Potential Merit of Aquaculture in Rural Poverty Alleviation in Tanzania

Abstract

Review of prices for economically important farm crops was conducted. Literature review was done for mean yields per hectare of such crops under optimum crop management practices. Mean yield of beef per hectare was also reviewed under tropical beef management system. Comparable economic returns were then computed for these farm crops and beef in contrast to aquaculture products, especially tilapia fish. Mean yields/ha/yr were 7 tonnes, 7.5 tonnes, l.5 tonnes, 0.83 tonnes, 2 tonnes, 1.2 tonnes, 0.16 t onnes and 9.6 tonnes for maize, rice, beans, cashew-nuts, cotton, coffee, beef and fish respectively. Comparable monetary returns /ha/yr. were 0.5-0.7, 1.9-2.2, 0.4-0.7, 0.2-0.4, 0.4-1.0, 0.08-0.9 and 4.8-9.6 million respectively for maize, rice, beans, cashew­ nuts, cotton, coffee, beef and fish. It was concluded that, wherever environmental factors favours the aquaculture production, mean yields and hence returns per unit area from fish farming by far exceeded that of conventional farm crops and beef production. This implied that pisciculture had enormous potential merit in poverty alleviation in Tanzania.