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APPENDIX A. COURSE SYLLABUS AND NOTES

GIVEN TO FARMERS

1 INTRODUCTION

There are about 5000 fish farmers in

Western and Nyanza Provinces with about
7000 fish ponds. These ponds require about
3 million fingerlings each year.

There are not enough high quality

fingerlings for all these ponds.

Importance of high quality fingerlings:

faster growth, bigger fish, better production
from the pond, a better financial return for
the farmer.

Government and LBDA FPC's are not capable

of supplying everyone, there is a very high
cost of transport. This can be avoided by
local supply.

In countries where fish farming is

developed, private enterprise supplies most
of the fish fingerlings. Government farms
keep a good supply of quality brood stock
for replacement, do research, and in our
case, will supply catfish fingerlings.

Selling fingerlings is a good source of

income for farmers, but the fingerlings have
to be of good quality or there will be no
buyers.

1.1 PURPOSE OF THIS COURSE.

To teach the principles of how to raise

quality fingerlings.

To give practical experience in how to

handle fish and fingerlings.
To supply, if the farmer wants, basic
material for fingerling production and sale
to other farmers can be supplied on credit
through the Project Revolving Credit
Scheme.

At the end of the course, you will be given a

certificate for attendance which will help
you in selling to other farmers in your
region.

If you wish to supply fingerlings to other

farmers, the Project will send a specialist to
your farm to verify that you have good
quality broodstock and are capable of
supplying quality fingerlings to other
farmers. The project will help in identifying
clients, and use you as source of fingerlings
to other farmers.

2 CHOICE OF SPECIES
There are many kinds of fish that can stay in
a pond, but only a few of them are good fish
for farming. From experience all over Africa,
people have found that the tilapia fish, T.
nilotica is one of the best fish for pond
farming.

2.1 WHY T. NILOTICA?

Nilotica is a fast grower. It can reach 250 g in

eight months in a fish pond.

It is a fish that spawns easily in a pond so

there is no problem to get small ones for
restocking your pond after harvest, as
should be done in a well managed pond.

It feeds on many things that are in the pond,

rice bran, manure, plankton, leaves, and
insects.

It is a strong fish, and can be easily

transported.
It is a healthy fish and does not get sick very
easily.

2.2 WHAT IS WRONG WITH OTHER SPECIES?

There are many other fish that look a lot

like nilotica that people have tried to raise
in small ponds. What is confusing is that
from the lake, there are often big fish of
these different kinds. This does not mean
that they grow fast. Some of the fish from
the lake may be 5 years old when they are
caught. Many of these fish will not grow well
in a small fish pond.

These fish are different, the same difference

between a cow and sheep, a mouse and a
dog. The problem is that even if they look
about the same, many of these fish do not
grow very fast, and some never get big at all.
Tilapia zilli, the reddish black one with
white lips, does not grow fast. It will stunt in
a pond, and have lots of small fish when it is
only a few inches long.

Most fish farmers who have problems with

the choice of fish in their ponds are using
haplachromis species. These remain very
small in fish ponds, they look like small
tilapia so it is difficult to chose them.

2.3 HOW TO TELL NILOTICA FROM OTHER

SPECIES.

T. nilotica can grow up to 60 cm in length,

and weigh over 5 kg. The colour is usually
blue/grey, but they can change colour with
the back ground. Mature males often have a
red colouration especially around the head,
mature females become a bit yellow.

The easiest way to tell nilotica from others

is by the following:
 blue/grey colouration
narrow black stripes all across the tail.

Small nilotica have a dark spot along the

dorsal fin, this soon disappears as they grow
and is gone completely when they are
adults. There are often some black spots on
the tail end of the fish when it is young. Do
not use this to identify nilotica as most
tilapia have the same spots.

3 NATURAL SPAWNING

When the fish are about 100 g, or the size of

a child's hand, they become mature and can
spawn. In a pond, they can spawn at 50 g.

