48 SEPTEMBER 2014 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WAS.ORG greatest in dedhuwa followed by pothi (Table 1). Vitamin A was comparatively lower in mara than reported by Roos et al. (2003, 2007a, b) in Bangladesh. The difference may be explained by the sample from project ponds containing juveniles, which have a lower vitamin A content than adults. Roos et al. (2002) reported that vitamin A accumulates with age in fish. Iron content was lower in raw, cleaned samples than raw, whole samples, indicating that iron is concentrated in gut tissues. Because people commonly eat cleaned SIS (without guts), there is a loss of a substantial amount of iron during cleaning. Micronutrients in SIS are much greater in large carps in Bangladesh (Roos et al. 2003, Roos et al. 2007a). Regular intake of micronutrient-dense small fish can mitigate the malnutrition problems of women and children who often suffer from malnutrition. Income Almost all farmers sold carps and prawn and increased household income, empowering women economically. Both men and women were involved in the sale of fish and most were sold to locals in the neighbourhood, with a few sold to local vendors who re-sold fish in local markets. Farmers used revenue earned from carp and prawn sales on household needs and microcredit savings. Carp were sold for US$ 3/kg and prawn for US$ 9/kg. The amount of carp sold ranged from 2-32 kg per household (US$ 6-91) and that of prawn ranged from 0.4-0.6 kg per household (US$ 3-5). Average income generated by farmers was US$27 per household in 270 days. SIS-stocked ponds provided 28 percent greater income over carp-only ponds because of comparatively greater production. Women Fish Farmers’ Groups and Cooperative Seven woman fish farmers’ groups were formed, with groups ranging from 15 to 26 members. Each group held monthly meetings during which problems were discussed, such as fish disease, poisoning of water sources, adequacy of water supplies, advocacy to DADO, solutions to problems and future activities, such as where and how to procure fingerlings (Fig. 3). A monthly deposit of US$ 0.14-0.35 per member was made in each group’s account. The accounts were used to provide loans (US$ 7-70/ person) to needy group members, with an interest rate of 1-2 percent per month, and for repairs of equipment, including pumps and fish nets. Sundardeep Women Fish Farmers’ Co-operative (SWFFC) was established in December 2012 by women fish farmers of the Carp-SIS-Prawn project at Majhui, Khaireni-3, Chitwan. The cooperative had 25 women members. The cooperative aimed to improve economic and social status of members through their participation in income-generating activities, such as fish farming, integrated fish farming and marketing. TABLE 1. Vitamin A, iron and zinc content in four common SIS of Terai, Nepal. All values expressed per 100 g of raw clean sample. RAE is retinol activity equivalents. SMALL INDIGENOUS FISH SPECIES VITAMIN A (RAE) IRON (MG) ZINC (MG) Dedhuwa (Esomusdanricus) 107.5 6.2 4.5 Faketa (Barilius sp.) 84.5 1.0 3.6 Mara (Amblypharyngodon mola) 685.5 2.4 4.3 Pothi (Puntius sophore) 56.0 3.1 4.2 FIGURE 3. Ms. Bhikhani Chowdhary teaching about fish disease to women farmers during carp-SIS-prawn polyculture training organized at Majhui,Chitwan. FIGURE 4. Women farmers participating in the carp-SIS-prawn polyculture training organized at Majhui, Chitwan.
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