14 DECEMBER 2015 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WAS.ORG We did this work in the 1980s. Now we talk so much about women’s empowerment but at the time no one was talking about gender issues. We were looking at how to increase production. We were looking at who were the beneficiaries of this increase in production, creating livelihoods and increasing the nutrition of rural communities. When I was working with the NGOs, they said “You should be doing research with the government agencies, not with the development agencies. What you are doing is probably not research, it is development work.” My question to them was “What is research and what is development?” This was research for development. We need to understand the social, economic and cultural aspects of the farming communities with which we are involved, the natural resources and human resources they have, the sources of technology they need, the market demands, and the issues and constraints in developing the technology. It is not the kind of research you do in research labs. We were working with the communities, understanding their needs and constraints, then resolving those issues, working closely with the farming community. In those days, there was a lot of criticism that we were not doing research but doing development. Kevin Fitzsimmons: Your expertise in genetics helped to lead the domestication of several species of fish for farming purposes. What other species have you considered that might be added to the list of commonly farmed species in developing countries? Vijay Gupta: If you look at the contribution of the production of genetically improved aquaculture species, it is only around 20 or 30 percent. There have been only a few species that have been genetically improved. For example, in India, hardly any genetically improved species are being used in aquaculture; we have rohu Labeo rohita and also GIFT tilapia. One of the reasons is we have not developed strategies for dissemination of improved breeds. There are a number of species that need to be further improved and, along with that, proper strategies for dissemination so that even poor farmers in rural villages will be able to get the benefit of the genetic improvement. We have a long way to go in terms of genetic improvement. We are looking at the strategies for that, coordinating the International Network on Genetics in Aquaculture, in which 12 countries from Asia, Africa and the Pacific are members. Another 12 or 13 international organizations, including FAO, are members of that network. If you look at what has happened in the case of agricultural crops and livestock, so much development has taken place because capacity has been developed. However, in the case of aquaculture, we were new to genetic improvement back in the 80s and 90s. What we are looking at now is developing capacity in developing country institutions. This is what we were trying to do through the International Network of Genetics in Aquaculture in collaboration with development institutions. Genetic improvement needs lots of capabilities and is a timeconsuming activity. Each country may be using 10-20 aquaculture species but they will not be able to undertake genetic improvement of all these species at the same time. If each country can focus on one or two species that is a priority for them, once genetically improved strains are developed, they can be exchanged among members of the network. This is how we started building the capacity among developing country institutions. I think now the capacity is there in most of the developing country institutions but we still have a long way to go in terms of the genetic improvement of aquaculture species in developing countries in Asia. Kevin Fitzsimmons: What advice would you offer to young people just entering into aquaculture? Vijay Gupta: Many people think that aquaculture is not a science and that there is not much of a prospect, so young people do not get into aquaculture. Looking at what is happening globally, the aquaculture sector has a very good future. The demand for manpower will be high. The FAO estimates that we need to produce around 30 million t by 2030 — in 15 years! — and that this additional demand has to be met from aquaculture and that 90 percent of that has to come from Asian countries. So there’s a high demand for labor with this high production. There are also a lot of challenges that aquaculture is facing. There are great opportunities in research and development, both opportunities for jobs and for young people to get into production. My advice to young people has been that there is a high potential now that aquaculture is accepted as a science and a technology. Kevin Fitzsimmons: Is there anything else you’d like to add while we have the opportunity? Vijay Gupta: There are some criticisms saying that aquaculture is not environmentally friendly and that there may be more damage to the environment with an increasing focus on aquaculture. No doubt there was some environmental damage in the early stages of aquaculture back in the 1980s, especially what happened in the case of brackishwater aquaculture, where some mangroves were destroyed. Later on, everyone realized the problems and now there is not much environmental damage that is being done because of aquaculture. If you compare aquaculture and agriculture, probably the environmental impact is much more in the case of agriculture than in the case of aquaculture viz a viz runoff from agricultural fields with all the pesticides and fertilizers going in. Also, the emission of greenhouse gases is much more in the case of crops and livestock as compared to aquaculture. Production of animal protein from fish is much more economical and environmentally friendly compared to the rest of animal production. If you look at the use of water, the availability of which is declining all over the world and which will be of concern in future years, water needed in aquaculture is much less per kilogram of protein produced. Also, the feed conversion is much better in aquaculture species compared to any other animal production system. Greenhouse gas emissions are much less in aquaculture. From all these perspectives, when developing countries are talking of future plans in the next 20 or 30 years to increase animal protein production to meet the demands of their populations, governments should take into consideration these aspects. If you look at the budget allocation in national governments in developing countries, fisheries and aquaculture does not get as much importance as the crop and livestock sectors. Governments need to have a real look at what kind of allocation should be made for aquaculture in terms of the overall budget for food production.
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