
Yes 47.00 47.00
No 53.00 53.00
Average number of people in
each household
14, of which are:
female adults 30.00 30.00
male adults 25.00 25.00
female children 23.00 23.00
male children 22.00 22.00
Percentage of time spent by
adults on agriculture
<40% 10.50 22.0
40 to 60% 10.00 23.00
>60% 79.50 55.00
Educational level No formal education 23.60 40.00
Primary school 44.30 30.00
Secondary school 30.00 27.00
Higher education 2.10 3.00
Main occupation Small-scale Farmer 78.40 90.00
Other (traditional
doctor, trader, baker,
teacher, shepherd,
smith)
21.20 10.00
Total area of land per household <4 ha 39.50 57.00
≥4 ha 60.50 43.00
Land holding right Exclusive ownership 75.20 80.00
Mixed ownership and
renting
24.80 20.00
Land registration certificate Yes 18.80 10.0
No 81.20 90.00
Total area of each farm under
various natural resource types∗
Homestead 33.40 35.00
Valleys 11.10 17.00
Home gardens 10.50 25.00
Wetlands (swamps) 16.40 5.00
Fallow 15.90 20.00
Sources of income Selling farm produce 72.70 73.00
Remittances, wages or
salary
27.30 23.00
Sources of expenditure Farm operation (seed,
tools, fertilizers,
pesticides, etc.)
51.00 51.00
Feeding the family 18.30 18.00
Education of children 9.65 10.00
Hired labor 6.20 6.00
Other (rent, transport,
utilities, funerals,
medical, etc.)
13.70 13.00
∗Terminology after LIGHTFOOT et al. (1993, 1999).
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100 V. Pouomogne et al.
TABLE 2 Production and Consumption of Most Important Food Items by Rural Households
of Noun Division, Western Province, Cameroon. Average farm size =5.5 ha
Production Purchased Consumption
Rank
Quantity
(kg/farm/
year) Rank
Quantity
(kg/farm/
year) Rank
Quantity
(kg/farm/
year)
FOOD CROPS
Plantain Musa
sapientum
1 1895 2 227 2 927
Maize Zea mays 2 1773 1 231 1 1138
Cassava Manihot
esculentum
3 1142 3 657
Sweet potato Ipomoea
batatas
4 1006 4 384
Groundnuts Arachis
hypogea
5 384 5 33 5 240
Rice Oriza sativa 391
Beans Phaseolus spp. 4 77
FRUITS AND VEGETABLES
Avocado Persea
americana
526
Palm oil Elaeis
guineensis
1 90 3 185
Condiments (leek,
garlic, parsley)
3 67 4 170
Banana Musa paradisica 2 80 1 299
Tomato Lycopersicon
esculentum
1 2979
Peppers Capsicum spp. 2 722
Mango Mangifera
indica
3 693
African plum Dacryodes
edulis
4 678
Black Nightshade
Solanum nigrum
5 547 4 65 2 198
ANIMAL PRODUCTS
Fish (72% smoked, 28%
frozen)
1 191 1 193
Beef 1 12 2 117 2 129
Fresh fish 2 10 4 23 5 25
Poultry (chicken and
ducks)
39520426
Goats and sheep 4 6
Bushmeat 5 1 3 30 3 31
No significant differences (P <0.05) were found between fish farmers
and non-fish farmers for any non-aquaculture aspects of the farming system.
Aquaculture
Among the 62 fish farmers, there were 77 ponds (Table 4). Of these, 18 are
still functioning, the remaining 77% being abandoned. The majority (60%) of
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Aquaculture Development in Western Cameroon 101
TABLE 3 Agricultural and other By-products Produced on Small-scale Farms in Noun
Division, Western Province, Cameroon. Dry matter (DM) and Nitrogen Estimates Based on
Göhl (1992)
Quantity
Nitrogen (kg/farm/
By-product Part used Current use DM (%) (% DM ) year)
Weedy grasses∗Whole Crop Fertilization 25 ≤3.2 >5000
Rotten fruits &
various leaves
Crop Fertilization 20 ≤3.2 >500
Harvest residue Crop fertilization,
animal feed
50 0.6 >2000
Animal droppings Crop and pond
fertilization
60 ≤3.2 >650
Kitchen waste Refuse or
fishpond
22 3.0 >1300
Wood ash None >400
Maize (Zea mays) Spoiled
grain
Animal feed 89 1.4 80
Bran Animal feed 93 234
Stovers None or crop
fertilization
89 >1500
Cassava (Manihot
esculentum)
Leaves Human food 16 0.6 >500
Peels None
Sweet potato
(Ipomoea batatas)
Leaves None 11 1.0 >200
Papaya (Carica
papaya)
Leaves None 22 3.9 >100
Plantain (Musa spp.) Leaves &
peels
None 94 1.3 >200
Rice (Oriza sativa) Bran Crop & pond
fertilization
89 3.1 60
Oil Palm (Elaeis
guineensis)
Kernels Human food, Fuel 85 4.3
Nut pulp None or fuel
Coffee (Coffea
arabica,
C. robusta)
Pulp None or crop
fertilization
94 1.6
∗Chromolaena odorata, Pennisetum purpureum, Imperata cylindrica, Ageratum conyzoides.
