Aquaculture farmer organizations and cluster management: concepts and experiences

NaCSA officers and members of the Sri Sainadha 
Aqua Farmers Welfare Society discussing 
better management practices and the extension 
brochure by the pond side in West Godavari 
District, Andhra Pradesh, India.
Courtesy of MPEDA/NaCSA

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6. Conclusion
The aquaculture sector is the fastest-growing food sector in the world. Farmed fish and 
shellfish are reported to have exceeded the volume of wild-caught fish and shellfish 
for human consumption for the first time in 2008, offering increased opportunity 
to harness the market growth potential for pro-poor livelihood development in the 
aquaculture sector.
However, this review has shown that there are a number of challenges being faced 
by small-scale aquaculture farmers in developing countries. These challenges are mainly 
due to market liberalization in developing countries along with globalization, which 
have led to the withdrawal of State service provision and an end to guaranteed markets 
for farmers. Along with the concentration of market chains and the increasingly strict 
quality and safety requirements demanded by buyers of aquaculture products, these 
challenges are leading to the marginalization of small-scale aquaculture producers, who 
are finding it increasingly hard to compete with large commercial producers from around 
the world. It has been argued in this review that collective action through participation 
in well-organized and efficiently managed FOs can provide an effective mechanism 
to assist individual small-scale aquaculture producers overcome these challenges and 
effectively participate in and influence modern market chains and trade. In order to 
explore this approach, this review has examined and analysed the importance of FOs in 
developing countries from both a theoretical and an empirical viewpoint. It has shown 
that a clear case for FOs can be put forward and has shown the range and diversity of 
aquaculture FOs in practice using illustrative examples of successful aquaculture FOs 
from Bangladesh, India, Indonesia and Thailand. The review has also highlighted the 
realizable potential that the implementation of BMPs through a cluster management 
approach offers for achieving success in the small-scale aquaculture sector. Key lessons 
and factors associated with successful FOs have also been distilled from the research and 
development literature and from the in-depth field-based case analyses of shrimp FOs in 
India and Thailand. The review has also suggested some important actions and support 
needed from key stakeholders and development organizations to assist aquaculture 
FOs’ success and has highlighted some guiding principles, gleaned from the literature, 
for supporting the successful establishment and operation of FOs and their spread. 
This concluding chapter examines the implications of the foregoing review for 
harnessing the potential of aquaculture FOs for pro-poor development along with 
the constraints, challenges and opportunities facing small-scale aquaculture FOs in 
developing countries. The chapter concludes by looking ahead at the prospects for the 
successful development of aquaculture FOs and the small-scale aquaculture sector in 
general.