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119. Today, many farmers have learned that they can manage their fish- ponds together with their farm animals, gardens and fields so that they will all grow better and produce more.
120. Fish, animals and plants live and grow in different ways and produce different things that can help all of them to live and grow better.
121. You have already learned how to put animal manure into your ponds so that the water will be rich in the natural foods that your fish need to eat. In this way, the animals help the fish to live and grow better.
122. Here are some other ways to manage your farm animals, gardens and fields so that they will help each other to grow better and produce more.
123. You can raise ducks in your fish- ponds so that much of their manure will go into the water. This will help your fish to grow. At the same time, the ducks will feed on the plants that grow in your ponds and help to keep your ponds free of plants, weeds and snails.
Keep the ponds free of plants,
weeds and snails
124. You can raise chickens or pigs near your ponds. If you build chicken coops or pig pens on the banks or over the ponds, you can sweep the manure into the ponds. Your ponds will supply water for the animals and the animals will supply fertilizer to help keep the water in your ponds rich.
A chicken coop
Note
If you have built your ponds side by side, you can build
a chicken coop or a pig pen on top of the bank between two ponds and sweep the
manure into both ponds.
A chicken coop between two ponds
125. Begin with either four to five ducks, five to eight chickens or one to two pigs for each 100 square metres of pond. Later you may be able to keep even more.
Keep ducks, chickens or pigs
126. You can plant vegetables on the banks of your ponds. You can plant such things as tomatoes, beans, soybeans, groundnuts or maize.
127. You can also have a garden nearby. This way, you can use the water from your ponds to water your vegetables.
128. When you drain the water from your ponds to harvest the fish, you will find a layer of soft mud on the bottom. This soft mud is a very good fertilizer to put on your garden or fields, or on your pond banks if you are growing vegetables there.
1 fish for your family; 2
vegetables for your family; 3 meat for your family; 4 waste food for your
animals; 6 animal manure for your ponds; 7 water for your garden; 8 fertilizer
for your garden; 9 water for your animals
129. Spoiled vegetables or vegetable wastes such as plant leaves and stalks can be fed to your chickens, ducks or pigs, or they can be put into your ponds for your fish to eat or to help keep the water green and rich.
130. So, you can see that with very little extra work you can manage your fish, ducks, chickens, pigs, farm fields and garden in such a way that they will help each other to produce more.
131. If you want to know more about how to manage your farm and your fish- ponds together, your extension agent or fishery officer will be able to give you good advice.
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