Technology Development and its Dissemination in Aquaculture Sector

 

World aquaculture production continues to grow, albeit at a slowing rate. According to the latest available statistics collected globally by FAO, world aquaculture production attained another all-time high of 90.4 million tonnes (live weight equivalent) in 2012 (US$144.4 billion), including 66.6 million tonnes of food fish (US$137.7 billion) and 23.8 million tonnes of aquatic algae (mostly seaweeds, US$6.4 billion). In this context, India is the second largest producer of fish and the second largest producer of fresh water fish in the world. Fishery plays an important role in the contribution to the rural economy and nutritional security. It has the highest contribution in agricultural GDP among all the allied fields of agriculture. But there is a severe concern gets highlighted when the per-capita fish availability is compared with its recommended level and production level is compared with the demand. A sharp gap can be identified, especially in the case of aquaculture production which demands technological interventions to meet up this gap. The latest technological developments in fisheries sector offer better prospects for all sections of rural people particularly for those who have poor land base and abundant labor force. In spite of significant advancement of fisheries sector, there is still moderate to low adoption of modern fisheries production technologies.  There is considerable evidence which suggests that non-adoption of recommended technologies is often related to non-technological factors, such as social, psychological, cultural and economic factors. These barriers can only be solved by the successful implementation of different fisheries development programs. Several studies indicated that lack of adequate planning and continual evaluation is a major reason for the failure of the development of projects and extension activities (FAO,1996).Therefore, development of sustainable technologies for Aquaculture practices and effective extension communication strategies are needed.

 

A technology is a design for instrumental action that reduces the uncertainty in the cause–effect relationships, involved in achieving a desired outcome. A technology usually has two components (1) a hardware aspect, consisting of the tool that embodies the technology as material or physical objects, and (2) a software aspect, consisting of the information base for the tool. For example, we often speak of (1) “ computer hardware” consisting  of semiconductor, transistors, electrical connections, and the metal frame to  protect these electronic components and (2) “ computer software,’ consisting of the coded commands, instructions, and other information aspects of this tool that allow us to use it to extend human capabilities in solving certain problems.

 

- Technology Assessment & Demonstration

Begin spreading awareness of the new technology by including select “early adopters” in validation and inter-calibration exercises.

- Market Assessment & Demonstration

Make arrangements with farmers/producers and begin promoting the technology to a wider audience.

- Adoption Strategy Development

Determine how to best integrate the new technology into existing practices.

- Transfer & Adoption

Proactively work to transmit knowledge and capabilities to end users.

- On-going Evaluation & Refinement

Maintain and update the technology to correct deficiencies, retain relevance, and meet new needs.

 

PTD is an approach to learning and innovation that is used in international development as part of projects and programs relating to sustainable farming practices like different aquaculture practices. The approach involves collaboration between researchers and farmers in the analysis of farming problems and testing of alternative farming practices.

In recent years, there has been growing dissatisfaction with the poor rates of adoption of aquaculture technologies in resource-poor farming systems.  This poor adoption has resulted partly because when aquaculture technologies are developed, there is little input from farmers.  Participatory Technology Development (PTD) offers a way forward, through active, decision-making involvement of farmers in every stage of technology development. When new technology is being developed, researchers usually control all steps of the process. The Participatory Technology Development (PTD) approach involves farmer’s right from the beginning when they are asked to identify their problems.