ponds (both active and inactive) were constructed prior to the 1960s. Most
are poorly designed and minimally managed. Ponds tend to be shallow,
with little or no bottom slope and narrow dikes. Although over 90% have
reasonable water retention, a large number are undrainable (77%), full of
weeds (24%), and/or less than 50 cm deep (20%).
Table 5 describes the management of active fishponds in Noun
Division. About half of fish farmers produce tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)
in monoculture, while the others grow a polyculture of tilapia and catfish
(Clarias gariepinus). Despite the availability of abundant agricultural
by-products that could be used as inputs, ponds tend to be under-fertilized
(67%). Compounding the problem of low inputs, the majority of fish farmers
have overstocked or lost track of how many fish might be in their ponds.
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102 V. Pouomogne et al.
TABLE 4 History and Characteristics of Fishponds in the Noun Division, Western Province,
Cameroon
Parameters Characteristics Percent of sample
Type of pond Derivation (contour) pond 90.00
Barrage (dam or embankment)
pond
10.00
Number of ponds 77 total ponds of which
farmers with:
1 pond only 42
2–3 ponds 47
>3 ponds 11
Dike top width <50 cm 23.61
50–100 cm 59.16
>100 cm 17.23
Pond depth <50 cm 24.20
50–100 cm 52.38
>100 cm 23.42
Pond bottom design Without slope 67.17
Irregular 10.09
Sloped towards the drain 22.74
Date of pond construction Before 1960 60.00
Between 1960–1990 31.11
After 1990 8.89
Ponds in Use Active 77.0
Abandoned 23.0
Motive for pond construction Family food 50.00
Income 33.33
Recreation 16.17
Major reason given for
abandonment
Lack of capital 30.00
Lack of labor 20.00
Lack of technical support 14.78
Low profits relative to coffee 11.11
Lack of fish seed 8.85
Other (pond flooding/drying,
death of owner, competition
from new dams)
15.26
Almost all fish farmers (92%) harvest their ponds once a year at festive
periods. In 41% of cases, intermittent partial harvesting by hook and line
angling also takes place. Most ponds (89%) are drained by breaking the
dike.
The quantity of fish produced per household is only 1,263 kg/ha/yr
(31.6 kg for the typical family pond of 250 m2) for the 33% who are active
fish farmers, and 417 kg/ha/yr overall (10.4 kg per pond). This is low in
comparison to the 3–8 MT/ha/yr estimated as possible by Pouomogne,
Nana, and Pouomegne (1998). According to active fish farmers, the main
constraints to increasing production are: lack of technical support (35%),
lack of fish seed (20%), predation and theft (14%), and quality of fish
seed (5%).
