Introduction

The Pond Dynamics/Aquaculture Collaborative Research Support Program (PD/A CRSP) conducts research that contributes significantly to the removal of major constraints to aquacultural development, thereby promoting economic growth and enhancing food security. This report describes the activities and accomplishments of the PD/A CRSP from 1 August 2001 to 31 July 2002.

The PD/A CRSP is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), under authority of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (PL 87-195) as amended, and by the universities and institutions that participate in the CRSP. This cohesive program of research is carried out in selected developing countries and the United States by teams of US and host country scientists. Now operating under its fourth USAID grant since 1982, the CRSP is guided by the concepts and direction set down in the Continuation Plan 1996, which was awarded funding under USAID Grant No. LAG-G-00-96-90015-00. This grant authorizes program activities from 1 August 1996 to 31 July 2003. An overview of CRSP history and how the program has evolved since its inception is provided in Appendix 1.

The activities of this multinational, multi-institutional, and multidisciplinary program are administered by Oregon State University (OSU), which functions as Management Entity (ME) and has technical, programmatic, and fiscal responsibility for the performance of grant provisions. ME activities at OSU are carried out through a Program Management Office (PMO), which is supported in the task of program administration by three advisory bodies: the Board of Directors (BOD), the Technical Committee (TC), and the External Evaluation Panel (EEP). PMO staff as well as advisory group membership during the reporting period appears in Appendix 2.

Administrative Highlights

• The PMO convened an ad hoc committee—the Database Task Force (DBT)—composed of members from the TC and PMO. The purpose of the DBT was to determine the extent of use of the PD/A CRSP Central Database as well as its perceived value. A survey of current and past program participants indicated that the Database, while regarded as a valuable asset, was in practice little used. The DBT recommended that the Central Database be archived. A Request for Pre-proposals was disseminated throughout the CRSP network, and the DBT received four pre-proposals. The Asian Institute of Technology was commissioned to manage the Central Database during the transition. The primary objectives of the project are to complete the processing of outstanding data submissions, finalize data analysis procedures, and archive the database for permanent storage and access via the web and compact disks.
  
  
• The Director and Assistant Director of Operations participated in CRSP Council meetings in November and December 2001 and in January, March, and May 2002.
  
  
• The Proposal Planning Executive Committee (PPEC), a committee convened by the PMO to coordinate and lead the planning effort for a new grant proposal, held telephone and in-person meetings in August, September, October, and December 2001, and in January, April, and May 2002.

  One facet of developing the new proposal included identifying regional constraints to the success of small-holder fish farms. To that end the PD/A CRSP hosted a series of meetings. The first meeting was a stakeholder meeting held in Honduras in August 2001. The outcome of this meeting is a brief report that documents the regional constraints to the success of small-holder fish farms as identified and prioritized by the stakeholders.

  In the second phase of information gathering, the CRSP held three regional Expert Panel meetings. Panels comprised ten experts as well as a chair and a facilitator from PPEC. Panel members came to the meeting having previously reviewed a broad selection of relevant literature.

  The Expert Panel meeting for the Latin America and the Caribbean Region took place in conjunction with the program’s annual meeting and the meeting of the US chapter of the World Aquaculture Association in January in San Diego, California; the meeting for the Asia Region was held in April in Beijing just before the World Aquaculture Association meeting; and the Africa Region Expert Panel meeting took place in Nairobi, Kenya, in June, and was followed by a field trip to Moi University and Sagana Fish Farm.

  The constraints identified by each of the three expert panels formed the basis for the PPEC to develop a synthesized set of global researchable priorities for the new proposal.

  In July the PMO released a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the Eleventh Work Plan. The deadline for proposals was 1 October 2002. The Eleventh Work Plan was to be the first work plan of the 2003–2008 grant, and the RFP solicited proposals guided by the constraints identified in the Expert Panel meetings.

