Inland fisheries OPG

The evaluation covered the period 4/82-11/85 and was based on information from previous evaluations, site visits, and interviews with participating farmers. Overall, the project, an OPG to Servicio Social de Iglesias Dominicanas (SSID), showed that, properly motivated, farmers in areas where fish has not been a traditional diet item are willing to adopt fish farming. Specific results were mixed, however. Although the project developed a total of 11 ponds, production has not been optimal, apparently due to the dissipation of pond managerial responsibilities. Of the 10 farmers interviewed, only half are the sole owner/manager of their ponds; the remaining 5 share only 1 pond with other farm families. Among some of the poorer farmers, as many as 52 persons have shared in pond production. Pond exploitation should be limited to a maximum of two farmers. Most farmers consume what they produce, and several sell a good portion of it. Poorer families with a large number of children, however, consume most of their production. Once the pond is harvested, SSID provides the fingerlings to restock the pond - a service for which SSID should charge in order to recover its operating costs. Although farmers recorded pertinent data, the data were neither collated nor analyzed. On the positive side, SSID and the Peace Corps sponsored a conference for some 16 governmental agencies and PVO"s to disseminate fisheries information. Good relations were maintained with cooperating agencies. INDOTEC provided laboratory facilities, personnel, and four 110 sq. m experimental ponds, while SSID and FUDECO built three 300 sq. m experimental ponds. FUDECO also sponsored 7 training courses for 270 farmers, including 5 who act as extensionists and produce fish independently. On the other hand, waning participation by both INDOTEC and FUDECO indicates that burdening such a small project with 4 agencies may be excessive. In an unexpected result, a group of 20 university students, some of them sons of participating farmers, have decided to build and manage some 60 ponds for commercial production. Although the A.I.D. grant is terminated, activities are continuing with financing from Norway.