3.1 DETERMINATION OF SEXES

The males sexual organ is a long, white, thin

protuberance with a small hole at the end,
this is located at the end of the intestinal
cavity of the fish.

For the female, the opening is a cross cut at

the same place.

To effectively sex fish, they have to be at

least 25 g. Smaller fish are very difficult to
tell the sexes apart, and you shouldn't try as
there will be too many mistakes.

3.2 NEST BUILDING

The male will build a nest that looks like a

bowl. They build the nests in 40 cm of water.
The male stays in the nest and changes to a
red and white colouration. This is a signal to
the female that he is ready to spawn. When a
ripe female passes by, she will enter the nest
and they will spawn.
Males are very aggressive in defending their
nests, and will chase away other fish from
the nest.

3.3 SPAWNING AND FERTILIZATION

When the female enters the nest, the two

fish start swimming in circles. The female
drops a few eggs, and the male passes over
them and fertilizes them. As the female
comes around again, she picks them up in
her mouth. Spawning usually takes place at
night. The whole process takes about 15
minutes.

After the female has shed all of her eggs and

collected them in the mouth, she leaves the
nest. The male will be ready to spawn with
another female. After about 2 weeks, the
male gets tired and abandons the nest. He
will be ready to spawn again in a few more
weeks, and will build another nest in a new
spot, or fix up the old nest.
3.4 INCUBATION

After spawning, the female spends the next

few days incubating the eggs in her mouth.
The female changes to a yellow colouration
with black stripes on the side. The lower jaw
swells up to hold all the eggs and becomes
yellow.

The eggs hatch in 2 or 3 days depending on

the temperature, but the new fish still have
a yolk sac and can't swim. In about 2 more
days, the fish are ready to swim on their
own.

3.5 CARE OF FISH FRY BY FEMALE

The female continues to take care of the

small fish by keeping them safe in her
mouth. The small fish swim close to the
mother, and when there is any danger, she
snaps open her mouth and all the fry swim
into it for safety.

After about 5 days, the mother lets the fry

go, and then they are on their own.

4 MANAGEMENT OF BREEDING PONDS

There are two main ways of managing a

breeding pond. In both ways, there are many
things in common.

4.1 FERTILIZATION AND FEEDING

Fish in a pond are not like chickens in a

compound where they can roam around and
find their own feed. The farmer has to feed
the fish, or they will not grow and
reproduce, and there will be nothing but a
few small fish at the time of the harvest.

4.1.1 IMPORTANCE OF MANURE

Manure is the key to producing lots of small
tilapia. The manure works as a fertilizer for
the pond, and the fertilizer helps to grow
the things that tilapia will feed on.

Manure is the easiest and best way to get

good production from a fish pond, and it is
strongly recommended. The more manure,
the higher the production.

4.1.1.1 KINDS OF MANURE

Chicken manure is highly recommended. It

is very concentrated, and one needs less of
this than other manures. Cattle manure is
not as strong, and one has to add a lot more
of it to get a good effect. Pig, sheep, goat,
rabbit, etc. manure is also good.

Other things act as manure. Waste from

killing cattle (blood, rumen contents) is
very good for producing fish.
4.1.1.2 RATES OF APPLICATION

The following rates for manure application

are for 100 m2 of fish pond. These are the
optimum rates. Do not go over this as this
will be too much and you might kill the fish.
Even if you don't use this much, use as much
as you can find up to these limits.

Chicken: 1 litre pure manure/day/100 m2, 3

l poultry litter.

Pig: 1 bucket per day

Cattle: 2 buckets /day

Goats, sheep, rabbits, etc: 1 bucket per day.

Manure should be broadcast over the entire

pond so it will work as a fertilizer.

4.1.2 COMPOST CRIB

If you can't get enough manure, use what is
called a compost crib. This is made by
pushing sticks into a corner of the pond so
as to make a pile of compost.

