Shrimp farming has emerged as an important sector

of the Aquaculture industry in the recen t times.

Cultured Shrimps contribute about 50 per cent of the

total Shrimp exports from lndia

Balasubramani, N

Deboral Vimala, D

Swathi Lekshmi, P S

CMFRI Digital Repository

G A U R ss. J ., 32  (U 2) 45-53 (2007)Information source utilisation behaviour o f shrimp farmers on shrimp farming technologiesR S. SwathiW(dhm». N. Balasubram arH an d  Vimafa DobofdlDBpSftmenl of Agncullufe E x len sb r, TamUnadu Agfjcuhufal University, Coimbatore a nd Centra 11 nstitute cpf Brackish Waier Aq uacuiture, C l ^ n  aiA b s tra c tShrim p farm ing h a s  em © ro«l a s  an Im portan t se c to r  o f  th e  A quacuN ura in d u stry  in th e  rac« n t iln tas. T he p ra se n t  s tu d y  fo c u s e s  to  find o u t th e  s o u rc e s  o» ir>fonnat*on utilized b y  th e  S hrim p fa n n e rs ;  ab o u t th e  im proved  S hrim p farm ing tech n o lo g iea  an d  c o n s tra in ts  facad  by th e m  In S hrim p larm ing A to tal of 60 Shrtm p fa rm ers  d raw n  from  6 v illages belOf>glnfi to  3  b fochs o f N agapatdnam  d istric t o f  Tamlloadu w r a  s e le c te d  random ly  by u s in g  muUI s ta g e  random  sam pling  m e ih o d . T he c o o s tfa in ts . d is e a se  m cidsnce , p o o f  qualrty  of s e e d s ,  p rice  f luc tua tions  an d  lack o f inform ation o n  m ark e t p r ic e s  leek of c o o p e ra t io n  a m o n g  fellow  fa rm e rs  ar»d lack o f quality  co n tro l a g e n c ie s  w era  th e  m o s t Im portant co n s tra rn ts  fa c e d  l>y th e  m ajority  o f th e  re sp o n d e n ts  a n d  ran k ed  J t o  V acco rd in g  to  th e ir  Im portance The fellow fa rm ers  w ere ra ted  a s  th e  th ird  Im portant so u rc e  o f in fo rm ation  s in ce  they  p a s se d  the  inform ation to  cheir p re s s  by w ord  o f m outh . The flovam m anl s o u rc e s  s u c h  a s  th a  S ta te  D epartm ent of f is h e r ie s  c a m e  on ly  n ex t in o r d e r  T he fa rm e rs  w ere  o f th e  v iew  th a t  th e  re s e a r c h  In stitu iio n s go v ern m en t dep a rtrtw n ts  an d  su b je c t  m atte r sp e c ia lis ts  w e re  dtfficuU to  a c c e s s ,  a n d  h en ce  they  were u n ab le  to  utilize th am  effectively  fo r le c h n ic a l  Inform ation. T he e w e n s lo n  w ing of th e  s ta te  fisherios ^ p a r tm a r n  sh o u ld  b e  rev am p ed  en d  m o re  n u m b er o f  technically  qualM ed a n d  tra in ed  p erso n n e l should  be ap p o in ted  a t  th e  g r a s s  ro o t level to  re n d e r  tim ely  a n d  im portan t Inform ation ttie  Shrim p fa rm ers . As far th e  corvstralnto e x p re s s e d  by th e  S hrim p farm ers. T he g o v e rn m en t sh o u ld  u n d e rtak e  th e  se ttin g  up of d is e a se  d iagnostic  c e n te r s  In e a ch  d ls tn c t . follow ed by settir>g of s e e d  certifying a g e n c ie s  a n d  Q u a lity  contro l ag e rK ies  fo r  regu la ting  th e  quality  o f  cl>#micals. T he e x p e r ie n c e s  o f th e  g o v e rn m en t In Ihe agricu ltu re  s e c to r  euch  a s  u s e  o f quality  co n tro l accred ita tio n  m e th o d s  su ch  a s  Agm ark, se ttin g  of marKet inform aiion ce lls , a n d  p ro v is io n  o f free  electricity  c a n  b e  su itab ly  ex am in ed  an d  em ulated  fo r th e  benefit o f  th e  S hrim p Industry  also .K ey w o rd s: Shrimp farmers, behavkxjr, aquacuihj'B In tro d u c t io nS h im p  farmir»g h as  em erged a s  a n  importdnt sector of th e  Aquaculture rr>dustry in th e  recen t times. Cultured Shrimps contnbule about 50  per cen t of the total Sh  rtmp