Future of Rice-Fish Culture, Desert Aquaculture and Feed Development in Africa: The Case of Egypt as the Leading Country in Africa

Abstract

World aquaculture production in 2002 reached 39.8 million metric tons (Mt). However, despite a general understanding that the advancement of aquaculture is very important for food security and poverty alleviation, aquaculture in Africa is insignificant compared to the rest of the world. African aquaculture contributed only 1.2% (463 x 10 3 Mt) of world aquaculture production. Moreover, our calculation based on FAO statistics revealed that the average per capita consumption of fish in Africa decreased from 9 kg in 1990 to 7.8 kg in 2001. This decrease in the per capita consumption offish appears to be a threatening sign for food security in Africa. There are many political, economic and technical issues that are obstructing the development and promotion of aquaculture in Africa. Egypt, the desert but rice producing country, has a long history of aquaculture and is the leading producer, especially of freshwater aquaculture in Africa. Total aquaculture production in Egypt in 2002 was 376 x 10 3 Mt, which supplied 81% of that in Africa. In the present review, based on the case of Egypt, we propose measures and research areas to develop and promote rice-fish culture and desert aquaculture. Rice-fish culture is a model of aquaculture styles for wet and pluvial regions, and desert aquaculture is also a model for arid and semi-arid regions not only in Egypt but also for other African countries. Poor knowledge on fish feeds and feeding technology is one of the major constraints in the expansion of aquaculture. In order to improve and increase the productivity of aquaculture in Africa, we propose measures and research subjects for developing supplementary and complete feeds using regional ingredients.