4.1.2.1 WHAT GOES IN

In a compost crib, you can put things that

take a long time to decompose and turn into
fertilizer. Unlike manure, compost takes
several weeks to rot to the point where it
can be used as fertilizer.

Leaves, rotten vegetables, chicken

intestines, grass, cassava peels, banana
peels, maize stalks and leaves, wood ash,
etc. can all go into a compost crib.

This compost crib works as a complement to

the manure, not as a replacement. You
should do both.
4.1.2.2 MANAGEMENT OF THE CRIB

Once a day when you visit the pond, take a

stick and stir up the compost in the crib.
This will help it decompose faster. Keep
adding material as it decomposes.

4.1.3 FEEDING

There are many feeds that are good for

feeding nilotica. In addition to the manure
which feeds the fish by growing their own
food in the pond, the farmer can make his
fish grow faster and increase production in
the pond by giving food directly to the fish.

4.1.3.1 KINDS OF FEED AND FEEDING RATES

Rice bran, wheat bran, or maize bran are all

good feeds for fingerling production.

Feeding rates: Bran should be given at a

daily rate of 0.25 kg (1 kimbo) for every 100
m2 of pond. This is enough to feed 20 males,
60 females, and their fingerlings.

Other feeds can be leaves (sikumuwiki),

cabbage, or other spoiled vegetables. These
are not nearly as good for the fish as rice or
maize bran, and should only be given in
addition to the bran.

If it is available, you should feed the fish

with spoiled omena, or dried shrimp from
the lake. This is the best food of all, but
should be mixed with rice or maize bran.
You don't need much, even 1 kg a week will
make a big difference in the way your fish
grow.

4.1.4 STIRRING THE POND BOTTOM

Raking or disturbing the bottom to stir up

the nutrients and manure over about ¼ of
the pond daily at 10:00 am will greatly
increase the survival rate of the fish in
fingerling ponds.

4.2 POND SIZE, DEPTH

Breeding ponds can be small. The minimum

size is about 80 m2, and the biggest that is
useful is about 250 m2. If they are smaller,
there is too much problems with predation,
the fish tend to stunt out, and the results are
not very good. With bigger ponds, they are
very hard to manage and net the fish with
only 2 or 3 people to help you.

T. nilotica spawns in water depth of 40 cm.

An ideal spawning pond has this depth over
most of the pond area.

4.3 STOCKING RATIO

Breeding fish should be stocked at a ratio of

3 females to 1 male, 4 fish per 5/m2. This
means that in a pond of 100 m2, there
should be 20 males and 60 females.

4.3.1 FISH SIZE

Fish for breeding should be about 75 to 100

grams when you stock them. They will grow
in the pond, and they will last at least 1 or 2
years when used for breeding.

5 MANAGEMENT LEVEL 1. USING ONLY 1

POND FOR FINGERLING PRODUCTION

There are two levels of management for

fingerling production. In this first method,
only one pond is used for fingerling
production.

Fish are stocked in one pond at the same

ratio as above. The fingerling producer will
seine out the fingerlings when there is a
client, and keeps the rest of the fingerlings
along with the brood fish in a pond.
5.1 ADVANTAGES

only one pond is necessary.

if you are only producing fish for your own

ponds and perhaps one or two other
farmers, this management will produce
enough for your needs.

5.2 DISADVANTAGES

the number of fingerlings produced over 1

year is not that much. If you are going to be
producing fingerlings for many farmers, you
need to follow the second management
method.

when fingerlings stay in the same pond

with the brooders, there are many things
that happen to lower production.
The small tilapia are cannibals and eat the
newly hatched fry.

Small fish eat much the same food in the

pond. If there are too many fingerling in the
pond, when the newly hatched fingerlings
start looking for food, there isn't enough for
all the fingerlings and the new ones die.

If there are a lot of fingerlings in the pond,

the adults won't breed as much as in a pond
with no fingerlings.