exports from lr>di a . (1).The su cc ess  behind the  increased  production of cu ltu red  S h rim p s  h a s  b e e n  a t t r ib u te d  to  th e  pro?ftJction, dlssemlnaiion and adoption of a  n u m lw  of irnpruved technologies The m fom «tfen sources and  commumcation c h a m e ls  utiijied by Shrimp fanriefs fo r bulWing u p  their know ledge b a s e  ultimately lea fl^g  to the diffusion end adopUon process Is of vital importance m fuOhering the developm ent o f the S hnn^  Industry, The p re se n t study focuses to out the sou TOes of infomia lion uiilizefl by the Sh  rtmp f^m era  aboul Ihe mpfijved Snrfcr>p fennirtg technologjes ar\d constraints faced by them  in ShfirDp farming.M e th o d o lo g yA total of 60 Shrimp farm ers drawn fnDm 6 vriiage; beionglr>g 3  blocks of Nagapallm am  district of Tamifnadu w ere selected  randomly by using multi s ta g e  random  sam plrng m ethod . T he d a ta  w as colecfed usmg a  weH>structured interview schedule. T he irr*3TTT>atJon sources utrlized by the  tanners a n d  the constrsints faced by Iherr) were a sse sse d  thn^ugh simple percentage analysis, and were ranKed tn order of their importance. The informaUon souree utilization behaviC4jr of the ahnmp farmers of Nagapettinem. were studied, and the  results are  presented  m Table 1A penjsai of Table 1 revealed the I nformatico sou n »  utmzaOon by shrirTv farm ers of Negapattmam. It is s e e n  from the table that privele consultants are  f te  first hand sou rce  o f mfonnatk^n utibzed by 86 67p ^ c e n l o f the  responden ts , fo ilo w e d  b y  feed d ea le rs  arx] feRow fa rrr^ re  u tilizdd i;>y 61.67 pe rcen t and 7 & 3 3  percen t respectrvely.N 9xi r  o rd ^ , the  6 F D A  w h icn  <s the  extension agency o f the  $ ^ ie  O epadm en l o f  F ishe ries , is  th e  so u rce  of Infonnaboo lo r 36,67 percen t o f  the  fa rm ers T heB F D A  p repa res  p ro je c ts , h e lps  In  ide n tifica tio n  o f  ecte end pro ject preper8lK3ri and  d s lr ib u te s  subsid ies to  shnmp farmer?U P E D A  w a s  u t i l iz e d  b y  3 5 .0 0  p e rc e n t o f  the  re s p o rtie n ts  a s  th e  s o u n ^  o f in fo rm a tion  d s  I t w as  a D ro m o te r o f  s h r im p  la rm in g  a n d  a l8 0  p ro v id e d  'e c h n k :a l as& is tdnce , in^parted  tre m in g  end  tes ting  fsc ib tiee  to  sh rim p  farm efs^T ne  R esea rc ti In s titu tio n s  and  p rin ted  lite ra tu re  w ere  tr>e n ex t im p o rta n t s o u rce s  o f <rfoFm ation u tilized  by 3 1 .6 7  p e rc e n t and  3 0 ,0 0  p e rc e n t o f  th e  shr»m p Idi'm ers respectively.From  the  o D se rva to n  o f the  etnpve tab le . 1 ^  fm dirtgs :;iedrty ind ica te  the  la ck  o f exleneh^e and  in tensive  m v o iv e m a n t b y  th e  g o v e rn m e n t e x te n s io n  m acniDenes such a s  the  a  FDA, M P E D A  a rid  research ins titu tions. A s fa ra s  th e  u tiliza tion  o f pnnt m ed ia  w as concerned , i t  w as  obse rved  durKig Ihe  co u rse  o f the s u rv e y  th a t  s o m e  p ro g re s s iv e  fa rm e rs  w e re  subscnD ers o f a g u a c -u ltu re  jo u rn a ls  hke A q u a  star, F iah ing  c h im e s , re p o rts  and  g u id e s , fo ld e rs  end le a fle ts  from  fe e d  com pan ies; and  these  fa rm e rs  i r  tu rn  d iffu se  the  in fo rm a tion  to  th e  re s t o f  th e ir fe llow  farm ers.T hese  find ings  b e a r a s trik ing  s im darity to  the  find ings  o fK u m a ra n e fd / (2 )w h o  s p o rte d  th a t fe e d  and  m put dea le rs , e nd  fe llow  fd rroers w e re  th e  ma^n s o u rce s  o f m fo rm  atio n . a nd  th a t I he  m vo ive rrid n t o f gove rnm