Aquaculture farmer organizations and cluster management: concepts and experiences

NATIONAL CENTRE FOR SUSTAINABLE AQUACULTURE 
In order to continue the work initiated by the MPEDA-NACA project, MPEDA 
created a separate agency, the National Centre for Sustainable Aquaculture (NaCSA) 
in 2007, with the approval of the Government of India. NaCSA was established as 
an outreach organization of MPEDA to address the need for capacity building of 
small-scale shrimp farmers for shrimp health and quality management through the 
collective use of BMPs, cluster formation and management. NaCSA was also tasked 
with building on the MPEDA-NACA project by covering more areas, farmers and 
aquaculture commodities other than black tiger shrimp, such as giant river prawn 
(
Macrobrachium rosenbergii
), along with facilitating the development of an enabling 
policy environment to address the needs of small-scale shrimp farmers and increase the 
competitiveness of the Indian aquaculture sector in regional and world markets.
The overall goal of NaCSA is to achieve sustainable aquaculture through empowering 
small-scale farmers, and its objectives are to:
• promote science-based management to improve aquaculture sustainability using a 
participatory approach;
• empower and build capacity of small-scale aquaculture farmers;
• facilitate improved service provision to small-scale aquaculture farmers;
• connect farmers to markets to receive better prices for good-quality products;
and
• facilitate interaction among stakeholders.
FARMER SOCIETIES
The aqua clubs first established by the MPEDA-NACA project and now being 
established by NaCSA are known officially as Aquaculture Farmers Welfare Societies. 
A farmer society constitutes a group of aquaculture farmers in a specific locality 
or farming cluster who implement and manage their aquaculture activities using a 
participatory approach in order to achieve the three main objectives of reducing 
disease risks, reducing costs of production, and meeting market demands through 
sustainable farming (NaCSA, 2009). The farmer societies are set up according to a 
model established by the Indian Government, registered by the Ministry of Revenue 
under the Societies Registration Act and subject to annual audits by MPEDA to verify 
accounts and ensure democratic and transparent management. Each society consists 
of 20–75 farmers who have registered their farms with the Coastal Aquaculture 
Authority (CAA) and obtained a licence. Membership is voluntary and subject to 
certain conditions, including an admission fee of INR 1 000 (USD 25) and payment 
of 0.5 percent of farmers’ revenue to the society corpus fund. Each society has a clear 
organizational structure including a president and democratically elected board and has 
weekly general meetings where farmers can share information and collective decisions 
can be made. The societies are eligible for financial assistance from MPEDA and other 
agencies for various common farming activities (Umesh 
et al
., 2009).
Each farmer society has a society coordinator with a prescribed minimum 
educational level who is selected from among its members or from the community 
by society farmers. The MPEDA’s society scheme provides partial financial assistance 
for farmers to employ a society coordinator for the first two years. The society 

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Appendix 2
coordinator is responsible for implementing BMPs in societies, undertakes activities 
such as monitoring of water quality and acts as a link between society farmers and 
NaCSA. 
Society activities include the collective preparation of a crop calendar two months 
before stocking to ensure all society and cluster farmers stock their ponds within a 
two-week period of each other. The maximum stocking density for each society is 
decided on and society farmers agree not to use any antibiotics and to minimize the 
use of chemicals. High-quality seed is also purchased by the societies using a contract 
hatchery system (see below). Societies agree to practices such as synchronized water 
intake and discharge, simultaneous cropping, observing early warning signs of disease 
onset, learning from one another, assuring product quality and safety and, overall, agree 
to act collectively (which is also in their own best interests). Each society has standard 
operating procedures (SOPs). Internal control systems (ICSs) are being established in 
societies to ensure compliance with minimum standards by all society members.