6 MANAGEMENT LEVEL 2. USING 2 OR MORE

PONDS FOR FINGERLING PRODUCTION

With this method, there are 2 or even 3

ponds used for fingerling production. There
is the breeding pond, and then one or more
“fingerling ponds”.

After stocking the breeding fish, the farmer

waits 6 weeks. The fingerlings are netted
out and the breeders returned to the pond.
The fingerlings are about the same size and
are all transferred into one of the fingerling
ponds. After 2 to 3 weeks, the breeding
ponds are seined again and the fingerlings
either added into the first fingerling pond
or into a second one. This process continues
for about 1 year; every 2 or 3 weeks, the
fingerlings are removed from the breeding
pond and placed in a separate fingerling
pond.

The fingerling production will start off

slowly, and then increase for about 3
months. After this, it starts to fall off.
Anywhere from 6 months to a year later, it is
necessary to drain the breeding pond
completely, check on the number of brood
stock left, and then restock and start again.

Fingerling ponds are fed and fertilized just

as the breeding pond.
6.1 ADVANTAGES

There is a much higher production of

fingerlings from the breeders.

When the farmer wishes to sell

fingerlings, he just has to net them from the
fingerling pond and supply them directly to
the client. There is no need for disturbing
the breeders.

When the farmer stocks the fingerling

pond, he can count them so he knows about
how many he has for sale.

Be careful with this. The number of small

fingerlings you put into a fingerling pond
will be less than what you finally sell. To be
safe, figure that only half will survive.

6.2 DISADVANTAGES
 The farmer needs several ponds to do this
successfully.

Even if there are no clients to buy the

fingerlings right away, the farmer has to
continue to net the ponds every 2 or 3
weeks to keep the breeding ponds fully
productive. This means that the fingerling
ponds become filled with lots of fingerlings
of different sizes.

Fish that have been in the fingerling

ponds for over 3 months should be removed
as they will have become stunted. Stunting
means that even at a small size, the females
are ready to breed.

Male fingerlings, no matter how old they

are, can still be grown into good sized fish. A
population of fingerlings that is 3 months
old in the fingerling pond should be sexed;
the males sold or reared, and the females
disposed of.
7 FISH HANDLING

The major problem with dealing with fish

fingerling production and sales is that there
is a lot of necessary handling of the fish.
There are a few facts about fish that the
farmer must keep in his head at all times. If
you forget the way fish live and stay healthy,
you will kill them. If you know what you are
doing, there is no problem with catching,
sorting, sexing, and transporting fish.

7.1 BASIC FISH PHYSIOLOGY

The following are the things that the farmer

has to keep in mind to successfully raise and
sell fingerlings.

7.1.1 OXYGEN

Fish need to breathe just like people. They

need oxygen, which is a major part of the air
that we breath. Instead of lungs, fish have
gills, but they do the same job.

For the fish to breathe, there must be a lot of

fresh air (and oxygen) stirred into the water.
It dissolves in water just like salt.

There are two ways that air (oxygen) gets

into the water. One is through green plants
and algae in the water. When the sun hits
the plants, they grow and produce oxygen
that is then available to the fish.

The second way that air gets into the water

is through stirring and contact with the air
that we breathe. By stirring, shaking, or
mixing the water, air gets dissolved in to it.

If there is no air in the water, then the fish

will suffocate, just as if you were to put your
head under the water.
When fish lack air, you will see them come
up to the surface of the pond or bucket and
gulp air down. If they can't do this, they will
die.

7.1.2 WASTE MATERIALS

As fish are breathing, they release CO2 and

ammonia through the gills. This can build
up in the water and kill the fish. Another
thing that is released by fish is their waste.
Some of this waste is a poison to the fish,
and if there is too much of it, it will kill
them.

In a fish pond, there is no problem because

there are bacteria and plants that use these
poisons as fertilizer, and they are taken out
of the water and don't harm the fish.

However, once the fish are taken out of the

pond and put into a container such as a
bucket, there is a much higher
concentration of waste materials and there
is a chance that this can poison the fish.

