The Business Models A Focus on Market-Driven Commercial Aquaculture Experience shows that successful aquaculture development in Africa and elsewhere has been driven largely by domestic and export market demand. Rising incomes in urban Africa and international demand for shrimp and whitefish, such as tilapia and catfish, create further opportunities. Poverty Focus The strategies employed to bootstrap aquaculture through market-driven commercial production must not lose sight of the poverty focus. In other words, commercial aquaculture can provide leadership and build the critical mass necessary to raise the profile of the sector, achieve economies of scale, and create opportunities for the emergence of segmentation and service providers. However, public policy and support is required to ensure that the smaller producers have access to the technologies, markets, and finance for aquaculture. The balance and trade-offs between high-value intensive aquaculture and culture of lower-value herbivorous or omnivorous species will need analysis and informed public scrutiny. Asia provides a number of lessons. The choice of business model is not necessarily between commercial culture of high-value carnivorous species and small-scale culture of herbivorous or omnivorous species providing food security and household and local consumption. Rather, pro-poor fish culture should be a viable commercial undertaking, whether the product has a social (food security) or commercial objective. Poor people should not necessarily grow low-value fish. Culture of freshwater shrimp in rice paddies; polyculture of higher-value snakehead or catfish with tilapia; and contract farming of shrimp are examples of successful pro-poor business models. As already noted, leasing of public water bodies for restocking or cage culture can provide an entry point for the landless. Proven Technologies Use of proven technologies reduces the costs of adaptation and innovation. Public support will be required for pro-poor aquaculture, but it can draw on proven models. Capacity building and institutional development will also require public support. Creation of public private partnerships, leasing of government fish stations, broad stakeholder participation in design of national codes of practice, and BMPs and training programs can reduce costs and make the best use of available expertise and donor support. Networks As demonstrated by NACA (see chapter 3, Technology Transfer and Capacity Building), regional networks can have a catalytic action driving dissemination
CATALYZING AQUACULTURE IN LESS-DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
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