Cambodian fish farmers, government officials and university staff are all gaining new insights into soy-based feeds and more at WISHH’s field day paired with expert technical assistance at Cambodia’s first in-pond aquaculture raceway. More than 100 key Cambodian aquaculture leaders, ranging from hatchery owners to top officials in the Royal Government of Cambodia’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, have learned about the raceway technology at the same time they witnessed healthy fish growing at impressive rates of gain with U.S. soy.
While following social distancing guidelines, WISHH convened a recent field day that covered topics, such as feeding demonstration protocols, cost analysis, and fish growth rates. Missouri farmers’ soybean checkoff funds supported the field day as well as WISHH technical assistance in the planning and construction of the raceway aquaculture system at the Rathada Farms Hatchery.
In addition to the farmer field day attendees, approximately 100 aquaculture farmers and distributors have visited Rathada Farms to purchase fingerlings, creating an opportunity for them to view the raceway and feeding demonstration. These visitors received a WISHH fact sheet on how the raceway works and the many benefits of using this technology. The feeding demonstration proved that a raceway system can be profitable for aquaculture farmers. WISHH consultant, Leonard Rodgers, Ph.D., supervised construction and designed the feeding protocols of the small, portable floating raceway that offers flexibility as well as an economical option for Cambodian farmer use. The raceway allows Cambodian producers to utilize smaller ponds, seasonal water supplies, and addresses the common challenge of limited capital.
WISHH leveraged the Missouri soybean checkoff investment by integrating Rathada’s strengthened fish-production capacity into WISHH’s USDA-funded Commercialization of Aquaculture for Sustainable Trade (CAST) – Cambodia project.
Photo caption: WISHH technical consultant, Leonard Rodgers, Ph.D., feeds a U.S. soy-based feed to fish inside Cambodia’s first aquaculture raceway that WISHH is using to introduce the raceway technology to Cambodia where it can help grow their aquaculture capacity.