7.1.3 STRESS

When fish are frightened, there heart beats

faster, they breathe faster, and they run
around and use a lot of energy. This is called
stress. There is more CO2 and ammonia
released, and this makes the water go bad
quickly. The fish are also very weak and they
can die from being over tired.

7.1.4 TEMPERATURE

A fishes body takes on the same

temperature as the water around it. In hot
water, the fish is hotter, and his whole body
speeds up. As the water is cooler, the fish is
slower, and his heart rate is less.

There is more air (oxygen) in the water

when the water is cooler. There is less air as
the water warms up. Since the fish are more
active in warm water, and there is less air in
the water, warm water can be dangerous to
the fish.

Because the fish takes the same

temperature as the water, there can be a
problem if there is an abrupt change in
temperature, from hot to cold, or cold to hot.
Fish can die very quickly if you change the
temperature of the water too suddenly.

7.1.5 INJURIES

Fish have a complex skin. There is the skin it

self, covered with scales. These help protect
the fish from injury. On top of the scales is a
mucous membrane that help protects the
fish from disease. If this is disturbed, then
the fish is open to infection.

You can disturb this membrane by touching

the fish with dry hands. The mucous comes
off in your hands, and the fish is then in
danger of getting sick. Always use wet hands
and nets to touch the fish.

7.2 NEED FOR CLEAN ENVIRONMENT

The farmer always has to keep in mind the

environment where the fish are living. This
is the most important part of keeping fish
healthy particularly when you are handling
them.

7.2.1 CLEAN WATER

Use as clean water as possible. Muddy water

will kill the fish quickly. For buckets,
containers, and transport cans, get water
from the inlets or from another pond when
handling fish.

7.2.2 WATER MIXING AND CIRCULATION

When fish are in a confined place such as a
bucket or transport container, the most
important thing to keep in mind is the
mixing of water and air. The water and air
can be mixed by motion, the water splashing
around in the container as the vehicle or
bicycle moves. Don't worry about the fish
being moved around. They don't mind.

If the fish are in a bucket, you can mix the

water with your hand by splashing it
around. This will help keep the fish from
being stressed.

In a long transport of over 1 hour, it is

possible to change the water in a stream.

7.3 COUNTING

When counting fingerlings, keep your hands

wet. If you are counting a lot of fingerlings,
(over 400), it is better to use a tea strainer
or scoop net to estimate the number. This
method is much faster, it doesn't stress the
fish as much as counting 1 by 1, and is very
accurate. One can always give an extra scoop
to make up for any mistakes.

When you are going to transport fish for

sale, the fish should be counted in the
presence of the farmer at your farm as you
put them in the containers for transport.
Don't try to count the fish when you arrive
at the farmers pond for stocking. The fish
are very tired and stressed after their
transport, and you may kill them.

7.4 SEXING FINGERLINGS

If the farmer raises all male fish, they grow

much faster then if they are mixed with the
females. There is some demand for all male
fish, but the fingerling supplier must sell
these for more than mixed fingerlings
because of the wasted females.
7.4.1 SIZES

Tilapia fingerlings can be sexed if they are

about 20 g in size. Below this, it is very
difficult, and too many mistakes can be
made.

7.4.2 WHAT TO DO WITH FEMALES

One big mistake that fish farmers make is to

keep the female fingerlings and try to raise
them. The females only grow about ⅓ as fast
as the males, they will breed in the pond
and fill it with small fry. The same pond
where the females are kept could be used
for fry production or production of table
size fish. Don't try to sell female fingerlings
to other farmers. Since they won't grow fast,
the farmer will be discouraged, he will think
you cheated him (which you did).

It is a good idea to keep a few (5 or 10) of

the best looking, biggest and healthiest
females for replacing breeding stock. The
rest should be disposed of as soon as
possible.

Female fingerlings should be sold for

consumption, eaten by yourself, or dried,
pounded, and fed to the male fish or
breeding pond.