  The PMO organized the PD/A CRSP Annual Meeting held in San Diego, California, on 31 January 2002, in conjunction with Aquaculture America 2002. Newly elected to the TC were CRSP principal investigators Claude Boyd, Joe Molnar, and Chris Brown. Jim Diana was re-elected as co-chair. The complete listing of TC and Subcommittee members appears in Appendix 2.

• The Board of Directors met in Washington DC in March 2002 and participated in email discussions throughout the reporting period. Ronald Jones, Florida International University, joined the Board in October 2001. Jones is the Director of the Southeast Environmental Research Center. Dennis Balogu, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, rotated off the Board. The listing of the Board members appears in Appendix 2.
  
  
• In Washington, DC, the PD/A CRSP joined the other eight CRSPs in presenting program goals, methods, and accomplishments to the interested public. The fourth annual exhibition on Capitol Hill, which was sponsored by the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC), was held on 5 March 2002. The event allowed the CRSPs and other exhibitors to highlight the benefits gained from federal investments in food and agricultural research and education. The CRSP Council presented a display entitled “Stronger Agriculture Worldwide: Collaborative Research Support Programs.”
  
  
• Also in March 2002, five US PD/A CRSP institutions hosted members of a USAID-commissioned Administrative Management Review (AMR) team. The PD/A CRSP was the seventh of the nine CRSPs to be reviewed. The AMR team visited four participating US institutions—Auburn University, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, and The University of Michigan—as well as the Management Entity, Oregon State University.
  
  
• The PD/A CRSP was a co-sponsor of World Aquaculture 2002, hosted by the China Society of Fisheries and the World Aquaculture Society, which took place 23 to 27 April 2002 in Beijing, China. The conference featured the annual meetings of WAS and CFS, as well as numerous informational sessions ranging from training and education to fish nutrition. The program of the conference covered most species involved in aquaculture around the world and addressed the issues and concerns facing the aquaculture industry.
  
  
• The PD/A CRSP was a co-sponsor of the Global Livestock CRSPs international conference on “Animal Source Foods and Nutrition in Developing Countries” held in Washington, DC, on 24–26 June 2002. The main goals of the Conference were to: present what is known about the importance of animal source foods (ASF) for the nutrition, function, and economic status of populations in developing countries; to examine recently-completed efficacy trials where ASF were fed to specific groups; to review Case Studies of programs intended to increase ASF production and/or consumption; to examine constraints on ASF production and utilization and how these might be alleviated; to articulate and integrate economic, nutritional and agricultural issues; and to develop a policy and research agenda based on these discussions.
  
  
• The PD/A and Global Livestock CRSPs are partners in a new interCRSP activity in Kenya’s Njoro River watershed. Kenyan partners include Egerton University, Kenya Department of Fisheries, and Moi University. The Njoro River watershed planning project will include input from stakeholders on water quantity and water quality, preparation of a problem model, and eventually a water resources management proposal for the watershed.

Program Impacts 2001–2002

• Based on Adoption/Diffusion research in Honduras, two Excel^®-based models were developed to evaluate the feasibility and costs of maintaining levee and hillside ponds. These computer models will aid farmers and extensionists in building and maintaining ponds for sustainable aquaculture.
  
  
• On-farm trials conducted in Kenya under the Appropriate Technology research theme demonstrated to farmers that improved pond management can indeed lead to increased fish production. CRSP trials exposed farmers and extensionists to new pond management practices and technology alternatives and led to participantsÕ increased pond productivity, interest, and confidence in pond aquaculture in Kenya.
  
  
• Results of a Feeds and Fertilizers study in Kenya showed that feeding Nile tilapia with diets made up of locally available feedstuffs resulted in significantly higher weight gains than fish fed with wheat bran and pig finisher pellets, which are more expensive feeds. These findings suggest that farmers could potentially use feedstuffs found locally instead of using higher-cost prepared feeds.
  
  
• Increased pond water acidity improves water quality and increases pond production. Preliminary analyses from Effluents and Pollution research in Brazil showed that different approaches to applying agricultural limestone increased the alkalinity and hardness of water in roughly equal amounts. Findings suggest that agricultural limestone can be applied before or after filling of ponds; it can also be applied to pond bottoms that are tilled before filling.
  
