Aquaculture CRSP
The
Pond Dynamics/Aquaculture Collaborative Research Support Program
(PD/A CRSP) is an international effort to develop aquacultural technology as
a means of confronting food security problems in developing countries. The
PD/A CRSP is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID),
under authority of the International Development and Food Assistance Act of
1975 (P.L. 94-161), and by the universities and institutions that participate
in the CRSP. Oregon State University (OSU) is the Management Entity (ME) for
the CRSP and has technical, administrative, and fiscal responsibility for the
performance of grant provisions.
The CRSP is a cohesive program of research that is carried out in selected
developing countries and the United States by teams of U.S. and host country
scientists. The resources of U.S. and host country institutions are brought
together to improve the efficiency of pond culture systems through sustainable
aquaculture. In the original structure of the CRSP, Auburn University, the
Consortium for International Fisheries and Aquaculture Development (CIFAD), and
the University of California at Davis participated in a tripartite management
of the CRSP, with Oregon State University serving as lead institution and
Management Entity. However, beginning with the new grant in 1996 and the
dissolution of CIFAD, a new advisory structure will allow for greater
representation among participating institutions and provide an effective
mechanism for new institutions to be represented on the Board of Directors and
Technical Committee.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is executed between the host country
institution and the lead university for each project or with the Management
Entity. Host country institutions with formal linkages to the CRSP through MOUs
are the Royal Thai Department of Fisheries, Asian Institute of Technology,
Department of Renewable Natural Resources in Honduras, the Agricultural
Research Center of Egypt through March 1995, and Central Luzon State University
of the Philippines. Until 1994, the National University of Rwanda held a formal
MOU with OSU. Numerous linkages are maintained with other U.S. and host country
governmental and non-governmental institutions, and with private companies and
farmers.
CRSP activities were formally initiated on 1 September 1982 after several years
of planning. From 1982 to 1987, CRSP projects involved the participation of
government agencies and educational institutions in six host countries:
Honduras, Indonesia, Panama, the Philippines, Rwanda, and Thailand. Funding
constraints during 1986 and 1987 forced a reduction in operations. A
reorganization plan was submitted in 1986 to the Joint Committee on
Agricultural Research and Development (JCARD) Panel on CRSPs and the AID
Agricultural Sector Council Subcommittee. The plan, effective September 1987,
called for maintaining the PD/A CRSP presence in each of the USAID geographical
areas originally selected. Three country sites were chosen: Rwanda, Thailand,
and Panama. However, subsequent political initiatives in Panama made it
necessary for the CRSP to leave Panama and return to Honduras. Largely through
the efforts of Auburn University and through continuing financial commitments
of the USAID Mission, the CRSP was welcomed back into Honduras in April 1988
and began experiments with the assistance of the Honduran Department of
Renewable Natural Resources (RENARE) in August 1988.
The long collaboration between the CRSP and the Universite Nacional de Rwanda
came to a tragic and untimely end when the civil war of 1994 necessitated
abandoning the Rwasave Fish Culture Station. Despite the cessation of formal
ties, CRSP members have actively assisted former colleagues and their families,
where possible. The linkages created by the CRSPs long term presence in East
Africa has facilitated the selection of a new research site and Host Country
collaborators for the next PD/A CRSP grant.
Recently, USAID has undergone an overall restructuring to better serve the
strategic and humanitarian goals of U.S. foreign policy. This restructuring has
had little effect on day-to-day operations of the CRSP, but it has changed the
USAID bureau in which the PD/A CRSP program officer is located. Previously, all
CRSP program officers were housed in the Office of Agriculture within the
Bureau of Science and Technology located in Rosslyn, Virginia. Currently, the
PD/A CRSP program manager is in the Sustainable Technology Division of the
Office of Agriculture and Food Security in the Center for Economic Growth,
which is located in the Global Bureau in Washington, DC.
A
survey of reproduction control as a constraint to aquaculture research
and development was conducted, polling over 45 researchers and
aquaculturists worldwide. Survey participants were asked to rank the nine CRSP
research themes in reproduction control for their importance to extensive,
semi-intensive, and intensive aquaculture systems, and to different
geographical areas. In addition, participants were asked to score ten different
areas of reproduction control, including some outside the themes addressed by
the CRSP proposals. The small sample and low response rate caution against
drawing firm conclusions from the survey, but the CRSP may consider using
survey instruments as a part of future research planning.
