Diversifying Farming through An Integrated Agriculture-Aquaculture System
DIVERSIFYING FARMING THROUGH AN INTEGRATED AGRICULTURE-AQUACULTURE SYSTEM
Integrating fish into rice farming is a diversification strategy that can lead to maximized productivity, increased incomes and improvements in food security and nutrition for rice growing communities. This practice of combining aquaculture and agriculture is widespread in parts of Asia; however, in other areas of the world, farmers lack the technical skills and inputs to implement it.
This project concentrated its efforts in Nigeria, which could benefit significantly from farm diversification to combat its high prevalence of undernutrition and undernourishment. The project design included elements to address the issues inhibiting the integration of aquaculture and agriculture in the country, and to develop templates, technological packages and adaptation and mitigation measures for potential challenges to the establishment of the system.
At its core, the project sought to refine the aquaculture-agriculture farm diversification methodology to suit agroecosystems and socioeconomic conditions in sub-Saharan Africa, and possibly other regions beyond Asia, with the ultimate aim of scaling up the benefits of this practice globally.
