Integrated aquaculture as a means to sustainable rural development in Cambodia: a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University

Cambodia has traditionally had one of the highest consumption rates of fish in the world. Next to rice, freshwater fish is the major component of the Cambodian diet. However, as a consequence of environmental degradation promoted in particular by two and half decades of war and civil unrest, Cambodia's fisheries' catch has plummeted. Further, the national population has doubled over this period and continues to grow at almost three percent per annum. This has caused a substantial deterioration in the nutritional and health status of the rural population which comprises approximately 90 percent of the total population. As Cambodia's inland waters no longer provide the abundance of fish that they once did, the following research ascertains the potential for small-scale integrated aquaculture. This research is facilitated by an existing in situ project (SCALE) which is researching and developing appropriate methods of integrating small-scale aquaculture with the traditional farming systems predominant in the Kandal province of Cambodia. A case study of this project is provided in Chapter four. Much of the research involved in the design and implementation of the project was led by the author and is included in this study. While the literature shows previous research to have advanced the potential for small-scale integrated aquaculture in Southeast Asia, this potential is considered in the light of the research conducted by the SCALE project. The environmental and socioeconomic situation of rural Cambodia and its impact on the development of subsistence farming systems through the use of small-scale integrated aquaculture is the primary focus of this research. The viability of small-scale integrated aquaculture for improving the availability of fish to the rural poor, and as such, for contributing to the improvement of the rural population's nutritional status is found to be good. Further, the integration methodologies considered show that small-scale aquaculture can fulfill an integral role in contributing to the sustainable development of Cambodia's traditional farming systems. Although many of the environmental conditions reflect those found in other countries of the region, there was found to be an extreme variability in the availability of water and land in many instances. Water was either scarce or in abundance, and the ability to manage its availability poor. While few rural people were landless, land holdings were found to be fragmented and often distant from the farm house, thus posing problems of security. Socioeconomic factors are of major importance and must be accounted for if the potential of small-scale integrated aquaculture is to be realised. This will require the implementation of a development practice which relies heavily on farmer participation in the refinement of appropriate integrated aquaculture methodologies, followed by the utilisation of a farmer­ based extension methodology. In summary the research shows that methods of small-scale integrated aquaculture are available which have the capacity to accommodate the environmental and socioeconommic conditions unique to the area. In particular, systems involving the integration of fish with either rice, cattle and/or vegetables will be the most appropriate due to their ability to complement the existing farming systems in use in the project area. This is endorsed by two examples of financial analyses conducted on two of the project's farm-based trials. They show these systems to be simple and low-cost with considerable potential for facilitating the improvement of farm productivity. At the project level the cost-benefit analysis of the SCALE project shows that the wider development of small-scale integrated aquaculture can be economically justified and is an efficient use of resources in the implementation of sustainable rural development appropriate to the area