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Aquaculture Development in Western Cameroon 103
TABLE 5 Fishpond Management in the Noun Division, Western Province, Cameroon
Parameters Characteristics Percent of sample
Pond general appearance Clean 75.68
Little bush 24.32
Water control/harvesting method Earthen canals/dike breaking 89.40
PVC standpipes with
elbow/complete draining
10.60
Water level in the pond Very shallow 20.00
Half full 45.71
Full 34.29
Pond fertilization state Fertile (green water) 33.33
Not fertile (transparent water) 66.67
Presence of a composting system Yes 19.78
No 80.72
Species in culture O. niloticus +C. gariepinus 53.71
O. niloticus only 42.16
Other (Barbus,Hemichromis) 4.13
Fish stocking rate <2perm
220.00
>2perm
2or unknown 80.00
Fish seed origin Public station 81.40
Wild caught or other fish farms 18.60
Inputs per 250 m2pond per week An average of 27.4 kg of which:
Maize bran and spoiled grain 40.15
Animal droppings 34.31
Kitchen refuse 18.25
Other (fruits, leaves, grasses,
cassava soaking)
7.29
Number of times food/fertilizer 1 12.56
applied per week ≥2 87.44
Type of labor Family 70.00
Family +hired 30.00
Intermittent angling (partial harvest) Yes 41.00
No 59.00
Production cycle 6–12 months 92.00
>12 months 8.00
Mean annual yield (32 kg per
250 m2)
An average of 1263 kg/ha/yr of
which:
<750 kg/ha/yr 40.00
750–1500 kg/ha/yr 10.00
>1500 kg/ha/yr 50.00
Disposal of produce Home consumption 60.42
Sale 25.38
Gifts 14.20
Farmers impression Satisfied 56.00
Not satisfied 44.00
Price of pond fish (per kg) C. gariepinus 600 – 1200 CFA
O. niloticus 500 – 1000 CFA
Major problems felt by farmers Lack of technical support 35.00
Lack of fish seed 20.00
Predation and thefts 14.00
Quality of fish seed 5.00
Others (pond flooding/drying,
marketing)
26.00
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104 V. Pouomogne et al.
DISCUSSION
Assuming that there were no a priori differences between fish farming and
non-fish farming families in terms of the household and farming-system
parameters sampled in this study (unless aquaculture actually had a negative
impact), it seems clear that there were no lasting improvements in house-
hold economic status accruing to farm families adopting aquaculture in the
area studied. Nevertheless, a majority of active fish farmers were content
with their ponds.
To understand this seeming contradiction, one needs to look at the
role a fishpond typically plays in an African farming system. As a secondary
activity, after staple crop production (maize and plantains, in the case of the
Noun), a fishpond is similar to chickens, goats, vegetable production, and
a number of crops grown primarily for cash (e.g., tobacco, cotton, coffee,
tea, cacao) depending upon the climate. Small-scale African farming systems
produce dozens of such crops, nearly 130 having been identified by Dupriez
& De Leener (1988). The majority of these products, including fish, are either
consumed by the family or traded to neighbors and/correlatives (Brummett
2000). Surpluses and crops grown exclusively for cash are sold. Rather than
making tradeoffs and taking risks by allocating all of the farm resources to
the one or two most profitable of these, small-scale farmers tend to diver-
sify by growing a number of crops simultaneously (often in mixed plots),
thereby lowering overall risk. This can be an important, even lifesaving,
strategy in low external input rain-fed agriculture. However, the intended
result of the aquaculture projects implemented in Cameroon was not diver-
sification of farming systems, as logical and beneficial as that may be, but
changes in the economic status of fish farming families. This was clearly not
achieved.
Although the objectives of this study did not include a systematic review
of past aquaculture projects in western Cameroon, several characteristics of
these are typical of African aquaculture projects in general and may have
contributed to the low level of sustainable impact (Brummett et al. 2004):
●Focusing on fish in isolation from other farming activities and social/
economic relationships within the community. In effect, projects did not
take into consideration the full range of non-technical constraints faced by
smallholding farmers.
●A generally top-down relationship between the donor, research, exten-
sion, and farmers that effectively prevented joint learning and concentrated
effort on the donor’s priorities.
●Poorly trained extension personnel who neither understood the tech-
nologies they were promoting nor could communicate effectively with
small-scale farmers.
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Aquaculture Development in Western Cameroon 105
In addition, most of these projects received substantial external subsi-
dization. Fish hatcheries and technical assistance services were supported
either directly or through foreign assistance programs. With donor fatigue
and structural adjustment in the early 1990s, the government could no
longer afford this support. Lack of technical oversight and limited (and high-
priced) seed of mixed quality led to low yields and profits. Labor and capital
were consequently transferred to more profitable farm crops such as maize,
tomatoes and, until recently, coffee.
Since these projects were implemented, economic and political changes
have altered the prospects for rural development in Cameroon (Oyono &
Temple 2003). The price of fresh pond fish (500 to 1200 CFA/kg) is com-
petitive with other fish products (including fresh from natural water bodies,
smoked or frozen). Fresh fish at lower prices can only be found in the vicin-
ity of substantial capture fisheries. In addition, population has increased and
the demand for food, especially animal protein, has increased accordingly.
