Contribution of Fish Production to Farmers’ Subjective Well‐being in Vietnam – A Logistic Model

There is a growing awareness of the importance of food fish production on human nutrition, employment, poverty, and recreation. However, the role of aquaculture in livelihoods of fish farmers has not been considered rigorously. With 120 farmers interviewed in a field survey and a cumulative logistic model, this study identifies some determinants of subjective well‐being of small‐scale fish farmers in Vietnam and examines the role of earnings from fish production in generating their happiness. The results confirm that the farmers receive satisfaction from their farm working. Subjective well‐being of the farmers increases with their job satisfaction and cash earnings from fish farming. A doubling in cash returns from fish culture relative to household income raises a farmer’s happiness probability by an estimated 10.6%. Education also affects farmers’ life satisfaction. For better educated farmers, when their satisfaction from fish culture increases by one level, happiness probability is estimated to increase by 0.23%. Wild fish plays an important role in Vietnamese farmers as a doubling in relative income from wild fish captures raises their estimated probability of happiness by 139%.     

Factors Driving Aquaculture Technology Adoption

Technology adoption has played a key role in the global development and increase in agricultural productivity. However, the decision to adopt a new technology on farms is complex. While the factors that drive the adoption of new technologies have been well studied in agriculture, less attention has been paid to drivers of technology adoption in aquaculture. Aquacultural technologies have developed and advanced rapidly in recent decades, but not all technologies have been adopted readily by farmers. This review paper summarizes some of the critical factors that influence aquaculture technology adoption decisions such as: (1) method of information transfer, (2) characteristics of the technology, (3) farm characteristics, (4) economic factors, and (5) sociodemographic and institutional factors. Fish farmers have tended to adopt technologies that are perceived to be more advantageous than others in terms of productivity, cost efficiency, and ease of management. Price of aquaculture products and profit expectations from business ventures were key economic factors influencing adoption decisions. Given the wide array of species, production practices, and global nature of aquaculture, the intensity and the extent of adoption of technologies depend on the nature of the industry in which they are adopted and their economic, social, political, and regulatory environments.     

Better management practices and their outcomes in shrimp farming: evidence from small-scale shrimp farmers in Southern Vietnam

Despite the growth of aquaculture exports from developing countries to developed countries in recent years, a high percentage of these products are rejected at developed countries’ ports because of non-compliance with international standards. This paper presents a case study of the shrimp aquaculture sector in Vietnam to examine the factors behind the persistence of such port rejections. In particular, we focus on why the so-called better management practices (BMPs) are not appropriately adopted by many farmers and examine whether the number and types of information sources matter in farmers’ decisions on BMP adoption and whether BMP adoption actually leads to better performances. On the basis of our estimation using primary data collected in Southern Vietnam, we find that information sources and training experiences indeed matter in the adoption of a higher number of BMPs and that BMP adoption indeed reduces the possibility of disease outbreaks. These results prove the effectiveness of BMPs and suggest the importance of disseminating knowledge regarding them to farmers through experts.     

Analysis of the use of credit facilities by small-scale fish farmers in Kenya

The government of Kenya encourages aquaculture development by offering credit facilities through the government agricultural finance institution, Agriculture Finance Corporation. Nevertheless, the level of credit use in fish farming is very low. Access to credit is among several factors that affect farmers’ decision of whether to use particular technology or services. The study examined factors that affected the decision of fish farmers in Kenya to utilize credit facilities in fish production using a probit model. The analysis suggests that farmers in the Western province will have a 19% more probability of using credit facilities for their fish farming operations than farmers from the other provinces such as the Rift Valley, Central, and the Eastern province. The effect of tilapia sales on the probability of credit use by fish farmers is more than three times that of catfish sales. Total pond acreage owned by fish farmers had a positive effect on credit use but the effect was very small and negligible. The level of fish farmers’ use of credit facilities is very low, and there is probably the need to educate farmers on credit use and for the government agricultural lending agency and other commercial agricultural lenders to invest in this enterprise. Kenyan lending institutions have financed traditional agricultural enterprises, and with the growing production of farmed fish, more research is needed to document the aquaculture business model to assist in assessing the profitability potential in aquaculture.     

