12 



Mr. Robinson. I hope I am up to it. [Laughter.] 



Senator Daschle. Well, it is quite a build up. But please pro- 

 ceed. 



Mr. Robinson. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 



Senator Daschle. Your entire statement will be made part of the 

 record. 



STATEMENT OF ROBERT A. ROBINSON, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, 

 FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL ISSUES, RESOURCES, COMMU- 

 NITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIVISION, GENERAL 

 ACCOUNTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON, D.C.; ACCOMPANIED 

 BY KARLA SPRINGER, PROJECT MANAGER 



Mr. Robinson. Thank you. Before I start my presentation, I 

 want to introduce Karla Springer, who is a project manager on our 

 staff, and it is her work that put us in the position to testify here 

 today. 



Senator Daschle. Welcome. 



Mr. Robinson. Karla and I are here today to present the infor- 

 mation we compiled over the last two months on the availability of 

 commercial and Federal financing, as well as other assistance to 

 the U.S. aquaculture industry. Our work was done at the request 

 of Senator Akaka, Senator Glenn, Chairman Studds and Chairman 

 de la Garza, on the House side. 



As you may recall, Senator Daschle, we were here about a month 

 ago to testify before you on USDA's research priorities. 



Senator Daschle. I was hoping you would have another spec- 

 tacular light show. 



Mr. Robinson. I am coming to that. [Laughter.] 



That statement, reflecting the great quantity of data available on 

 research expenditures, was built around computer-generated 

 graphics. Today's statement is much more traditional and quali- 

 tative in nature, and the reason for this is an important part of our 

 story. 



The fact of the matter is, hard data on the availability of com- 

 mercial credit to aquaculturalists is not available. Commercial 

 lenders do not keep records specifically on aquaculture loans and 

 related research on the issue is scant. 



While data is not available to reach definitive conclusions about 

 the extent of the credit problem for prospective aquaculture bor- 

 rowers, we believe we can safely make a number of observations 

 based on the information we were able to develop in the interviews 

 we held with lenders, producers, researchers and USDA officials. 



First, a consensus of opinion exists that financing for aqua- 

 culture is difficult to obtain. This is largely attributable to the real 

 and perceived high risk associated with this emerging industry. As 

 a result, aquaculturalists may face more difficulty getting loans 

 than producers of more traditional agricultural products. 



For example, we found that commercial banks sometimes require 

 catfish farmers to put up a higher equity share than they would 

 require for producers of more traditional row crops. Second, the fi- 

 nancing difficulty seems to vary by region, type of operation and 

 the experience level of the aquapreneur. 



For example, loans for catfish farms are somewhat easier to ob- 

 tain in regions where businesses are more established, such as 



