Decision Support for Policy Development: Planning Conferences for Collaborating Researchers,public Agencies, and Nongovernmental Organizations Working in Aquaculture

The project focused on identifying and developing methods to create an enabling environment for sustainable development of aquaculture in Honduras. Honduras has a large network of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) operating at the village level, an exceptional educational institution in Zamorano with commitment to extend training and knowledge in aquaculture, and an established in-country sustainable-development electronic network operated by Red de Desarrollo Sostenible– Honduras (RDS-HN). We developed the concept of training the trainers (NGOs working with farmers at the village level) by bringing together Zamorano and RDS-HN and developing a Web-based Information Delivery System for Tilapia (WIDeST). In this approach WIDeST captures the already-developed electronic information technology network and capacity of RDS-HN while providing easy-to-use information developed by Zamorano. Furthermore, it provides a way to connect local NGOs, farmers, and decision-makers so they can exchange information and make informed decisions. The WIDeST provides information on tilapia production and related topics, natural resources of Honduras, contact information for NGOs, and chatroom facilities for conducting virtual forums and discussions. The email facility enables the user to ask questions and get answers from an expert. Since its inauguration session in March 2001, the website has had more than 6,800 hits, and more than 300 individuals have formally registered to receive information. The participants at training and workshop sessions have found this to be an easy and useful approach, and they have provided strong encouragement for adding new information. The number of individuals already reached, as evidenced from the numbers of visits to the website, strongly indicates that this may be a way to build the capacity of local institutions to develop an environment that enables farmers to adopt aquaculture as an alternative on their farms. NINETEENTH ANNUAL TECHNICAL REPORT 180 The “Red Nacional de Acuicultura” (National Aquaculture Network) created by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in 1992 was an effort to integrate international institutions and the private and public sectors of Honduras. Among the participants were Dirección General de Pesca y Acuicultura (DIGEPESCA), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras (UNAH), Escuela Agrícola Panamericana El Zamorano, Escuela Nacional de Agricultura (ENA), Agricultural School John F. Kennedy, Peace Corp Honduras, Federación de Productores y Exportadores (FPX), Asociación de Acuicultores de Honduras (ANDAH), and Instituto Nacional de Agricultura (INA). In place for about a year, FAO organized the network with the intention of eventually withdrawing in favor of Honduran management. Unfortunately, leadership problems caused most organizations to suspend participation, and FAO moved on. We realized the need for a systematic method for enabling communication to reawaken the dialogue. In this context the University of Georgia and its collaborators from Zamorano and Auburn University identified that a successful approach for developing is one in which the following three already existing elements in Honduras are brought together for effective communication and organized decision-making. 1) Host Country Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs). Currently numerous NGOs in Honduras are extending advice to smalland medium-scale farmers and are keenly interested in providing information on aquaculture systems. However, they need information and educational materials. 2) Escuela Agrícola Panamericana El Zamorano is a wellestablished academic institution with outstanding programs in agricultural sciences. In addition to educating students, Zamorano has active programs for and a commitment to extending knowledge to local farmers. 3) The Red de Desarrollo Sostenible–Honduras (RDS-HN). RDS-HN was created with an initial grant from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in response to the 1992 Earth Summit, which mandated assistance to “developing” countries for establishing incountry Sustainable Development Networks (SDNs). These networks were envisioned to provide infrastructural support for rapid communication through electronic information technology. The RDS-HN was among the first to establish a network and now provides Internet services to over 700 customers and hosts numerous websites in such areas as forest and natural resource systems. Similar SDNs have been created in other Latin American countries, e.g., Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Panamá, Guatemala, Haiti, México, Guyana, Bolivia, and Colombia. Together these SDNs can constitute a formidable information network to facilitate contact and exchange among farmers, government organizations, NGOs, and private entrepreneurs. Thus, we believe there is a unique opportunity for capacity building and institutional strengthening for aquaculture in Central and South America by providing an enduring method that integrates NGOs, Zamorano, and RDS-HN into a team. In this team Zamorano leads in providing current knowledge on aquacultural systems; RDS-HN leads in making the knowledge accessible to the users via electronic information technology; and the NGOs use the knowledge to educate and advise smalland medium-scale farmers on aquacultural systems. In other words, the task in this project was to identify and implement those methods that will provide information to smalland medium-scale fish farms to ensure that they can be sustained as productive enterprises in Honduras. The objective of this project was to create an enabling environment for developing linkages among organizations and to build institutional capacity for providing information expeditiously to smalland medium-scale farmers for sustainable development of aquaculture. This report presents a new approach with the use of electronic information technology for developing a Web-based Information Delivery System for Tilapia (WIDeST). The complementary training sessions provided information to NGOs and farmers about aquacultural systems and introduced them to the use of WIDeST. This approach diminishes the dependence of smalland mediumscale farmers on technical assistance from outside sources. It will enable host country NGOs and private firms to provide services, and it will enable Zamorano to provide technical assistance locally. This approach could fortify the partnerships between Zamorano, RDS-HN, and host country NGOs and their ability to sustain aquaculture