Cite as: [Author(s), 2001. Title.] In: A. Gupta, K. McElwee, D. Burke, J. Burright, X. Cummings, and H. Egna (Editors), Eighteenth Annual Technical Report. Pond Dynamics/Aquaculture CRSP, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, [pp. ___.]

Training and Technical Assistance for Honduras Institutions Working with Small- and Medium-Scale Tilapia Producers

Ninth Work Plan, Adoption/Diffusion Research 10 (9ADR10)
Abstract

Thomas Popma
Department of Fisheries and Allied Aquacultures
Auburn University, Alabama, USA

Dan Meyer
Department of Biology
Escuela Agrícola Panamericana El Zamorano
Zamorano, Honduras

Abstract

The Peace Corps program of technical support to fish farmers was possibly the most focused on-farm assistance to small-scale fish farmers in Honduras, but this program ended in 1995. The national extension program in aquaculture has a presence in many regions, but the effort is fragmented and underfunded. A number of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have been active in rural development, including several active fish farming projects, but expertise in this activity is often insufficient to provide critical technical information required for productive pond management. The objective of this PD/A CRSP activity is to identify the NGOs and agencies interested in incorporating small-scale fish farming in their development programs and then to provide technical assistance and training to their field staff. The training is a collaborative effort between Auburn University and the Escuela Agrícola Panamericana El Zamorano ("Zamorano").

In November 1999, the Principal Investigators from Zamorano, the University of Georgia, and Auburn University visited directors and representatives from eleven educational and national and international governmental, nongovernmental, and private agencies involved in tilapia culture in Honduras. During this visit, a strategy and timetable were developed for implementing technical assistance and training of NGO technicians.

As a result of the Ninth Work Plan activity entitled "Decision support for policy development–Planning conferences for collaborating researchers, public agencies, and nongovernmental organizations working in aquaculture," (9ADR7), NGOs involved in rural development and with interest in evaluating tilapia culture as a component in the programs were identified. Meyer and F. Arias of Zamorano will offer a one-day workshop in August 2000 on the technical and economic aspects of tilapia culture, with emphasis on its potential value in rural and community development programs. The resulting clearer understanding of the benefits and constraints of tilapia culture will help NGOs make more knowledgeable decisions about the appropriateness of tilapia culture in their overall rural development program. In September 2000, technical staff of interested NGOs will attend a three-day workshop on technical aspects of fingerling production and grow-out of tilapia.