When the continuing unrest in Rwanda forced the CRSP to discontinue its
research activities, the Rwanda section of the Seventh Work Plan was also
revised and submitted to the Technical Committee chairs, the Program Director,
and the Board of Directors. The document was subsequently approved and
activities initiated. Data analysis of Rwandan experiments and laboratory
studies of the Rwandan research themes continues at OSU and Auburn
universities.
In addition, researchers began the difficult task of selecting a new site from
which to re-build regional capacity in aquaculture research. The process, which
is still underway, has entailed research, site visits, correspondence, analyses
of soils and water samples, and other exploratory efforts. Selection criteria
were developed and several promising sites have been identified.
The PD/A CRSP continues to be one of the principal players in the CRSP Council,
which is pursuing a new opportunity to establish a multi-CRSP natural resource
project in West Africa. The project aims to strengthen National Agricultural
Research Systems (NARS) and to assist in that group's plans to produce
sustainable natural resources in high demand and short supply. The CRSP
benefits from its involvement in the CRSP Council, a group composed of
USAID-funded Collaborative Research Support Programs, although full
participation in this group extracts a high cost in terms of time and capital
from the smaller CRSPs such as ourselves. Through the Council, the PD/A CRSP
has over the years participated in presentations to Congress, the World Bank,
USDA, USAID, JCARD, and environmental groups. One impact of this effort is to
increase public awareness of CRSP programs.
After
completing the first three cycles of standardized global experiments
(1982-1987), the CRSP began focusing on the statistical interpretation of
data that were collected at the six project sites. The research program was
successfully modified to reflect the reduction in sites while maintaining its
presence in the major agroecological zones for which it was designed. The
global nature of the program therefore remained intact. Experimental protocol,
as described in subsequent work plans, conforms to that of the original three
cycles to allow comparison between sites over time. Field experiments blend
program-oriented (see Global Experiment and Related Investigations) and
project-oriented (site-specific) considerations in response to the results of
the earlier experiments.
Brackish water studies continue in Choluteca, Honduras. As stakeholders in
Honduras become more aware of the economic impact of environmental quality,
increased attention is directed to the environmental influences and impacts of
shrimp farming in southern Honduras. The baseline data on estuarine water
quality were collected at the onset of this project. Researchers continue to
monitor water quality on an on-going basis, looking for correlations between
seasonal influences on water quality and shrimp farm operations. Local support
and USAID Mission support for this project remains strong, and additional
collaborators from both the U.S. and Honduras have joined this effort. George
Ward, University of Texas in Austin, helped set up a system to monitor
estuarine water exchange, and a Peace Corps volunteer helps with data
collection. The Panamerican Agriculture School at Zamorano, a long-time CRSP
collaborator, has assumed a more active role, with several students conducting
research in collaboration with the CRSP. The strength of the collaborative
research network is evidenced by the adaptation of some experiments originally
planned for the Africa site to be undertaken at El Carao in Honduras.
Researchers investigated the reproductive efficiency of adult Nile tilapia and
compared their growth rate, survival, and response to sex reversal of fry.
The Egypt Project came to a successful close during this reporting period. The
project is credited with adding new research thrusts to the CRSP-polyculture,
bioconversion, and biotechnology. All Egypt Project related activities are
summarized in the Egypt Project Final Report, which may be ordered
from the Program Management Office. The CRSP activities at the Central
Laboratory for Aquaculture Research (CLAR) spurred interest in the site from
the International Center for Living Aquatic Resources Management (ICLARM).
ICLARM now plans to help CLAR become a regional center, and conducted several
events to investigate the feasibility of these activities. The CRSP was invited
to participate in one of these activities, ICLARM's research planning workshop
in Cairo, Egypt, in September 1995. Participants discussed research and related
programs which could be conducted out of the Abbassa facility. Harry Rea, PD/A
CRSP Program Officer, attended the meeting to discuss possible linkages with
the CRSP.
The global social sciences project to identify the social, economic, and
institutional impacts of CRSP research in the host countries was completed
during this reporting period. Auburn University economists and sociologists
collaborated with researchers from the Philippines, Thailand, and Honduras in
an examination of aquaculture technology adoption and diffusion.
