Action Memorandum for the Assistant Administrator, Africa Bureau [: Fish Culture Extension Project in the Central African Republic]
Project to expand fingerling production among rural farmers in the Central African Republic by reestablishing four abandoned Ministry of Water and Forestry (MWF) fish stations and by developing within the MWF a fish station management and extension capacity. The stations will provide fingerlings to local farmers who will then raise them in their private ponds, mainly for home consumption. Peace Corps volunteers will train farmers and MWF personnel in fish pond management. A.I.D. funds will be used for physical renovation of the stations as well as to provide vehicles for transporting fingerlings (2-3 inch tilapia) from the stations to farmers living up to 200 KM away in areas where the lack of dietary protein is most acute. Overall, the project will aim to increase fingerling production from 2,000 to 10,000 per month, the number of stations from five to nine, and the number of recipient farmers from 400 to 2,800.