The story in Lagos, penultimate week, was of the menace of seaweeds that took over ferry-ways and disturbing fishermen from earning legitimate income by spreading through their routes, however in Tanzania, there is this revelation by a leading scientist that seaweeds are wonderful delicacies and a neglected treasure with the potential for alleviating rural poverty. Kunle Somorin reports:

Since the late1960s, he has devoted himself to the unenviable task of scrutinizing what use the marine weeds in East Africa are good for. Can any plausible reason be adduced for such addiction to this pleasurable pastime, that has turned curiosity to a vocation and challenged the genius of this incurable optimist? Does it leave research merely as a cerebral, intangible exercise or does it translate to significant, tangible exploitation and conversion to the material wealth?

Somehow, the misgiving of many that academics are eccentrics can be subsumed under African philosophy, embedded in the axiom: one man's meat is another man's poison. The exemplar to this idiom that assume a global dimension in the principle of binary opposition can be gleaned from the research of Africa's leading scientist, Keto Elitabu Mshigeni of Tanzania. A place in the pantheon of academics was earned by him in his enigmatic discovery of seaweeds as having the potential for stamping out misery, squalour and poverty. Indeed the conundrum of the possibilities in these species that are many fishermen's nightmare remains unfathomable to the uninitiated. While many lament the presence of these species on seas, he revels at the sight of seaweeds.

Keto Mshigeni made a mark and a name; earned a respectable and indelible chapter in the continent's annals of science mainly because seaweeds are to him the untapped treasure base of the region. From being a passive observer, he discovered seaweeds as money-spinning weeds. His countless research works have put a lie to the notorious fact that seaweeds are a menace, carrying negative connotations.

Generally, it is believed that the marine weed represents a nuisance even to itself. Of course, the most acceptable definition of weed is that of "a plant growing where it is not wanted or one whose virtues have not yet been discovered." Yet, for Prof Mshigeni, algae surprisingly, have many uses.

For every scientist the organisms refer to as algae occur in virtually all types of habitats where water, air, inorganic minerals, light and suitable temperature regime occur in appropriate proportion. Like the dictum in the Ancient Mariner on water everywhere, it can be corrupted to algae, algae everywhere. Interestingly, some of them occur even in hot spring, where some enzymes coagulate irreversibly.

Primary Productivity

In the aquatic habitat where these shrubs are found, they are said to be the mainstay of supporting base of the food pyramids ecosystem that sustains the population of zooplankton, fish and other aquatic animals. They are also said to play an important role in the coral reef building. The so-called zooxanthellae, which are essentially dinnofalgallates, found in the tissue of coral polyps are said to be dosymbionts, which in turn produce metabolites that are of immense benefit to the coral. Other species of classified algae found in the sea make vital contributions to calcium carbonate budget in various in our oceans. Even as ordinary as they may appear, these algae serve to cement together individual coral polyps into the reefs we have today.Food for Humans

It has also been found out that algae are also edible delicacies in South East Asia, East Asia and in the Central Pacific Island. From the ocean fronts come their staple food items from variants of seaweeds such as Porpphra, Laminaria, Undaria, Monostroma, and Asparagopsis. Asparagopsis sells for as high as US$40.00 per kg (wet weight) in Hawaii (where Mshigene earned his PhD). It is believed to be the most expensive vegetable in the world. Some of the edible algae are now being consciously cultivated through modern mechanized farming. According to recent findings, nutritionists opine that they enrich the human body with vitamins, mineral nutrients and a modicum of protein.

Agricultural/Scientific Uses

Beyond serving as daily menu in some parts of the world, it is widely acknowledged that algae are vast components for application in increasing farm seedlings, as they are used for production of fertilizer, as livestock feed supplements. They are also used in medicine and pharmaceuticals, as raw materials for industrial gels such as agar, algin and carrageenan etc.

Enthused Prof Mshigeni, "hardly does a day pass, without you and I, using extracts from seaweeds, in one form or another. You use seaweeds colloids in your hair, body and other lotions; in shaving creams, toothpaste, medical syrups, salad dressing, fire fighting foams, leather and paper products; in fruit cakes, doughnuts, pie filling, cake toppings and sundry bakery products etc. In the USA, one can now buy a sandwich for lunch, which is enriched with carrageenan. Such sandwiches are low in calories and thus excellent for people with obesity problem, or those who desire to remain slim and maintain a beautiful shape."