8 PENS AND CAGES

Another good way of handling fish in a pond

is through the use of pens or small cages.
The environment for the fish is good, there
is less stress, and the farmer has several
hours to work with the fish with out killing
them.

8.1 DESIGN AND PRINCIPLE

A cage or pen is a simple basket or

container made out of fish net. The idea
behind this is that the open mesh allows
clean water with oxygen to circulate among
the fish in the pen, so they are not stressed.

The fish themselves stir up the water in the

pen and mix this water with fresh water
from outside the pen.

8.2 PLACEMENT IN THE PONDS

Pens should be placed near the inlets of the

ponds to insure that clean water is
circulating through them.

If this isn't possible because of the distance,

etc. then the pen should be placed away
from the bank again to allow for the best
water circulation.

9 USING NETS TO CATCH FISH IN A POND

The only practical way to catch fingerlings

and fish from a pond is through the use of a
net. Nets are expensive, but if they are
properly cared for, they can last several
years.

9.1 GENERAL CARE OF FISH NETS

There are 3 things that will destroy fish

nets.

Sun light. If left for a long time in the sun,

the nets become very weak. If a net is left in
the sun for 10 days, it will loose about half
of it's strength and tear easily.

Wetness. If the nets are put away when

they are still wet, they will rot. If a wet net is
put away, with in 1 month it will be
completely ruined.

Rats/mice. Rats and mice are attracted to

fish nets by the smell of the fish. They can
chew holes in the net.
To keep nets properly, after each use, the
net should be washed in clean water so
there is no fish smell on them. The nets
should be dried in the shade, not in the sun.
When completely dry, the nets should be
hung up in a place where the rats and mice
will have a difficult time getting to them.

No matter what you do, your fish net will get

holes in it. These should be patched as soon
as you see them. There is nothing more
wasteful then pulling a torn net with holes
through a fish pond. You stress the fish, you
miss a lot of them, and you have to net the
pond many times instead of just a few times.

9.2 HOW TO CATCH FISH SAFELY IN A POND

Most fishing nets are used to kill fish, and

they are designed to do just that. For fish
farming, the opposite is true; the farmer
wants to keep his fish healthy, alive, and
with out any injury.
When handling broodfish and fingerlings
with a fish net, it is best to think of the net
as a large pen or cage. You pull the net
through the pond to concentrate the fish
into a smaller pen made out of the net.

After pulling the net through the pond, the

net should be held in a place where the
water is clean and there is good circulation.
The fish should have enough room to move
around so they are not suffering. A good
place is near the water inlet.

It is important to seine carefully. Stretch the

net down the middle of the pond and pull
the net from the middle of the pond to the
sides. Don't pull the fish out of the water
with the net. Keep the net in the water with
all the fingerlings, brood stock, tadpoles,
etc. so there is good water circulation.
Work quickly! Remove the brood stock and
return to the pond immediately. Lift out the
fingerlings with a small scoop net, estimate
their number, and transfer them
immediately in buckets to the fingerling
production pond or into the transport
container.

Seine the shallow end of the pond first, then

both sides working down toward the deep
end. Don't attempt to catch all the fish in the
pond at once - do it in small portions.

10 TRANSPORT

Transport of fingerlings is fairly easy if the

farmer keeps in mind the basic principals of
keeping fish alive and healthy.

10.1 CONTAINER DESIGN

Transport containers are designed to allow

as much contact with the water and air as
possible. They are strong enough to be
carried on a bicycle.

Metal containers will rust. Dry them

carefully.

10.2 IMPORTANCE OF CIRCULATION

For the fish to survive during transport, the

water must splash around in the container.
If the water isn't splashing enough with the
motion of transport, then the person
transporting the fish must splash the water
by hand.

10.3 IMPORTANCE OF TEMPERATURE

Cooler water is best. If it is very hot out, it

might be a good idea to wrap the container
in a wet sack to keep it cool. Keep the
container in the shade as much as possible.
You can transport more fish more safely if
the water is cool. If it is warm, put less fish
in the container.

