Success Stories In Asian Aquaculture - Library - Network of ...

6 Enhancing Rural Farmer Income through Fish Production125economy in 1995. However, production of stocked species fluctuated highly, withthe contribution to the total production ranging from 15 to 90%.The Government of Vietnam recognized the importance and potential ofreservoir fisheries in meeting the increasing demand for animal protein, as wellas providing additional employment and improving the livelihoods of ruralcommunities. Hence, farmers are encouraged to utilize reservoirs for fisheriesdevelopment, particularly under the new economic regime. As a result, hatcherieswere constructed for fingerling production for restocking programs inalmost all large reservoirs. Hatcheries were also built for enhancement ofsmaller reservoirs as well as supplying seed for aquaculture. In addition, smallreservoirs were leased to farmers, farmer groups, or local organizations to conductCBF activities.CBF, in a very rudimentary form, was practiced in Northern Vietnam, in smallreservoirs for a long time. In the case of Vietnam, however, the water bodies wereleased to individual farmers for varying periods of time for fishery activities by theProvincial and or District administrations. The lease period ranged widely andthere were no strict regulations determining the latter. In such a context, the lesseeswere rather reluctant to make major investments that would lead to an improvementin the practices. Also, the practices were rather ad hoc, as little was knownabout the optimal species combinations to be used, the proportions in the speciescombinations, as well as the other parameters that would influence optimalproduction.A 5-year R&D program in small reservoirs in the two provinces, Thai Nguyenand Yen Bai, North Vietnam, enabled fine tuning the scientific approach tostocking and harvesting, as well as caring for the stock. The enthusiasm of thefarmers involved in the activity was improved. The dissemination of informationon the benefits of adoption of CBF practices through appropriate workshops andprint material created interests amongst rural communities in six otherprovinces.The major social constraint was recognized as the lack of uniformity in theleasing procedures of the water bodies. With the popularity and the demand foradoption of CBF activities, the provincial and district administrations made appropriateregulatory changes to the lease period, increasing it to a minimum of 5years. This facilitated and encouraged fish farmers to invest in bringing aboutrequired repairs in the reservoirs. For example, fish farmers tend to repair sluicesand the like, which all lead to further increases in productivity through the preventionof escape of seed stock. Moreover, CBF was included in the developmentplans of the Northern Provinces and accordingly, the relevant administrations havetaken steps to improve seed stock supplies through improvements to hatcheries.Also, the relevant administrations have taken steps to improve the market chainswith a view to ensuring acceptable and profitable farm gate prices. CBF has notonly been responsible for an effective secondary use of small water bodies inNorthern Vietnam for fish production, but has resulted in generating supplementaryincome, increasing the food-fish availability at an affordable price to impoverishedremote rural communities.