Which research for which development of tilapia aquaculture in Subsaharan Africa ?

Over the past 30 years, no real national or regional research strategy seems to have been developed for the aquaculture of tilapia in subSaharan Africa. Research in aquaculture has always been very "opportunistic", mainly because of budget constraints. In some cases, research components were included in important development projects, but their biotechnical bases were weak and these companion research programs had to be discontinued. Also, research in tilapia aquaculture has often been conducted independently of other research areas such as biology, agronomy, zoology and socioeconomics (farming systems) and mainly under the departments of forest and wildlife research, a legacy of the colonial era. This type of research has very rarely been part of a global aquaculture development plan which, on one hand, generally did not exist. As a result, many aquaculture scientists on the continent are compelled to work in isolation, and their results have often little impact on development. Furthermore, basic research has mainly been conducted with a view of developing intensive and/or industrial fish culture which, in most cases, does not conform with the technical and socioeconomic context prevailing on the African continent. These different considerations are analyzed on the basis of a number of examples. The interface research-development is studied with reference to "pilot" projects and companion studies. To conclude, proposals are made for the future in terms of the adequateness between aquaculture development planning and fundamental and applied research strategies.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Lazard, Jérôme
Format: conference_item biblioteca
Language:eng
Published: ICLARM
Subjects:M12 - Production de l'aquaculture, Tilapia, aquaculture, développement agricole, projet de développement, espèce, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_32720, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_550, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_199, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_2229, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_7280, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_166,
Online Access:http://agritrop.cirad.fr/512453/
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Summary:Over the past 30 years, no real national or regional research strategy seems to have been developed for the aquaculture of tilapia in subSaharan Africa. Research in aquaculture has always been very "opportunistic", mainly because of budget constraints. In some cases, research components were included in important development projects, but their biotechnical bases were weak and these companion research programs had to be discontinued. Also, research in tilapia aquaculture has often been conducted independently of other research areas such as biology, agronomy, zoology and socioeconomics (farming systems) and mainly under the departments of forest and wildlife research, a legacy of the colonial era. This type of research has very rarely been part of a global aquaculture development plan which, on one hand, generally did not exist. As a result, many aquaculture scientists on the continent are compelled to work in isolation, and their results have often little impact on development. Furthermore, basic research has mainly been conducted with a view of developing intensive and/or industrial fish culture which, in most cases, does not conform with the technical and socioeconomic context prevailing on the African continent. These different considerations are analyzed on the basis of a number of examples. The interface research-development is studied with reference to "pilot" projects and companion studies. To conclude, proposals are made for the future in terms of the adequateness between aquaculture development planning and fundamental and applied research strategies.