  
• A Pond Dynamics research study found that ponds near two Thai cities have been excessively treated with liming materials. Although large inputs of liming materials were originally necessary to increase the pH of naturally acidic soils, the pond soils now have rather high soil pH. This can be counterproductive and lead to decreased pond production. The study also found that about half of commercial available liming materials were of low quality or were mislabeled. Potential correctives are for farmers to use liming materials only if their ponds require them and for vendors to analyze liming materials and include the information on labels.
  
  
• CRSP researchers trained nongovernmental organization (NGO) extension agents from Central America in the use of the Web-based Information Delivery System for Tilapia (WIDeST), which provides information and assistance for decision-making processes for small- and medium-scale fish farmers. Developed by a CRSP Appropriate Technology project, the training sessions resulted in user feedback from the extensionists that will allow researchers to better tailor the WIDeST program to the needs of Central American NGOs and farmers.
  
  
• The insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) gene in Nile tilapia was cloned by Philippines Project researchers in an experiment in Reproduction Control research. The isolation of a viable clone of this gene will allow PD/A CRSP researchers to conduct subsequent studies on the growth regulation of Nile tilapia. This area of study will provide researchers with tools necessary to monitor the regulatory mechanisms involved in growth and thus determine optimal grow-out conditions without having to wait for a complete growth cycle to be completed.
  
  
• In a Pond Dynamics project, a total of 138 people from academic and research institutions, fisheries and extension offices, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector attended seven three-day workshops on optimizing fertilization efficiency. The participants learned how to determine pond fertilization require-ments, about the ecological and economic implications of different fertilizer types, and how to use their knowledge of pond ecology for more effective pond management. The workshops were held in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Bangladesh, and Nepal.

Research Agenda

In developing the Continuation Plan 1996, the CRSP undertook an in-depth constraints analysis. That analysis led to the identification of a number of major constraints that limit the development of extensive to semi-intensive sustainable aquaculture systems. Chief among these were:

• Inefficient and inconsistent aquacultural productivity
• Negative environmental effects resulting from aquaculture operations
• A poor understanding of social and economic factors
• Insufficient human capacity development
• Poor or outdated information management
• Limited networking capacities

The PD/A CRSPs multidisciplinary team of researchers and advisors represents a wide range of US and international aquacultural experience. During the reporting period, participating US institutions included:

• Auburn University
• Florida International University
• Michigan State University
• Oregon State University
• Southern Illinois University at Carbondale
• The Ohio State University
• The University of Michigan
• University of Arizona
• University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff
• University of California at Davis
• University of Georgia
• University of Hawaii

Work under the Tenth Work Plan is being conducted at sites in Mexico, Honduras, Peru, Kenya, the Philippines, and Thailand, with regional outreach and extension activities taking place in El Salvador, Nicaragua, Brazil, South Africa, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos, Nepal, and Vietnam. Memoranda of understanding, representing formal ties between US and host country institutions, that were in place during the reporting period include those between:

• Auburn University and Moi University, Kenya
• Auburn University and Stellenbosch University, South Africa
• Florida International University and the Freshwater Aquaculture Center, Central Luzon State University, the Philippines
• Oregon State University and ICLARM-Malawi
• Oregon State University and Moi University, Kenya
• Oregon State University and the Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Kenya
• Oregon State University and the Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco, Mexico
• Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and the Instituto de Investigaciones de la Amazonia Peruana and the Universidad Nacional de la Amazonia Peruana, Peru
• The University of Michigan and the Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand
• University of Georgia and Escuela Agr’cola Panamericana, Zamorano, Honduras
• The University of Hawaii at Manoa and the Freshwater Aquaculture Center, Central Luzon State University, the Philippines

In addition, the following international institutions are involved in regional CRSP activities under the Tenth Work Plan:

