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02 Feb 2009 1Economist, Project Manager, Fisheries and fish farming projects, Agence française de développement, Paris, France 2Economist, Agence française de développement, Paris, France The project gave precedence to the concept of actor autonomy for the development of lowlands and ponds. Investments were financed and implemented by the producers themselves depending on their available resources in funds and labour. Animal husbandry methods, based on extensive mixed cropping, used no other inputs than those available on the farm itself. The fish farmers themselves supplied alevins. To ensure the sustainability of rice-fish farming activities after the project ended, special emphasis was given to providing a structure for the profession in the future by encouraging the members of the groups to sponsor and train new candidates. Although results exceeded the initial targets since, by the end of the project, 350 farmers and 500 ponds were active, lowland rice and fish production is still limited. It does provide, however, regular supplies of fish to approximately 6000 people, calculated according to the low level of local consumption (10 kg/per year/per person). The impact of the project is considerable. In economic terms, lowland development is an excellent profit opportunity since it multiplies farmers' incomes by six, two thirds of which are from fish farming and the remaining third by rice. The lowland development technique reduces the time required to cultivate rice by 30%. As a result, these benefits are attracting a large number of new potential entrants. The impact on the environment is also positive, in particular due to the improvement of soil fertility and the beneficial effects of ponds on the natural environment. Finally, these good results have led to plans for new projects to prolong and consolidate existing benefits and to repeat the system in other countries. Citation: Simon, D. and Benhamou, J. F.: Rice-fish farming in Guinée Forestière – outcome of a rural development project, Field. Actions Sci. Rep., 2, 49-56, doi:10.5194/facts-2-49-2009, 2009.
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