development in Honduras. METHODS AND MATERIALS Sample and Data Collection The first meeting of the collaborative investigators took place in Honduras at the inception of the project to discuss the objectives and timetable of activities. The meeting was devoted to our understanding of local capacity and familiarizing ourselves with the host country activities. In Zamorano we toured facilities, met key faculty and administrators, and assessed outreach capacity of the institution. We visited 12 national and international NGOs, extension agents, governmental officials, and policy-makers to evaluate their interest and capacity in aquaculture. We visited Comayagua research station in El Carao, a site of earlier work supported by the PD/A CRSP, to evaluate the possibility of utilizing these facilities for training. And we visited small, medium, and large farms to understand their farming decisions and their perceived limitations for adopting aquaculture. Based on the observations of the first meeting, a working session was set up with RDS-HN to discuss in detail the capacity of electronic information technology in Honduras and the role it could play to meet the project objectives. As a result of these discussions it was concluded that a method should be developed to make information available to local NGOs and extension agents and that they in turn train smalland medium-scale farmers in aquacultural systems. It was also concluded that the method should have features to receive questions and comments from farmers, NGOs, and others to identify stakeholder needs and provide timely responses. Developing Web-based System The method selected was to develop a WIDeST. The WIDeST entailed developing a partnership between RDS-HN and Zamorano for reaching out to NGOs, extension agents, and farmers via the website, focus groups, training meetings, and printed documents to increase awareness of the website as a source of information. Additional features to be included were capacity to conduct electronic meetings through a chat facility, a whiteboard for posting questions and observations for public ADOPTION/DIFFUSION RESEARCH 181 viewing, and links to other significant websites with pertinent information on aquaculture as well as on resources in Honduras. To receive input from stakeholders, a workshop was arranged in Zamorano with 87 participants who were directors and coordinators of NGOs, farmers, educators, representatives of government agencies, and decision-makers with interest in tilapia. An overview of the concept of WIDeST was presented, and the participants provided inputs identifying the content and needs for making this method successful. Also, a questionnaire assessed the interest and judgment of stakeholders on the web-based approach in general and WIDeST in particular. The response was highly supportive. RDS-HN, in collaboration with Zamorano and project investigators, was engaged in developing the WIDeST. A formal announcement of the website and exposure to the decisionmakers was also planned. The target time was set for the first quarter of the 2001, followed by a formal training session on the use of the WIDeST towards the end of the project in July 2001. It was anticipated that during this project, the website will become useful but much improvement will be needed in having more complete information about tilapia, pond design, methods of assessing availability of water and other resources, and ease of use. Also, a lack of time and resources may hamper our ability to make available in Spanish some critical materials currently available only in English. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The beginning project meeting with all co–principal investigators in Honduras led to the following observations: • There is a large network of NGOs in Honduras operating at the village level. • These NGOs do not have good communication among themselves and linking them could increase the effectiveness of their work. • Many NGOs are interested in adding technical assistance capabilities in tilapia culture. • NGOs and governmental policy-makers are interested in water, water harvesting, and hillside stabilization, which directly impact aquaculture development. • The Comayagua research station in El Carao can be an appropriate site for training NGOs technicians and extension personnel. • The current limited capacity of fingerling production is an impediment to aquaculture development. • Women and children play key roles in farm families and are key to aquaculture development. • Home consumption and local markets are primary outlets for small-scale aquaculture. • There is a need for a manual with simple instructions for pond siting, design, and construction for local use. • RDS-HN, with its electronic information technology network, can be an important NGO in developing communication among various extension agents and decision-makers. • Innovative methods for delivering information are needed that are developed through significant input from the stakeholders and that permit informed decision-making at the local level. These observations and the follow-up discussions with RDSHN helped us reach the conclusion that using the electronic information technology capacity of RDS-HN and the excellent educational capacity of Zamorano in partnership can be an effective way to develop aquaculture in Honduras. This approach will also enable local NGOs to develop aquaculture and institutional capacity of the host country. A website has been developed and is hosted by RDS-HN. It can be accessed at . The following welcome statement conveys the overall purpose of the website, the collaborators, and the source of support. Acuacultura CA is the result of an important collaboration among several universities and the Sustainable Development Network Honduras. Our purpose in establishing this interactive website was to provide a versatile linkage point to assist NGOs and individuals to attain success in small-scale fish culture projects utilizing low-cost inputs. The materials presented in the website are from diverse sources. They have been selected with the objective of providing information comprehensible to persons with some training in the agricultural and natural sciences, possibly beginning fish culturists. In addition, the website offers the possibility to establish a fluid communication between persons with an interest in learning about fish culture and experts in the different fields of aquaculture. The universities collaborating on this work are: the University of Georgia and Auburn University, both of the USA, and Zamorano in Honduras. The principal source of financing for this website comes from the Pond Dynamics/Aquaculture Collaborative Research Support