Current average annual demand for fish in the Noun is over 15 kg/person,
compared to 9 kg for beef and 2 kg each for bushmeat and poultry. With pro-
duction of only 0.9 kg/person/year from aquaculture and capture fisheries
static or declining, fish prices can be expected to increase further.
CHALLENGES FOR RESEARCH AND EXTENSION
Western Cameroon appears to have high biophysical potential for aquacul-
ture. However, several key constraints have prevented fish farming from
increasing the economic status of fish farmers. From the findings of our
survey, the main challenges to research and extension appear to be:
●Transfer of existing technical knowledge to poorly educated farmers.
●Availability of high-quality fingerlings (seed).
These problems are not really new or surprising. They are probably
common to the majority of agricultural innovations that could be profitably
adopted by African small-scale farmers. The fact that they are common,
however, does not mean that their solution will be simple.
At present, the majority of the most suitable aquaculture technology
in Africa is known only within the research community. Unfortunately,
researchers are not commonly in direct contact with farmers and interact
with extension agents only through short training and discussion seminars.
Efforts are needed to bridge the information gap between those who study
and develop technology and those who use it. Taking into account the low
government budgets for support to aquaculture, the existing (and expen-
sive) Training and Visit system cannot be considered as the best alternative
for meeting the needs of farmers. Regardless of the dissemination system
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106 V. Pouomogne et al.
selected, changes in the policies of government aquaculture research and
extension services will not be effective unless attached to substantial changes
in financing.
Shortage of fingerlings is a long-standing problem for African fish farm-
ers. A number of strategies have been adopted to address this difficulty.
In many African countries, donor-assisted projects built large government
hatcheries that were supposed to produce subsidized fingerlings for small-
scale producers. This strategy largely failed, for the same reasons mentioned
above, for African aquaculture projects in general.
More recently, a number of agencies have successfully developed hatch-
ery systems for smallholders themselves, and in a number of places over 80%
of fingerlings stocked are purchased from small-scale hatcheries. This, how-
ever, has created another problem: genetic erosion due to poor broodstock
management. In a typical chicken-or-egg conundrum, small-scale hatcheries
cannot flourish in the absence of substantial numbers of growers, while
growers cannot prosper without adequate numbers of good fingerlings.
The result has been a large reduction in genetic quality of fingerlings.
Eknath and colleagues (1993) and Brummett, Etaba Angoni and Pouomogne
(Forthcoming) found that wild tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) populations
grow some 40% faster than populations held by small-scale hatcheries. This
observation is supported by anecdotal evidence from Uganda (R.Gregory,
Kajjansi Aquaculture Research and Development Centre, personal commu-
nication) and Zimbabwe (P. Blow, Lake Harvest Aquaculture Ltd., Kariba,
personal communication), among others.
From the authors’ experience, what is required to overcome the gap in
know-how between research and farmers (both growers and hatchery oper-
ators) is an approach that permits joint learning and participatory technology
development among farmers and researchers together. A dynamic and direct
relationship between research and farmers has been shown to produce
substantial positive impacts in the aquaculture sectors of industrialized coun-
tries (Brummett 2003), and such an approach might be adaptable to the
African context to maximize the impact of limited aquaculture development
spending.
Another strategy that could be particularly useful in overcoming the
fingerling quantity and quality problems is a new institutional arrangement
among private and public sector agencies. Depending upon local economic
conditions, larger-scale operators might be able to support sufficiently large
investments to permit the proper genetic management of broodfish pop-
ulations. Rather than being excluded as “too wealthy” by donor agencies,
these investors could be brought into the rural development and extension
process as breeders and hatchery operators. Cash flow generated by other
investments would enable larger-scale operators to suffer the gap between
availability of fingerlings and expansion of grow-out farms. Since more
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Aquaculture Development in Western Cameroon 107
aquaculture means more potential fingerling sales, hatchery operators would
also have an incentive to provide technological advice to farmers (Lewis,
Wood, & Gregory 1996). Albeit without sufficient regard for genetic quality,
Madagascar, with the assistance of the Food and Agriculture Organization of
the United Nations, used a medium-scale hatchery-led model of this general
type to advantage in the development of an aquaculture industry that grew
from 160 MT prior to the project to over 6,000 MT per annum valued at
more than USD $7 million within six years (Shatz 2000). Such an approach,
combined with the inclusion of somewhat larger hatcheries that could main-
tain and even improve the quality of seed through selective breeding, might
overcome one of the most serious and long-standing constraints to African
aquaculture.
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