Aquaculture farmer organizations and cluster management: concepts and experiences

Partnerships 
– Strong external partnerships between farmer societies and NaCSA, 
NACA, MPEDA and the Government have been an important factor in the scaling up 
of the MPEDA-NACA project and the continued success of the farmer societies. These 
partnerships have provided NaCSA and the societies with funding, strategic guidance 
and technical support, along with raising the profile of the project, all of which have 
contributed to the continued success of the farmer societies.

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45
Lessons for successful farmers’ organizations
control and participation by members, and encourage internal capital mobilization. 
Reforms also need to accommodate a large variety of different types of cooperatives 
or pre-cooperatives, so that the level of regulation matches the size and complexity of 
different organizations (Stockbridge, Dorward and Kydd, 2003).
The key lessons learned from the NaCSA’s farmer societies and the Samroiyod 
Shrimp Farmers Cooperative are shown in Boxes 10 (on previous page) and 11.
BOx 11
Key lessons learned from the success of the Samroiyod Shrimp Farmers 
Cooperative in Thailand
• 
Similar objectives of members
– The cooperative is made up of farmers with different 
needs, interests, skills and assets. However, these farmers are united by a small number 
of common interests and objectives. The main problems related to decreasing and 
unpredictable prices and unsustainable market access are being successfully addressed 
by the cooperative. The cooperative is providing members access to good- quality 
inputs on credit, along with negotiating new partnerships for market access. By working 
together and building partnerships along the market chain, members also now have 
the chance to become Fairtrade certified, which would be virtually impossible if they 
were working individually. It is the existence of common problems being successfully 
addressed by the cooperative that has kept the cooperative strong and its membership 
growing.
• 
Strong leadership
– The cooperative president is extremely motivated and committed. 
He is a successful shrimp farmer and understands the problems members are facing. 
The strength and commitment of his leadership is a key reason why the cooperative has 
moved forward and grown so quickly in such a short space of time. The cooperative 
president is also supported by another strong and charismatic leader, the federation 
president, who has creativity and vision, is highly educated and well connected both 
nationally and internationally. 
• 
Partnerships
– Strong external partnerships between the cooperative and the Network of 
Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific (NACA), the Government, the private sector (input 
suppliers, processors and buyers), non-governmental organizations (NGOs) such as 
the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and now with Fairtrade, along with the other 
cooperatives which form the Federation of Shrimp Cooperatives of Thailand (FOSCOT), 
have been important factors in the growing success of the Samroiyod Cooperative. These 
partnerships have provided the cooperative with increased influence with government 
(by forming a federation with other cooperatives, they have increased their voice and 
lobbying power), and increased exposure, leading to national and international awareness 
of the cooperative, strategic guidance and technical support from NACA and others, all 
of which have contributed to its growing success.
• 
Responsive management
– The cooperative is managed in a very transparent and 
democratic way. Members interviewed noted how responsive and approachable the 
Executive Committee is. The division of members into small subgroups based on 
geographical location has also enabled committee members to better understand and 
respond to members’ needs.
• 
Coordination
– The cooperative’s main business strategy is to link farmers to input and 
output markets and services and coordinate activities of market chain actors. Lack of 
coordination among market actors is a big constraint in many sectors in many countries 
and especially so for more highly institutionally demanding products such as shrimp and 
other aquaculture products, making coordination an important key to success. 

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Aquaculture farmer organizations and cluster management – Concepts and experiences