Client Profile:
The business is a Fish Farm growing local types of fish with ready market acceptance in Nepal. The client is a co-operative with over hundred members. Membership participation is proportional according to the financial and in-kind contributions of individual members, and it operates other businesses besides this particular one. From the farm itself, besides the main business of fish production, bananas, poultry and goats are also produced.
Tasks:
On the first visit the main objective was to move the client up to a new level of efficiency with the overall management of the enterprise, and the best indicator of that would be an increase in revenue. A recommendation that would have saved much labour and time was the purchase of a submersible pump. Showing how the elimination of wild fish into the fish ponds can be achieved, as these are the equivalent of weeds in a crop, was one major change. Other options such as the use of different species of high-value fish were also investigated and where feasible, recommended.
Results:
One of the most important goals has been to source good reliable information that can be referred to in the future without the need for outside assistance. On the last visit an excellent handbook produced specifically for that area, and that type of fish farming, by the UN FAO was left with the staff. Several of the best practices outlined in the manual had been implemented. If used well it will make all the difference to the economic profitability and productivity of the business as it comprehensively covers every technique and procedure used in Northern India/Nepal for fish farming.
