The FishEDU Demonstration Fish Farm at the Kyrgyz National Agrarian University (KNAU) was launched today. The demonstration fish farm consists of a rainbow trout unit and a carp unit for ongrowing of fish, with a production capacity of 1 tonne per year.
The FishEDU Demonstration Fish Farm at the Kyrgyz National Agrarian University (KNAU) was launched today. The demonstration fish farm consists of a rainbow trout unit and a carp unit for ongrowing of fish, with a production capacity of 1 tonne per year. Fish farming has also been integrated with vegetable farming, with outgoing water used to water vegetables planted along the dykes of the carp pond and in the near vicinity. In addition, outgoing water from the fish farm is used to irrigate agricultural fields of KNAU. The demonstration fish farm will serve teaching, learning and research at the Kyrgyz National Agrarian University, and is the first of its kind, not only in Kyrgyzstan but in Central Asia.
"Thanks to the FishEDU project we can now better train specialists for the sector and through cooperation with private sector improve employability. In the future it is also important to promote research cooperation, as well as commercialisation to sustain the activities," said Rector Rysbek Nurgaziev.
The FishEDU Demonstration Fish Farm grew out of the collaboration between the Kyrgyz National Agrarian University and the University of Eastern Finland (UEF), in a project that was initiated in 2017, “FishEDU: Capacity building for fisheries and aquaculture in Kyrgyzstan project” funded by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland through the Higher Education Institutes Institutional Cooperation Instrument (HEI ICI) administered by the Finnish National Agency of Education.
During the project, the KNAU teachers completed a pedagogical training module of 15 ECTS delivered by the School of Applied Education Science and Teacher Education at UEF. Teachers from KNAU also received training on fisheries and aquaculture subjects, including fish farming, fish anatomy, fish physiology, fish feeding and nutrition, fish diseases, carp breeding, hydrobiology, limnology, fish product development, among others. The subject-specific training was delivered by the Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences at UEF and partner organisations including the Natural Resources Institute Finland (LUKE), the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE), RaisioAqua Ltd and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
“These partnerships are very important for our universities and we express our gratitude to all those that have enabled our work with KNAU," said Rector Jukka Mönkkönen.
Through the project, 27 course plans and 3 short courses on fisheries and aquaculture subjects, taught at bachelor level at KNAU and on vocational level at its Agrotechnical College, were designed. Course material for teaching and learning was also highly lacking in Kyrgyzstan at initiation of the project. The FishEDU Aquacentre was set up to serve as a resource centre for fisheries and aquaculture and is now equipped with a library and an electronic library, together holding over 200 resources on fisheries and aquaculture, in Russian and English. Other learning environments were also set up during the project, the FishEDU Water Laboratory and the FishEDU Kitchen which support the teaching and learning on fisheries and aquaculture at KNAU and its Agrotechnical College.
Five handbooks for practical training and laboratory work were also published and launched: Anatomy of Bony Fishes, Blood Sampling of Fish, Fish Parasites, Fish Respiration and Gaseous Exchange, Practicals in Hydrobiology and Limnology. The project also produced a publication, “FishEDU: Capacity building in fisheries and aquaculture, Lessons learnt from the collaboration between the Kyrgyz National Agrarian University and the University of Eastern Finland. The publication collates the experiences and lessons learnt and is available at https://erepo.uef.fi/handle/123456789/25925 in English and https://erepo.uef.fi/handle/123456789/25926 in Russian.
The impact of the project outcomes has been widespread. Knowledge gained through all the subject-specific and pedagogical training organised by the project was disseminated through 20 sessions to 250 other teachers at KNAU. In addition, there has been good community engagement, with school visits being organised to the FishEDU Aquacentre and hosting of school debates focused on fisheries and aquaculture. In addition, KNAU, UEF collaborated with FAO and the United Nations World Food Programme in the organisation of a Fish Awareness Day.
The Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Water Resources and Regional Development of the Kyrgyz Republic Marsbek uulu Ilich expressed his delight in the outcomes of the FishEDU project, saying that ‘"the fisheries and aquaculture sector of Kyrgyzstan have been growing very rapidly. The aquaculture production in Kyrgyzstan in 2003 was only 12 tonnes per year and has now grown to over 2500 tonnes year. The training of specialists is important to support this rapid growth, and the contribution of the Finnish Government through the FishEDU project has been very welcome and is much appreciated. The Kyrgyz Government commits to continued support of the sector."
Although the FishEDU project is ending, the collaboration between KNAU and UEF is set to continue focusing on aquatic sciences, fisheries and aquaculture.
“UEF and KNAU have joined hands in developing quality education and this will also address the issues of food insecurity, help reduce poverty and create employment, in line with the United Nations’ Sustainability Development Goals," said Dean Jukka Jurvelin.
Further information:
Roseanna Avento, Global Development Manager, roseanna.avento (a) uef.fi + 358 40 355 3828
Read more
