Aquaculture technology development and assistance

A variety of education and training programs will be funded. Each year, up to 35 LDC students will enroll in a graduate program geared toward aquaculture applications in LDC"s; special training, including visits to fish farms and other fishery institutions, will be offered for up to 20 LDC students; and up to 25 LDC participants will attend a 4-month intensive aquaculture training program. It is expected that graduates will become teachers, researchers, and administrators in the national fisheries programs of their home countries. As part of its continuing education program overseas, ICA will provide on-site short courses and seminars on applied aquaculture and on inland fisheries to fish farmers and university and government personnel. One short course per year is planned; more may be funded by USAID or non-project sources. In addition, up to 16 person-months of short-term advisory services (e.g., feasibility studies, evaluations of technical studies and proposals, impact evaluations, and problem identification and problem solving) will be funded each year in response to requests from Missions or LDC institutions. Long-term assistance is contingent upon agreements between the requesting Missions and ICA. ICA research efforts will focus on technologies appropriate to small farm, especially tropical, fish production (e.g., genetic improvement of tilapia, polyculture, fish processing, and low-cost fish feed). Also, selected LDC graduate students will annually be awarded 36 person-months of research assistantships. Finally, the ICA library will be upgraded; the ICA data base will be expanded; instructions, reference material, and training aids will be produced in English, Spanish, and possibly in other languages; two special bulletins or training manuals will be prepared each year; and a quarterly newsletter on recent developments in LDC fish culture and technology will be published.