The CRSPs direct involvement with farmers, educators, and other end users of
CRSP technology is one way to actively extend information generated by the
program. Other information is extended through the CRSPs numerous publications,
which are aimed at technical and non-technical audiences alike. Members of the
CRSP have completed a draft of a comprehensive book, Dynamics of Pond
Aquaculture, on the principles and practice of pond aquaculture. Other
members of the aquaculture community have also contributed to this effort. The
book will be a useful addition to aquaculture researchers' and students'
libraries, and an effort is being made to make it available at an affordable
price to people in less economically advanced countries. The book will update
and expand on an earlier CRSP book, Principles and Practices of Pond
Aquaculture, which is in its third printing.
When the Board for International Food and Agricultural Development and Economic
Concerns (BIFADEC) originally designed the CRSPs, the mandate called for
greater focus on research than on outreach. The PD/A CRSP sees the partnership
of these two types of activities as critical to achieving positive social
impacts. Therefore, the CRSP continues to place increasing emphasis on farmer
participatory research, on extending research information to end users, and on
adopting a research strategy that is sustainable and appropriate. In Honduras,
farmers cooperate with researchers to monitor water quality of the Gulf of
Fonseca and its estuaries. In Northeast Thailand, the CRSP cooperates with
scientists from other donor agencies in helping farmers help themselves. The
direct input that farmers provide to the research process renders the results
more relevant and cost-effective.
During
this reporting period, the 1996-2001 Continuation Plan for
the PD/A CRSP was the focus of efforts by the Technical Committee and
the Program Management Office (PMO). One result of the exhaustive reviews
conducted by the PD/A CRSP External Evaluation Panel in 1991-92, and by the
consulting firm Tropical Research and Development in 1994, was that the PD/A
CRSP was invited to submit a proposal for continuation of the CRSP. The process
leading to the continuation proposal has been complex. In 1993, the Director
initiated a review of the aquaculture literature, which yielded information on
constraints to aquaculture development. A Proposal Coordinating Committee,
composed of members of the Board, the Technical Committee, and the Program
Management Office, developed a Request for Proposals (RFP) based on these
constraints. In response to the RFP, 25 institutions submitted preproposals.
The PMO classified each preproposal into one of seven research focus areas in
preparation for the annual meeting.
The main focus of the 1994 Annual Meeting was the development of the
Continuation Proposal. Host country representatives advised the group about the
specific constraints facing aquaculture research and development in their home
countries of Egypt, Honduras, the Philippines, Rwanda, and Thailand. Meeting
attendees also participated in a workshop supported by the USAID/Women in
Development/Policy and Program Coordination Office to hone their strategic
planning skills by focusing on improving project sustainability and equity of
impact. Expert working groups were formed for each of the seven focus areas;
these groups examined the preproposals to determine how well they addressed the
objectives of the focus areas. The working groups also prioritized the focus
areas and preproposals.
The Proposal Coordinating Committee aligned the focus areas with the CRSP areas
of comparative strength and developed a draft outline for the proposal, which
was reviewed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
(FAO). The Proposal Coordinating Committee and the PMO prepared a first draft,
which formed the basis of discussion during the 1995 Annual Meeting. At this
time, a Technical Committee member was selected to develop a second draft. This
draft was sent to USAID for internal review and comment, and returned with the
suggestion to strengthen the constraints section and modify the program
management section to incorporate USAID's current thinking on CRSP management.
USAID also requested that the CRSP consider collaboration with other
international research organizations.
In response to USAID's suggestions, the Director once again reviewed the
literature and developed a constraints matrix and a donor matrix. To increase
collaborative links, the CRSP invited representatives of ICLARM and Aquaculture
for Local Community Development (ALCOM)/FAO to meet with CRSP researchers,
students, and administrators at OSU, and participated in a USAID-sponsored
session to develop aquaculture research strategies for USAID. A Technical
Committee member distributed a survey of reproduction research needs to 45
research administrators, researchers, and industry representatives worldwide.
Finally, the Director of OSU's Women in Development Program reviewed the CRSP
Continuation Plan in October 1995.
Two
volumes-Volume 1, Program Accomplishments and Volume 2, Technical
Reports-comprise the PD/A CRSP Annual Administrative Report. Each
volume is designed to stand on its own. Program Accomplishments reports
all administrative, research, and outreach activities during the reporting
period and includes sections on program history, personnel, financial status,
administrative and management activities, abstracts of all technical
experiments conducted during the past year, and non-research activities such as
training, publications, and service. Technical Reports focuses on the
research accomplishments of the program and contains full technical reports.
