Fish Project

Early this year I was quite discouraged with our fish project. We had dabbled in tilapia and catfish  production but saw very little harvest compared to the amount of food stuffs and labor we put into it. We learned many lessons thorough this experience; and despite our setbacks, I was certain the project could be a success. In April 2011 I met a man who introduced us to an integrated approach to fish production that eliminates the need for costly feed inputs and increases production beyond what could be generated from the sum of the individual farming systems..

We now have three ponds set up for this method: In one pond, the fish will be fed with scraps from our vegetable gardens. In another pond, the fish will feed on the stems of rice plants (the rice will be harvested twice a year). The third pond has a duck structure suspended over it, and the fish below will feed on the droppings. We currently have fingerlings being prepared for this pond. We  have plans to build one more pond. We have also added a feed mixing building, a chicken house, and a hatchery unit where we will produce all the fish for our ponds as well as be able to provide fingerlings to the community.

We completed the setup phase and are beginning a 6-month trial. We expect to be running at full production in early 2012, with the goal of raising 40,000 fish annually.