This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.
Aquaculture is the production of food through the controlledgrowth and harvesting of plants and animals that live in water.Using low-cost equipment and simple methods, aquaculture can supplymore protein-rich foods than traditional agriculture like farming.
One popular environment foraquaculture is small lakes or ponds surrounded by land, away fromthe ocean. Fish such as carp and tilapia are produced in this way.
In most areas of the world, twenty-five percent of the fish pondmust be at least three meters deep. You can plant grass on thebottom of the pond. But you should remove all trees from the bottomand sides of the pond in order to keep the level of oxygen highenough for the fish. You should also remove all bushes and rocks.And you should remove all trees within nine meters of the edge ofthe pond. This is so that leaves will not fall into the pond. Leavescan use up a lot of oxygen that fish need. You should place a pipeat the bottom of the pond big enough for all the water to escape inabout five days.
You can feed the fish many kinds of foods. These include cassava,sweet potatoes, banana and maize. Other foods include coffee andwastes from fruit-processing factories. Feed the fish only as muchas they can eat in one day.
You harvest the fish by opening the pipe and permitting some ofthe water to escape. Then the larger fish can be caught by hand orwith nets made from rope. There should be enough water left so thatthe smaller fish continue to live in the pond.
You can harvest the fish at any time, but it is best done in coolweather. The pond can also be dried at this time if necessary to fixany problems. Then the pond can be filled with water again and manynew small fish can be added.
Aquaculture is popular around the world because there is usuallyno need for costly equipment. Also, you can know ahead of time howmany fish will be harvested. Bad weather does not usually affect theharvest. However, good quality water is necessary and you must knowhow much of it is available at all times.
You can get more information about aquaculture from the groupVolunteers in Technical Assistance. You can contact VITA through theInternet at its world wide web address w-w-w dot v-i-t-a dot o-r-g.
This VOA Special English Agriculture Report was written by GaryGarriott.