Aquaculture information sources for small-scale fish farmers: the case of Ghana

The Ghana ministry of fisheries and the ministry of Agriculture provide free extension services and other technical services to fish farmers in Ghana, e.g. producing fingerlings at government-operated fish hatcheries for sale to farmers. Non-governmental organizations and universities have also provided some technical assistance to fish farmers in efforts towards the development of aquaculture in Ghana. The study identified the various sources of aquaculture information to Ghanaian fish farmers and examined the factors that affected their decision to utilize these alternative sources of information. Using choice modelling techniques, the study found that the probability of farmers seeking information on aquaculture from the Ghana government increases with literacy by about 43% more than with illiteracy and by about 34% with an increase in total size of ponds. The probability that a literate farmer will choose to obtain aquaculture information from a non-governmental organization decreased by about 10% compared with an illiterate farmer. The probability of choosing 'other sources' for aquaculture information increased by about 27% for farmers residing in Ashanti region compared with farmers in the Brong-Ahafo region but the probability of farmers seeking information from 'other sources' decreased with literacy and number of years farming.     

THE COORDINATING ROLE OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO SMALL-SCALE HOUSEHOLD POND AQUACULTURE IN CHINA 1979–2011

Small-scale household pond aquaculture development has significantly contributed to Chinese food security, poverty reduction, and improved livelihood of farmers. Before the onset of the economic reform in 1979, markets were non-existent. We address the question of the importance of the part played by decentralized government in coordinating the economic activities from a planned to a market-directed economy in the aquaculture sector. In this case study, we have interviewed farmers and officials and used secondary official data in Shandong province. We find that coordination by local government has been crucial in developing small-scale household agricultural and aquaculture production in transitional economy, and enabling the market to become the driving force in the development of household pond aquaculture in rural China. The Chinese experience may bring valuable lessons for other developing countries, where hunger are endemic, and the smallholder farmers are the key target in poverty reduction.     

从市民农园到乡村市民社区——关于城乡统筹发展的一种新模式的思考

市民农园是社区支持农业的重要载体,也是经济发达国家统筹城乡发展的一条有益经验。发展与市民农园相结合的乡村市民社区,不仅可以切实提高农民收入,对于解决城乡和谐发展中的诸多问题都有好处。本文提出了乡村市民社区的一种构思以及与之相关的研究课题和政策建议。     

What are the prospects for black bream Acanthopagrus butcheri (Munro) aquaculture in salt‐affected inland Australia?

Black bream are a highly regarded sport and table fish, and there has been considerable interest in their aquaculture potential for the salt‐affected agricultural regions of inland southern Australia. In many ways they are an ideal candidate species for inland saline aquaculture because they appear to be very hardy, hatchery techniques are well established for them, and high survival rates have been maintained under a variety of culture conditions and feeding regimes. However, their slow growth rate needs to be increased by at least 33% for black bream to become an economically viable aquaculture species. Growth is amenable to genetic improvement, and sub‐adult growth rate shows moderate heritability and no adverse genetic correlations with other production traits. Nevertheless fillet yield is comparatively low, and in conjunction with unpredictable and early sexual development in culture, industry‐scale meat production remains problematic. These obstacles, however, do not preclude the use of black bream as a recreational fish species for inland saline waters, where their stocking may provide an additional source of rural income and relieve fishing pressure on depleted estuarine populations.     

A comparison of traditional and modified inland artisanal aquaculture systems

Traditional artisanal aquaculture systems are commonly assumed to be mainly for subsistence, to use predominantly on-farm inputs, and to have been developed by farmers themselves. Such systems with a long history in South East Asia exist mainly in northern Lao PDR, northern Vietnam and in West Java. In most other areas the traditional fish supply, wild fish, has declined only relatively recently, providing a stimulus for growth of aquaculture over the past few decades. An overview of artisanal aquaculture so defined in the South East Asian region is presented from a systems context considering social and economic aspects (micro- and macro-level perspectives), production technology (rice fields, ponds, cages), and environmental aspects (fitting into the local resource base without adverse environmental impact). Most artisanal aquaculture systems are integrated with crops and livestock but generally resource-poor farms constrain production. Rising expectations mean that productivity must be enhanced by off-farm inputs for aquaculture to contribute significantly to the farm household livelihood system. It is proposed that the term ‘small-scale’ be used rather than ‘artisanal’ because of increasing farmer interest in income rather than subsistence, because of increasing use of off-farm inputs, and because of the increasingly important role of science in the promotion of such systems.