General Discussion and Conclusions

Wetlands play an important role in ameliorating food scarcity mainly through crop production and fish culture. If well-exploited, wetlands can contribute significantly to the achievement of some of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), particularly the eradication of hunger and extreme poverty. In an attempt to address poor food security facing many people in Sub-Saharan Africa, and East Africa in particular, the potential of wetlands for fish culture was explored using seasonal wetland fish ponds ‘Fingerponds’. Fingerponds can be described as agropiscicultural systems modified from current schemes developed in Mexico, China, Asia and more recently Africa ( Denny et al ., 2006 ). They maximize the agriculture and aquaculture potential of natural wetlands. Processes governing the functioning of these ecosystems were assessed in order to devise management strategies suitable for resource-poor communities. This thesis sought to determine how nutrient dynamics and primary productivity regulate fish production in Fingerponds. It evaluated their functioning and dynamics based on the application of natural organic manure (chicken and fermented green biomass) and use of artificial substrates to encourage the growth of periphyton.