• Bangladesh Agricultural University, Bangladesh
• Cambodia Department Of Fisheries, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
• Department of Fisheries, Kasetsart University, Thailand
• Embrapa Meio Ambiente, Brazil
• Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science, Nepal
• Regional Development Coordination for Livestock and Fisheries, Laos
• Research Institution for Aquaculture No. 1, Vietnam
• Universidad Centroamericana, Nicaragua
• Universidad Nacional del Comahue, Argentina
• Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima, Peru
• University of Agriculture and Forestry, Vietnam
• University of Cantho, Vietnam

Research Program Framework

The Continuation Plan 1996 program framework, and the foundation for the current portfolio of PD/A CRSP research projects, consists of two building blocks: research in sustainable production systems and research support activities.

The sustainable production systems research framework is organized into the areas of production optimization, environmental effects, and social and economic aspects. Each area is further subdivided into specific research themes, which are the thematic areas of research needed to remove constraints to the development of more sustainable aquaculture. The results framework for research areas as presented in the Continuation Plan 1996 is summarized in Table 1, and the results framework for research themes is provided in Tables 2 through 4.

Research areas and their respective themes are listed here:

Research Area:	Production Optimization
Research Themes:	Pond Dynamics Feeds and Fertilizers Reproduction Control Aquaculture Systems Modeling New Aquaculture Systems/New Species

Research Area:	Environmental Effects
Research Themes:	Effluents and Pollution Appropriate Technology Responsible Science Policy Geographic Information Systems: Planning, Policy, and Global Data Analysis

Research Area:	Social and Economic Aspects
Research Themes:	Marketing and Economic Analysis Adoption/Diffusion Food Security Regional Analysis: Human-Environment Interactions Decision Support Systems Product Diversification

Research Work Plans

Earlier PD/A CRSP work plans—the first through the third—specified identical experiments (called Global Experiments) at all CRSP sites to provide a baseline for comparisons among sites. This approach was changed starting with the Fourth Work Plan when different but related experiments were also conducted at the various sites. The particular topics studied at each site were based on the research and information needs in each country, as identified by the Technical Committee.

The body of investigations funded under the Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Work Plans reflects a broadening of research, as was proposed in the Continuation Plan 1996, as well as increased integration among sites and responsiveness to input from organizations and experts outside the CRSP. In addition to site activities, CRSP research now underway includes a cross-cutting, thematic approach for investigations that may be conducted at one or more PD/A CRSP sites and whose results may have wider application than results from prime and companion site investigations.

The portfolio of research reported upon in the current period is summarized in Appendix 4. With a few exceptions, Tenth Work Plan research was conducted in the reporting period and is described in this report. The Tenth Work Plan describes activities to be conducted by the CRSP from 1 July 2001 through 30 April 2003.

Development of the Tenth Work Plan

In developing the Tenth Work Plan, the ME issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) in February 2001 with an April deadline for proposal submission. The RFP solicited proposals from 17 US institutions for regional and cross-cutting research and in research areas that were underrepresented in the Eighth and Ninth Work Plans, with the intent to fill gaps in the body of research carried out under the current grant.

The proposals submitted in response to the RFP were peer reviewed by external experts and internally by CRSP researchers. The Technical Committee then evaluated the reviews and made recommendations to the ME. The Board of Directors and External Evaluation Panel also made recommendations to the ME. Proposals were selected for funding based on technical merit and programatic relevance. Tenth Work Plan funding decisions were announced in July 2001.

Work Plan Reporting

Projects’ adherence to work plan schedules and methods and fulfillment of work plan objectives is tracked to assure continuing accountability for program awards. These types of changes are collected and published in work plan addenda as needed.

The CRSPs Information Management and Networking Component (IMNC) solicits research progress reports on a quarterly basis. To reflect methods and schedule changes to the funded research under the Eighth Work Plan, work plan addenda were printed in Spring 1998, Spring 1999, and Fall 2000. Changes to Ninth Work Plan research are documented in a Fall 2000 addendum and a Summer 2002 second addendum. Changes to Tenth Work Plan research will be documented in a forthcoming addendum.