en t deperem ents IH<e the  s ta te  fis h e n e s  d e p a n m e n l. w as meegerC or»s(ra /n t5  fs c e d  b y  s h r im p  fa rm e rs  o f  fiagapaWnsm In shrim p cvHvreT he  c o n s tra in ts  fa c e d  b y  s h r im p  fa rm e rs  o f  N agapa ttjnam  w ere  s tud ied  ar>alyzed a n d  Ihe  resu lts  p resen ted  in T ab le  2.It co u ld  b e  s e e n  fro m  T a b le  2  th a t a m o n g  the  co n s lra in is , d isease  inc idence , p o o r q u a lity  o f seeds, pnce  flu c tu a tio n s  e nd  lack o f  in fo o n a tio n  o n  m a rke t pnces, lack o f co*opera fion  a rnong fe tlow  fa rm ers andlack o f qua lity  con tro l agencies were the  most fYiportant constrsknts faced by the m ajority o f the respondents and ranked I to V  acconjing to rnpoftance.D isease inc id ence  was the firs t and forem ost constraint faced by the reapondenis (93.33%). The miQhl be because the major d^seese n^ the study area was W hile Spot Syndrome V injs (W S5V), and Itie occurrence o f th is  diseese can cause heavy morlakty o f the crop. Though r>o completa co nb^ measures have t>een de veloped so far. fo r con trof o f WS5V, Che occurrence o f Ihe disease has been tacked to some extent by instituting prevenlive measures such as screen ng  of shnm p seeds throug h techr>ologles such 3S PCR (po4y-merase chain re a d ie r) testsThese PCR tests are done by many private shrtr*^ h a tch e rie s  and com p an ies , as w e ll es governmental agenoea Id^e M ^ D A . though ^ e ya re  lesse r I n n umber. However there is no seed certifyiog agency which can guarantee that the PCR lestad seeds are iree  of the virus, as sometrmes random samples may not be used. Hence the need for a seec ceriifymg agency operated by the State Fishene« Department was fett a n w g  tfie  shnmp fannersTN s findmg is in line w ith the findings of Kunw an e(. a/. (3) who reported that d isease incidence was ma)or constraint faced by shrim p farmers o f East Godavan district in Andhra PradeshNext to disease incidence, poor quaitty o f seede wee a  constraint, expressed ^  d0,00 percent o f the respondents. Lack of an appn^priate seed certffying agency might be the reason for poor qualily seedsl^ tce  fluctuations a id  lack c^ Information on merkac prices was a con strain I reported by 83 33 per cent o ' the respondents Smoe cent per cent o f the cuiturec sh rim ps a re  m ean t fo r the  e x p o rt m arket '  Nagapariinam, the price o f the shrimp Is detemnneo In the in ternal onal m artlet, of which few o f the shranc fanners are aware of, often the pnce o f shnmp «  settled through direct dealings between the fanner a rc exporter. Price fluctuations, do not ensure a statue remunerattve price for the farmerLack of co<f)eration among teik>w farmers was next constraint expressed by 76.33 per cent of respondents This m ight be because though major*h of the ^ n m p  fanners were members of re g is te r  shri mp farm ers a ssociati on. there i s a lack o f a c M5Dinvdvem enl by ir*e farmers, in &dopUng appropriate maragernent practices such as Disease maf>ag©fnentana culture operations loge ltie r Lack of cyedH and insurance faohlies were a consiraini expressed by 73.33 per cenl o f th© respondentsThe farmers are o f the opmlon ih a t Ihe government shcuW revive its policies fo r pnjvjding credit arx3 Insurance facilities wWc^ were previously present; during the  in itia l phase o f populansatkon o f the technologies Leek o f governm ent support was s canslraml faced by 7 1 66 percent of t^e resoondents The shnrnp fsnr^ars are o f Ihe opihkon thai the fteifl level workers; vtsil the shrm p farms occasionally. arKf a re  not techn