Aquaculture for small farmers: a technology development and dissemination strategy

Abstract

The International Center for Living Aquatic Resources Management (ICLARM) with funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), has been assisting the Bangladesh Agricultural Re-search Council (BARC) and the Fisheries Research Institute (FRI), in develop ing low-input technologies, for maximising production from available water resources, through optimum utilisation of on-farm resources. The target groups for these studies are the resource-poor, small-holder farmers who constitute the bulk of the population in Bangladesh. The emphasis in the project activities is on on-farm, farmer-participatory research for developing sustainable aquaculture practices that take into consideration farmers' resource base and the agro- ecosystem. The project actively involves exten sion agencies (mostly NGOs) in the.on-farm research stage and subsequently in training and technology dissemination. Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) is one of the NGOs actively involved in the project activities.