Aquaculture farmer organizations and cluster management: concepts and experiences

4.3
SUMMARY OF FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH SUCCESSFUL FARMERS’ 
ORGANIZATIONS 
Given the wide range of FOs and the socio-economic, agro-ecological and policy 
contexts in which they are found, no specific combination of enabling factors, 
characteristics and good practices can guarantee their success or failure. However, 
analysing the characteristics of successful FOs and understanding the challenges they 
face are good starting points for supporting the developing of successful aquaculture 
FOs. The factors for successful FOs discussed above are by no means comprehensive; 
however, they do give an idea of the types of issues that affect the success and 
effectiveness of an FO. Box 12 contains a summary of the characteristics commonly 
associated in the literature (and supported by the findings of the case studies in this 
review) with successful FOs.

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Society farmer meeting at Badava Village in 
Andhra Pradesh, India. 
Courtesy of MPEDA/NaCSA

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49
 
5. Supporting farmers’ 
organizations
Much has been written on the risks to FOs associated with too much external 
intervention or subsidy and the importance of ensuring FO activities are driven by 
members and not by donors or government. However, the success of FOs is often 
influenced by their relationships with government and other external partners, and the 
case studies in this review (along with the experiences of many successful FOs) show 
that development agencies and external partnerships can make positive contributions 
in facilitating FO development. This chapter outlines the actions and support external 
actors such as governments, NGOs, international donors and other development 
agencies can undertake to facilitate the development of successful FOs.