Aquaculture farmer organizations and cluster management: concepts and experiences

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as Sysco in the last year or so. This shows that it takes a long time to lay strong 
foundations and achieve success.
Capacity building
From the beginning, the MPEDA-NACA project was based on building farmers’ 
collective and individual capacity to implement BMPs. This has been the approach 
taken up to now, and NaCSA still focuses mainly on provision of independent technical 
advice and capacity building at the grassroots level. This independent advice and 
capacity building have secured the confidence of farmers and are key to its success and 
sustainability. Also, as the main services provided by NaCSA are capacity building and 
technical advice, farmers are not coming together to receive any subsidies or monetary 
handouts, for example, but to address their common problems together through the 
services being offered.
Institutionalization
The MPEDA-NACA project was successful in building farmers’ capacity to combat 
disease through group implementation of BMPs. However, the project would not have 
been able to be scaled up without its institutionalization into government structures 
through the establishment of NaCSA. This has been important for continuing and 
building on the success of the original project and has been vital for sustainability. 
However, institutionalization of successful projects into government structures may 
not always be successful. NaCSA’s success is likely due to a combination of factors, 
including the genuine and strong support from government through MPEDA, 
continued cooperation with NACA and the motivation and commitment of NaCSA’s 
staff, who provide continuing support to the societies through regular field visits and 
attending society meetings, ensuring they are constantly in touch with farmers and 
remain responsive to their needs. 
Partnerships
Strong external partnerships between farmer societies and the NACA, NaCSA, 
MPEDA and the government have been important factors in the scaling up of the 
MPEDA-NACA project and the continued success of the farmer societies. These