Exporting Seaweeds

By his admission, the research into the economic potentials of algae was fortuitous. He had in 1968 stumbled on the concept and use of seaweeds. He discovered that from the backwaters of some coastal villages in his native Tanzania, some Europeans were ferrying away these weeds. "They (villagers) were harvesting and exporting species of seaweeds genus Eucheuma to France, Denmark and UK", he said. He later found out that Europeans were boiling the extract, a gel with a wide range of industrial application. It turned out to be carrageenan. Curiously, he learnt that over 500 tonnes of this seaweed species are transported to Europe annually by his people. Even as they were earning money from the venture, the human capital base was an albatross. Tanzanians were using crude, harvesting mechanisms that destroyed the gels; they would uproot every plant they saw, without leaving any basal stalks for re-growth.

Seaweeds for Industrial Use

For him, the challenge was much more than meets the eye. He therefore sought funding from the Norwegian Agency for Development Assistance (NORAD) to enable him travel along the coastal axis of the country, to study the distribution and biomass ecology of the various species of Eucheuma there and learn more about the production biology and growth dynamics of seaweeds. He soon found out that the eucheuma grows best in protected lagoons behind coral reefs; requires clear moderately turbulent seaweeds, away from river mouths; thrives best at a salinity regime of 30,350-000 (parts per thousand); does not occur in upper intertidal habitats, but it is more common in the permanently immersed sub tidal zone and grows attached to stable objects in the sea where other conditions for its growth prevail. He further learnt that Tanzanian marine waters also support a wide variety of other seaweeds with potential for industry, for export and other applications. These included species of genera such as gracilarria, hypnea and sargassum.

Ignorance

Ignorance seems to obscure these advantages before the local people from maximizing the gains of seaweeds. Fishing is the major concern of coastal dwellers; they therefore feel no qualms in using dynamite to maximize their fishing exploits, but that is where the gain ends. Through this dynamite use, they devastate the ecosystem, which is a process that he says takes millions of years to evolve. This is also a despoliation of the natural habitat of the fish they would ordinarily need to breed

Desire

Because he desired a reversal of this trend, Mshigeni came to the realization that he should do some advanced studies. According to him, the most impressive name that surfaced was Professor Maxwell S. Dotty of the University of Hawaii, whom he wrote to explaining his observations on his work on eucheuma and he expressed worries on possible over-harvesting of seaweeds in Tanzania.

Philippines

In Philippines, many of the seaweeds are highly celebrated food items. He also learnt that in the pilot farming experiments, vegetative methods of cultivating the eucheuma seaweeds showed a lot of promise. Nylon ropes were used as substrata, where to suspend the seaweed being farmed. He reckoned that average growth rates were computed for plants grown at different salinity regimes and habitats with varying gradients of ocean currents and inorganic nutrient levels. He also noted that the kind of preferred algae ate in menu list of Filipinos have semblance to those grown in Tanzania.

For his PhD he studied the hypnea variant of algae. This seaweeds genus produces a gel with properties that are good for industrial application. He discovered that hypnea could be cultivated from its reproductive bodies, spores and that using the spore method, one could produce harvestable crops of seaweeds within three months, which by implication makes for four crops in a year, all things being equal.

Upon his return to Tanzania in 1974, Mshigeni travelled to Philippines to learn the best practices on eucheuma farming. He also learnt from the three centuries of seaweeds cultivation technologies in Japan and some funding came forth. Convinced that seaweeds could be a productive venture, he embarked on a series of research endeavours that have earned him a place in history, scientific laurels and endorsements from various development agencies, including the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the International Foundation for Science (IFS) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Improved Rural Technology scheme, as well as the Rockerfeller Foundation.

