Production Strategies Characterizing Small- and Medium-scale Tilapia Farms

This report examines samples of farms from Honduras departments that have and do not have tilapia ponds as part of their farming systems. Data were obtained through personal interviews with 128 farmers, including 64 tilapia producers, in five departments: Olancho, Intibuca, El Paraíso, Francisco Morazán, and Santa Bárbara. To obtain information about farms without tilapia, farmers were selected at random from within the same community as the identified tilapia producers. Interviews were conducted in communities where the small-scale farmers with production of tilapia were located. The data are intended to constitute a representative sample of the population of the Honduran small-scale aquaculture farmers in these departments. The analysis presents basic comparisons of landholding, farm, and personal characteristics of tilapia producers with the mirror sample of the farmers without tilapia. The analysis profiles basic differences between the two categories of farms, the operators, and their households. Younger farmers were more likely to become involved with tilapia farming. Those farmers more dedicated to their work inside their farm from which they obtain all their income, and whose principal occupation is farming, were more inclined to adopt farming of tilapia. Farmers who use their land more intensively and who dedicate themselves more to the farming of basic grains were more likely to adopt the farming of tilapia. Since Honduran small-scale farmers tend to be a depressed segment economically, they tend to satisfy first their subsistence necessities by maximizing the use of their resources. The financing for both tilapia growers and nongrowers tends to be a limiting factor because more than 80% of the population work without financing, a clear barrier to farm investments. Tilapia growers participated more in development projects. NINETEENTH ANNUAL TECHNICAL REPORT 184 To illustrate the problems farmers face in rural Honduras, Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT) researchers’ account of Yoro, in Central Honduras, is helpful. The principal commercial distribution channel is the intermediary or coyote. Such persons generally do not live in the community but instead travel from San Pedro Sula, Morazán, El Progreso, El Negrito, Comayagua, Siguatepeque, or El Salvador. Sometimes the intermediary provides equipment services at high prices and finance at high interest rates. Although there are ponds and aquaculture activities in Yoro, this activity is not described in the CIAT account. The most important marketing problems facing rural producers center on price, followed by the availability of opportunities to sell their product on a regular basis (Abbot, 1993; Molnar et al., 1996). Rural producers in Honduras face particular difficulties due to setbacks from periodic hurricanes (UNDP, 1999), difficult terrain, poor road systems, and fragmentation in the rural sector (Arriaga, 1986; Engle, 1997). Although tilapia can be a source of steady income, the enterprise is not likely to generate rapid or large profits. Producers holding exaggerated expectations tend to define normal results as disappointment or failure. Thus, some of the negative sentiment about tilapia in Honduras stems from unrealistic views of the rate of adoption and impacts of tilapia production (Molnar and Lovshin, 1995). Smalland medium-scale farmers may more profitably rely on strategies such as pond bank sales, partial harvesting for local delivery to restaurants or markets, or other niche arrangements that reflect situational opportunities. At present there are in existence organizations and institutions that are working to support the development of the production of tilapia on a small scale in different zones of the country. The support is financed by international agencies and is oriented towards small-scale farmers. The support for medium-scale farmers also exists. These organizations have tried to improve the livelihoods of small-scale farmers by implementing and promoting tilapia enterprises in their farm systems, as well as providing a means to improve the diet of their family members. In Honduras, many efforts to promote the farming of tilapia have been developed by various development agencies. In addition to the PD/A CRSP, the Christian Commission for Development, the Program of Rural Reconstruction, Proyecto Guayape, and El Instituto Nacional de Información Profesional are prompting the small-scale production of tilapia as an alternative system of production to improve the diet in the families of small-scale farmers. However, up to now there has been no detailed characterization of those small-scale farmers willing to adopt the farming of tilapia inside their production systems. In this sense, the efforts of promotion may have been less effective by not having good information about the target category of producers. The present work focuses on the investigation of socioeconomic conditions of small-scale farmers in Honduras as its initial step in the development of a more effective program of extension and production. The objective of this study is to compare socioeconomic characteristics of small-scale farmers, with and without a tilapia production system, as one means for understanding the adoption of tilapia farming. The purpose of the research is to identify the social and economic conditions that distinguish small-scale farmers who have incorporated the production of tilapia inside their system of production from those who have not. METHODS AND MATERIALS Given the lack of a national census of the producers of tilapia in Honduras, a partial census managed by specific developmental programs was used as a sampling frame for this study. The frame is incomplete and biased toward households and communities participating in NGO projects but is nonetheless representative of the total population. The projects that were considered were the following: Program of Rural Reconstruction, National Institute of Professional Development, Christian Commission for Development, Watershed Management Unit of the El Cajon Dam, and the Experimental Station of El Carao at Comayagua. Through these developmental agencies a list of tilapia producers was obtained. No other current list of producers, tilapia or otherwise, is available. Data were obtained through personal interviews with 128 farmers, including 64 tilapia producers, in five departments: Olancho (Sta. María del Real and Juticalpa), Intibuca (Yamaranquila), El Paraíso (Danlí and El Paraíso), Francisco Morazán (Lizapa and Galeras), and Santa Bárbara (Las Vegas). To obtain information about farms without tilapia, farmers were selected at random from within the same community as the identified tilapia producers. Interviews were conducted in communities where the small-scale farmers with production of tilapia were located (Casley and Kumar, 1988). The data are intended to constitute a representative sample of the population of the Honduran small-scale aquaculture farmers in these departments. The analysis presents basic comparisons of landholding, farm, and personal characteristics of tilapia producers with the mirror sample of the farmers without tilapia.