This Agrodok describes how you can integrate fish culture with crop and animal production on a farm. This book follows on from Agrodok No.15 'Small-scale freshwater fish farming', which describes in detail the basic principles of raising fish and building a fish pond.
Once agricultural activities on a farm have been diversified integration can be the next step. A farmer can diversify by raising different kinds of crops or animals. The different activities become integrated when the waste products from one activity are used for the production of another crop or animal. For example, animal dung can be used to improve the fertility of the soil, which will increase plant growth. Animal dung can also be used as a fertilizer in a fish pond to increase fish production. By using these methods production on an integrated farm will be higher than on a farm where activities are carried out separately. Production costs can be kept low by using the by- products (e.g. stalks and leaves) from the different activities on the farm for fish culture. These by-products form an inexpensive way of making fish feed, which is cheaper than having to buy feed.
Version 2, 2004