Testimony

He planned to adopt and adapt, what had been tested in the Philippines, and, found out works. In the proposal, he tried to convince the donors that the proposed seaweed farming activity would generate the following benefits, according to him:

•increased number ofTanzanians with knowledge in seaweed biology and farming technology;

•application of the acquired seaweed farming know-how, towards enhanced production of seaweed biomass for export;

•increased foreign exchange earnings in the country through the seaweed exports; and increased incomes of the families engaged in seaweed farming, and alleviating rural poverty in Tanzania's coastal districts; and realisation by the villagers that coral reefs are vital for protecting their farms from destruction by excessive waves, ocean and currents, and hence the fishing operations.

He secured a grant of US$87,000 from USAID, under its Improved Rural Technology (IRT) programme.

The Eucheuma seaweed adapted exceptionally well in the farms. From 100g plannings on the nylon lines, he was able to obtain l.0kg to 1.5kg, wet weight, within only four weeks. This was harvestable size. This exceptionally fast growth generated a big motivating force to the farmers because in the Philippines, the Eucheuma seaweed takes three months to attain the same biomass.

Inspite of this, the rural coastal farmers had one problem: shortage of capital with which to purchase the nylon fines, to be used for supporting the Eucheuma plants in the farms. He linked them to the Eucheuma processing companies based in the North, as well as the Tanzanian business community, who provided nylon lines to the villagers. With those arrangements, increasingly more villagers got involved in seaweed farming. And the momentum is still high. Today, the professor is euphoric.

Seaweed farming is now being expanded on the islands of Pemba, Mafia, and several localities (e.g. Mtwara) on the Tanzanian mainland shoreline.

The momentary incomes generated through seaweed farming are quite lucrative. The farmers earn much more than mid-level civil service personnel.

The Eucheuma farming activity was looked down upon by male members of the society. But the females took seaweed farming seriously. Since the earnings from seaweed farming are high, and since the majority (about 70%) of the farmers are women, this means that money power in the villages is increasingly getting into the status of women. This is helping to increase their status in the society. From the earnings, the villagers;

•are building better houses;

•are purchasing better furniture;

•can afford better clothing;

•can afford to buy bicycles, radios, school books for their children; and; are indeed enjoying a better quality of life. Currently about 15,000 rural coastal inhabitants are actively engaged in seaweed farming.

Thus, through the innovation, according to him, they have managed to generate a new employment opportunity in Tanzania's coasta1 villages.

The dense population of Eucheuma plants in the farms is providing new ecological niches for fish fry. Fish populations therefore increase at the farming sites. The villagers indeed, catch some of the fish while working on their farms, and return home with protein food for their families. Fish protein intake in the villages undertaking seaweed farming is thus increasing. This is one of the spill-over effects of the innovation.

The new employment opportunities generated through the seaweed farming innovation, are helping to attract young men and women who had drifted to the towns and cities in search of jobs, back to the rural coastal village communities. Additionally, the villagers are getting more and more aware of the fact that seaweeds are edible;, are suitable as an agricultural fertiliser; as livestock feed supplements, and some have medicinal value. Collectively, all the farmers are now able to produce about 5,000 tonnes of the Eucheuma seaweed (dry weight), This means US$2.0 million, per annum, in foreign exchange which is quite substantial, for the Third World rural village standards. His testimony is that: NORAD grant, the Rockefeller Foundation scholarship input, the IFS grants, the USAID grant, and earlier training grants provided to me by the Tanzanian government, which, cumulatively add to a monetary figure lower than US$250,000 Tanzania currently earns about US$2.0 million per annum, in foreign exchange, from her Eucheuma seaweed exports. I think that is quite good. I think it pays to invest in good science education. This takes us to a Chinese proverb which comes close to:

"Give a man a fish you will feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish, you will feed him for life time."

Our villagers now know how to cultivate seaweed and they have a life time new career. There ends my story: the story about the Eucheuma seaweed.

But what are our plans for the future? We are already sensitising potential business entrepreneurs that when our Eucheuma production tonnage comes to 20,000 tonnes (which will be achieved soon), we should establish local factories for the extraction of carrageenan from the Eucheuma, so that what we can export is not raw seaweed, but its hydrocolloid, carrageenan. This will generate new employment opportunities, and also add more value to the Eucheuma biomass produced by our villagers.