ica lly  p fo fc le n l m d e live ring  the technologies they are not qualified personf^elSpnce »>e shrimp farmers Inveet lekhs of Rupees m th is  ven tu re , they war^t im m edia te , and tim e ly technica l assistance, and hence m ostly tu n i to private aQuac-ulture consultanls who are mostly graduates in fishenes sciences, and a lso feed dealers who regularty v is it their farms and render assistance, based on hands on experience.S u rges rrorrs o f  Shrim p Farm ars o f  N sgap ittinam  To Overcome rfie  C onstra in rsThe suggestions offered by the shrimp fanners o^ NaQapattlnam to overcom e the constraints were studied, analyzed and the findings presented in Table 3It cou ttrte  obse««tJ from  Tat>le 3 that r w n t y  o f the respondents (96.00 percent) have suggested the setting up o f disease diagnostic cenlres m eachd isffict fo r early detection and control of d isease  such ae white spot vin js syndrome and other viral diseases affecting shrimp.Theee centres may be on the lines of Aqosculture clinics which have come up in severe jis trfc is  of Andhra Pfwlesh as reported by Olxitlu (4) who reporied matsuc^^ dm lcs help their d ien t fanners by regularly checking Ihe condition g f shnm ps under culture checking o f w ater qua lity  end suggesting timely remedial measures lofa-m ers where necessaryProvision for creation of seed oertiltcation agenciesvs«s suggested by (90.00 per cent) of ff^e respondentsas a remedial measure for poor quality seeds used by fanners Creation of markel intelligence cell m State F jtfie rles  Department as w ell as cornmunkation of day to day mformalion o f pr>ces through mass media was a suggestion oflered by B6.6V per cent o f the responderrtsThe fourth Im portant suggestion offered, was the setting up of quality control agencies to  regulate the gua l'ty  o f chem ica ls by 83 33  per cent o f the respondents This must be because shnmp culture makes use of a  large amount o f chemicals such as Prt>b»0 tjcsand Immunostimuer^ts, which do noi have any regulatory authorities set up by Ihe govemment to certify their Quality. Hence there w a need to set up quality control agencies o r National accreditetion of cerlificabon Bodies and Issue the recognized stamp m ark o f ISO 9002. sim ilar to  the ones Issued for a ssu ring  the  q u a lity  o f A grochem ica ls . m  the agriculture sector. N ext in o rder of im poriance, strengthening shnm p farm ers sssoda tlons  and fom iation o f aquaciubs was a suggestior^ 9 * '^  ^TaWe 1. Infom^ation source utilization by shrimp farm ers o f Na9apattinam(ng60)S.No.inform atior Source1 , P riv e t Consultants2  Feed dealers3. FaHowfannefSA. Stele Fishenes Department (Brackish watertie*) farmers devebpment agency* BFDA)5 Marine products export development authority • MP£DA6, Research instituQons7 Pnnled literature ________ ___Number Pen»nl RafK.52 86.67 149 81 67 1A7 76.33 II22 36.67 r /21 35.00 VI18 3167i a 30 00 V>(Table 2. Constraints faced by shrimp farmers o f NaQapatbnam. n  shrimp cirilure (n ^O )S.No.mfonnaOon Sour:e Numt)er Percent FRank1, Dsease inadence 56 93.33 12. Poor quality o f seeds 54 90.00 i3. Pnce ftuctuations and lack o f infom iatiori on m arket prices eo 83.33 ill4. Lack o f co operation among fellow  farmers 47 78.33 fV5 Lack d  Quality control ager>cies 45 75.00 V6 Lack o f credit and insurarwe facilities 44 73.33 VI? Lack of government support 43 71.66 VII'  Multiple responses and hence percentage n%ay exceed 102.Tabke 3. Suggestions ottered the raspondents to overcome the constraints in shnmp cultureS. Informaljon Source Number P ^cen tNo.1 Setting up of disease diagnosdc centres In eac^^ distnct. 