As markets are demanding more sustainable seafood and global shrimp prices are decreasing, Indian farmers are urged to improve their farming methods and become certified in order to keep selling their shrimp. While large commercial farms in India have less difficulty implementing these strategies, for an individual small-scale farmer from India it is an almost impossible mission. Therefore, in 2016, Solidaridad started an aquaculture improvement program, backed by two front-running, vertically integrated Indian companies (IFB Agro and RAM ’s Assorted Cold Storage Limited). The project is named DISA, which means “direction” in Hindi, and aims to help individual small-scale farmers adopt sustainable aquaculture practices and earn international market recognition. The program started in the Contai region, but has now further expanded to Orissa.
The focus of the improvement program is to mobilize communities and through that build a stronger and more resilient supply chain. The improvement program is built on four pillars: social, regulatory, environmental and technical. The social and regulatory components are in the hands of Solidaridad, while the latter two are where IFB Agro and RAM’s are involved.
Social pillar
The first step to implementing better aquaculture practices is developing the social aspect; building farmer-producer groups, which is something that Solidaridad is already familiar with. Working across multiple commodities and countries, this NGO has vast experience setting up producer groups that are proven to be successful. For instance, in the neighboring country of Bangladesh, Solidaridad has already brought together 250,000 agricultural farmers, of which 10 percent are farmers from the aquaculture sector. The project running in India targets between 25-50 farmers per group. The size and composition of a producer group is first and foremost based on the geographical location of the farmers, as it is vital that they can have meetings to exchange knowledge and discuss issues. A group is usually under the guidance of a lead farmer, whose task is to share knowledge and help the group move forward.
The project has already established 20 groups and is currently working on the next 20. The main aim of establishing these farmer-producer groups is to give them better access to both inputs and resources, such as knowledge on improved aquaculture practices. A producer group also has the ability to increase the accountability of input suppliers. The small-scale farms are largely unorganized and depend on a long supply chain of agents that provide inputs to and purchase raw materials from them. As Terence Pradhan of Solidaridad explains, “when an individual farmer is faced with poor-quality input, it is difficult for them to complain and enforce a change from the supplier. However, when a group puts pressure on such a supplier, it is more likely that the supplier will feel greater accountability and, in turn, improve their services and products.” The overall effect is that the whole quality of the supply chain is improved.
Regulatory pillar
Forming these producer groups has another advantage, and this is where the regulatory pillar comes into play. As a small-scale individual farmer in India, it is very difficult to become a registered farm and benefit from the advantages given to such farms by the government. With help from the program it can, however, join a farmer-producer group. Once formed the farmer-producer group can become a legal entity and register at the Coastal Aquaculture Authority (CAA). This allows the group to collectively benefit from governmental support, such as capacity building programs and subsidies for technical improvements. It also means that they can take out insurance as a group to cover loss of crop due to natural causes or diseases.
Both IFB Agro and RAM’s facilitate such dialogues with banks and insurance companies. Registering as a producer group also allows the farmer to become certified with one of the sustainable certification schemes, such as BAP or the ASC, the latter of which recently launched their group certification scheme. While certification is not the main target of this project, it is an important step in maintaining market access in Europe and the U.S. Aditya Dash of RAM’s told ShrimpTails that “the farmers and the community come first in this project. To retain market access, however, we cannot ignore the need for certification. Building farmer-producer groups provides an excellent base to get certified.” At the moment, three groups are already BAP certified and one group is in assessment for ASC certification.
Environmental pillar
The environmental pillar in the project strategy focusses on applying good aquaculture practices, and not just as part of trying to achieve certification. Farmers are not always aware of the impact they actually have on the environment. Releasing disease-contaminated water into the environment or the known, but also unknown, use of antibiotics in feed or other inputs are examples of poor management. By teaching farmers how to apply good aquaculture practices, the environmental impact can be reduced. This enables farmers, and their families, to farm in a sustainable way ensuring the future of the new generation of farmers.
“Contai is one of the more pristine areas in which shrimp are cultivated in India, and this is a vital asset in the marketing of products from this area,” Soumitra Chakraborty of IFB Agro told ShrimpTails. This is important for IFB Agro as it enables the company to fetch premium prices compared to existing market prices. In return, the farmers are paid more.
Technical pillar
The technical pillar, which is closely tied to the environmental pillar, is there to provide farmers with cultivation assistance. IFB Agro had already established around 40 so-called Aquashops, which provide inputs for farmers such as seed and feed selected for their quality. Next to this the project aims to provide farmers with more assistance using technical service apps to connect farmers with experts via so-called “expert panels.” Smartphones therefore play an important role in the technical assistance. If expert panels are established, technical assistance can be given to farmers directly by, for example, something as simple as the farmer uploading a picture of their shrimp to the panel who will respond with a diagnosis to help the farmer understand and resolve their problem.
While these benefits seem obvious from an outside perspective, convincing farmers was a challenge at the start of this project. First, farmers needed to understand the international shrimp business. Already a difficult thing for insiders with access to information, these farmers faced a steep learning curve to understand the importance of the program.
One thing that helped was the fact that most of the farmers were already in long-term partnerships with IFB Agro or RAM’s, which made it a bit easier to convince them of the need to join the program. But it was still a challenge at the beginning. Now farmers can hardly wait to get on board, which also comes with its challenges: One limitation to the project, as Chakraborty of IFB Agro explains, is that resources are limited – the process of building a farmer-producer group takes time, effort and support. Change tends to take time, so it might be a while before all the farmers can be included in a producer group.
Currently, around 1,000 farmers are in established groups built within the project, and it is expected that another 1,000 will join over the coming year. Furthermore, the project is expanding to Orissa where Solidaridad will develop the program with RAM’s. In this area the first phase targets 200-300 farmers and this will be expanded to 500-1000 within a year.
International market recognition
Dash explains that this project also has its place in the markets; it gives a story to tell. Western consumers in particular increasingly want to understand where the product comes from, its story and how it came about. Dash told ShrimpTails that “shrimp farming has been one of the major drivers in reducing poverty, and we have seen people growing in life due to the production of shrimp.” While this story alone might not convince a retailer to put the shrimp on their shelf, being supported by a sustainability label sells. This means that consumers will buy shrimp from these small-scale farmers, assuring a future for them and the next generations of shrimp producers.
Photo courtesy of Seafood Trade Intelligence Portal.