10.4 TIME/DISTANCE LIMITS

Fish can safely be transported for about 1

hour in a container if the water is clean and
cool. On a bicycle, this means about 15 km.

11 STOCKING IN GROW OUT PONDS

When the fish arrive at the pond that is to be

stocked, the first thing to do is check the
temperature of the pond and the water in
the container. If they are about the same,
then pour the water and fish quickly from
the container into the fish pond.

If the water in the pond is much colder or

much warmer, take a small bucket and start
mixing water from the pond into the
container, pouring the water so there is a lot
of air mixed in with it. Do this for about 5 to
10 minutes, and then release the fish into
the pond.

In most cases, the temperature shock will

not be enough to kill the fish if they are
poured directly into the pond. You risk
killing the fish more by keeping them in the
transport container too long.

12 BUSINESS ASPECTS OF FRY SALES

Selling tilapia fingerlings to other farmers is

a good business and the fish farmer can
make good money doing this. Normal
business practices are the same.

Supply what the farmer wants. Give good

quality fingerlings, and your reputation as a
supplier will grow, and you will have more
business. Give poor quality fingerlings
(mostly females, stunted fish, wrong
species) and you will have no clients.
 Don't sell what you don't have. Before
taking any money, be sure you can deliver
what was paid for.

12.1 KEYS TO SUCCESS

The key to successful fry production is

enough feeding and manuring. Fish do not
enjoy weekends and holidays and should be
feed every day.

12.2 PROBLEMS

In the wild, there is a very heavy mortality

of small fish fingerlings. Nature takes care of
this by the fish producing large numbers of
small fish per adult.

At fish ponds, the biggest problem is birds.

One large bird can eat 50 fingerlings a day.
Don't just watch them, chase them off. They
can be caught by using fish hooks and a
small, live fingerling. Keep the grass around
the ponds slashed to help keep away snakes
and other predators.

12.3 RECORD KEEPING

All fish farmers should keep records on the

farming activity. This is particularly true if
you are producing and selling fingerlings.

12.3.1 WHY KEEP RECORDS?

The records will tell you how you have been

doing, if it is worth your time, and above all,
how to improve. Many farmers think that if
they keep records on the financial returns of
their farm, they will be somehow taxed or
made to pay.

This isn't true. With fish farming and

fingerling supply, if the farmer is successful
and can prove it by his records, there is a
good chance that he can be helped further.
This might mean bank loans, loans to
expand the business, help from the project
in improving production, referring new
clients to him, etc.

In the absence of good records, it is very

difficult for anyone to help.

12.3.2 WHAT RECORDS TO KEEP?

Keep records on the following:

pond stocking; dates, numbers.

pond feeding and fertilization; when did

you feed or fertilize, how much did you put
in, how much did it cost.

seining records: how many fingerlings

were taken out of a pond (breeding pond or
fingerling pond) and what day.
 sales: who got the fingerlings, how much
did he pay, what problems if any.

12.4 SALE PRICES

Once the ponds are constructed, producing

fingerlings is not very expensive. The only
recurring costs are feeding and perhaps
some labour to help in seining. The project
now sells fingerlings at the below prices:

mixed male and female tilapia fingerlings:

Ksh 1.00 / piece

all male fingerlings : Ksh 2.00 / piece

Transport charges using a vehicle are Ksh

1.00 / piece, but with this charge, we insure
that the fingerlings arrive safely or we
replace them for free.

We have no control or say over what the

private producer charges for his or her
fingerlings. Please note, however, if you
charge more than this, the farmer will most
likely come to project centres to get his fish
supplies. If you charge less, he will prefer to
come to you.
APPENDIX B: FISH TRANSPORTING CANS

NOTES:

Material Used: Galvanized Steel

Cost: Kshs. 700.00

Holding handles to fit four fingers

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