Aquaculture farmer organizations and cluster management: concepts and experiences

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Aquaculture farmer organizations and cluster management – Concepts and experiences
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However, according to Department of Fisheries (DoF) officials, over the past few 
years, the number of active shrimp farmers has decreased drastically to just 8 000, 
primarily due to the reduction in the international price of shrimp (Figure A1.2) along 
with increasing costs of production (Figure A1.3). At the same time, production has 
been increasing, which could suggest the number of small-scale farmers has decreased 
and a smaller number of large-scale farmers are now producing more. 
The Thai Government is very supportive of the shrimp farming sector. In 1997, 
the DoF launched the Code of Conduct (CoC), which is voluntary, to implement an 
environmentally responsible management system for shrimp; and in 2000 it launched 
the Good Aquaculture Practice (GAP) quality/safety standard for shrimp production. 
Thailand was the first shrimp-producing country to establish both environmentally 
sustainable (CoC) and product quality/safety (GAP) guidelines. The GAP was 
launched specifically to enable shrimp farmers to access the European Union (EU) 
market. The GAP standard is currently in the process of being revised and upgraded. 
The standards cover social responsibility, animal health and welfare, traceability 
(using fry movement and movement documents enabling a computerized traceability 
system), food safety (to monitor and reduce the presence of prohibited antibiotics in 
feed, farm shrimp and shrimp products) and the environment. Shrimp farmers have 
received extension and training from the government in order to meet these minimum 
standards, which all shrimp farmers must meet. It seems the hardest standards for 
small-scale shrimp farmers to meet are those related to treatment of effluent and to the 
legality of their claim to the land they are farming owing to the complexities of the land 
titling system in Thailand.
The Thai Government is actively trying to build on this standard and encourage 
farmers to form farmer groups and apply for group certification, which has been achieved 
for agricultural subsectors such as rice but has not yet been achieved for any aquaculture 
products. The government established an emergency fund four years ago to buy shrimp 
during a short period each year (15 July to 30 September) from farmers who are unable 
to sell their produce at a good price on the market. The government takes a loss, as it 
purchases the shrimp at a high price and then sells it, usually at a lower price. Another 
FIGURE A1.2