WWW.WAS.ORG • WORLD AQUACULTURE • JUNE 2016 43 point, the farmer used approximately 30 kg of fish feed at US$ 1.50/ kg (= US$ 45). The total cost of 43,270 fry was, therefore, US$ 2150 + US$ 45 = US$ 2,195. Average harvest size is 1.5 kg/fish, typically reached within 14 months. Thus, total harvest size for 43,270 rainbow trout was 43,270 × 1.5 = 64,905kg ≈ 65 t. At an FCR of 1.3, 64.9 t of fish consume 84.4 t of feed. The cost of 84.4 t of feed at $1,500 US/t is US$ 126,600. Adding the cost of seed, the total cost is US$ 126,600 + US$ 2,195 = US$ 128,795. The average sale price of rainbow trout is 5,159 LBP/kg (US$ 3.40/kg). For 64,905 kg of fish, a farmer earns 64,905 kg × US$ 3.40/kg = US$ 220,677. Therefore, profit from 100,000 rainbow trout eggs should be US$ 220,677 - US$ 128,780 = US$ 91,897 in 14 months. The calculations presented above are simplistic. They do not include the cost of rent of raceways, labor and drugs. Furthermore, the numbers presented above should be interpreted with caution because the harvest weight considered in the analysis above is 65 t of rainbow trout per farmer, which assumes the farmer has the facilities to rear this quantity of trout. Along the Assi River, only ten farmers produce 65 t or more each season. Furthermore, the calculations above assume no mortality during grow-out, which is not the case even though farmers claim it is. Accordingly, only ten farms made more than US$ 90,000 profit in 14 months. Excluding these ten rainbow trout producers, average expected production is between 20.8 to 46.7 t per farm in 14 months. Even at the lower production estimates, aquaculture along the Assi River should afford farmers a relatively decent income but the reality is that it does not. Most farmers reporting a production greater than 50 t/yr owned only 10-20 percent of the farm. More than one farmer reported FCRs less than one. Many produce less than 5 t per season. Trout Farming as a Livelihood In Hermel, trout farming is rarely sufficient as a source of income for households. Most trout farmers (70 percent) have an alternative source of income. Many farmers import eggs and feed and sell these to other farmers. Thirteen percent are salaried employees at private businesses or government institutions or receive retirement funds from previous employment. Exiting the vicious circle of poverty and marginalization is not easy. Poor, uneducated and landless fish farmers generally have low savings rates, preventing them from investing adequately in the maintenance and modernization of farms. They buy low quality fish feed, underfeed fish, cannot afford to hire qualified help and cannot purchase modern water quality test kits. The lack of appropriate investments in aquaculture facilities adversely affects the quantity and quality of production, thus decreasing incomes. The income distribution from aquaculture in Hermel favors largescale farms and business owners. While small-scale farmers struggle to secure financial resources to invest in a new season, large-scale farmers take advantage of their vulnerability. Affluent farmers claim to make more profit from providing services related to trout farming than from fish husbandry itself. Such services include leasing ponds, import and sale of feed and seed at exorbitant prices, and hatchery seed. They buy fish from vulnerable farmers at prices imposed by buyers. They invest in farms that are failing to produce benefits and render poor farmers completely dependent on them. In a nutshell, they get rich while 68 percent of surveyed farmers must have another job or activity because aquaculture is not a sufficient source of income. Education and Competence None of the trout farmers in Hermel are trained in aquaculture. What little expertise they acquire is shared with relatives and friends. Most (58 percent) learned aquaculture by themselves through observation and experience. Thirty-six percent said they learned from their father and/or friends. Only a small proportion (6 percent) learned about aquaculture in seminars and workshops given by organizations that conduct capacity building and manage development projects in the region, in addition to personal experience or assistance from relatives and/or friends. Most farmers (66 percent) are convinced that they have the correct information about sound aquaculture practices. Thirty-two percent are unsure of the reliability of their knowledge and the adequacy of their farm management practices. In general, the level of education of most farmers in Hermel is low. Most (70 percent) did not reach high school and 11 percent went to technical school instead of high school. Fish farmers’ lack of understanding about the environmental risks of aquaculture and other abiotic factors play an important role in limiting farm production (Lewis 1997). Most farmers assessed did not have access to basic environmental and professional information. Most trout farmers in Hermel learned aquaculture from friends and siblings who in turn tended to have learned the trade from similar people or were self-taught. Therefore, management mistakes quickly spread among trout farmers. Additionally the government has not employed extension agents or attempted to train experts in the Ministry of Agriculture to help the fish farmers. This lack of awareness by fish farmers makes the difference between good profits and low incomes (Barrett et al. 2002). In addition to a lack of knowledge of proper aquaculture methods, most (66 percent) trout farmers did not question the suitability of the traditional methods used. Most farmers assessed, expressed pride in being the pioneers in aquaculture and making substantial contributions to the sector. They felt insulted when told their methods might not be the best or latest technology. One solution to such a problem could be a government-funded research and extension station to demonstrate better practices that farmers could observe and decide whether or not to adopt. Improving Trout Farming in Hermel The predicaments of trout farmers in Hermel or most family fish farmers worldwide could not have been stated better than Klontz (1991): ‘Family trout farmers are individuals who decided to produce trout because it sounded like a good life, and in their enthusiasm they learned how to raise trout. But then came the day of reckoning–what do they do with their fish? Who will buy them? When will they buy them? In what form do they want to buy them? Now the farmer had to become a processor, marketer, salesman, and merchandiser–all skills requiring more knowledge than he/she possesses.’ Furthermore, as the farmer tries to intensify stocking to increase profit, he starts having to understand water quality parameters. Now success becomes near impossible without education or help from extension services. Husbandry Practices. A handful of local hatcheries supply fingerlings to all the farms along the Assi River. Managing a hatchery requires skills most farmers in Hermel do not have. Hatching is the most delicate phase of rearing fish: water temperature should be constant, eggs should be protected from disease outbreaks, and water (CONTINUED ON PAGE 44)
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