57 95.00 12. Provision 1or creation o f seed certification agencies 54 90. Ha. Creation of m arkel mteHlgenca ceil stale fisheries S2 86.67 IIIdepartment as w ell as con^un lca tion  o f day to  dayinforniation of price, through mass media.4. Setting up of quaiity control agencies to  regulale the SO 83 33 Wquality of chemicals5 Strengthening shrimp farmers associalione; ar>d 48 80.00 Vfom^aOon of aqua clubs6. Goverrvnant support in the form  o f credit and 45 75.00 VIinsurance facSHies7 Lower la riff rates for eiectncity 42 70.00 VII6. Changing Itie  status of shrim p culture from ttiat 28 46.67 VIIIof InO jstry to agriculture* MUIIple responses and hence percentage may exceed 100.90.00 per cent of the respondents. Jo in t disease m anagem ent, w ater m anagem ent w ar ram s the co>operBtjve efforts of a il the ne ighttom g farm ers in order to mamlain a healthy crop. This co-operative effort can t)e pro moted onty I h rough shrimp f^T ner s association. Although a t present there is  a registered shrimp tarrr>ers association called * Nagapattnam Aqua Farmefs Assocotion* in the study area< m e acdve involvemenl of the member farmers is  lacking. Setting up of Aqua dkibs on ihe tirtes o f Andhra Pradesh stale can be taken up for co-operative actton in respect of water mtake» and water release.The sixth important suggestion was the support o f the governm ent in Ihe form  o f cred it and insurance faculties given by 75.00 per cent o f Ihe reepondems. $uch fdcilhies were given in itia lly by Nationalised banks like NA&ARO. and governm ent Insurance agencies, but later stopped due to poor repayment and fatae c iakrs Of crop loss. Lower tan ff r ^ s  for electncity was a  suggestion offered by 70.00 per cent o f the respondents. Th is m ight be because a lot of expendhtf e  was incurTed by way operation o f pump sets, and for se ttrig  up o f lighting facilities in the farm during night, to avoid theft and pilferage Lastly It couldSw9lhfhkshmibe observed from Table 3  Ihe l 46.67 per cem o f the respondents wanted 10 change the status o f shnmp c u H irt from that o f an Induslry to  that o f agficultum. This could be because o f the Supreme Court decision o f )996 conferring on sTmrn p cuitu re, the status o f an induslfy, thereby resthcting acjuacultu^ cperalions vrtlhm coastal regulation zone. The supporters of shnff\p Bquaculture would prefer lo  consider the status of agricullure forshRm p because a gncu^ra l activities are not p ro fiib ited  wittMn the C R 2 and besides the  ^ m p  farm ers werrt to  avail o f benefits like tariff reouctkn <n tfectnd ty  or free<iectrfcfty wNch i& ava)lat4e lo  agncuUural sector in states ike  Andhra PradeshshouW be appointed a t the grass root level to render timely and im poftant inform ation the Shrimp farmers. As fa r the constra in ts eMpressed by the Shnmp farm era w ere concerned I he govemrDent should undertake the  setting up  o f disease diagnostic centers in each district, fo low ed by setting of seed certifying a9encies and quality control agencies fc r regutaUng the quaNty o f chemicals. The experiences o f Ihe governm ent m the agriculture sector such as use o f quality corttrot accreditalion methods suc*^ as Agmartc, setting o f m arket inform alion ceRs» and provisfan o f free electncity can be s u it^ y  exeminea and emulated fo r the benefit of the Shrimp industry also.ConduslonIt coi^d be kPferred from  the study tfia t the pnvele consu ltants w ere  n ^ ln ly  graduates in  fishertes science and they repreeented the pnvate extensfco service These consultants v » i» d  tl>e Shrim p fsm is regularty and offered aH round te c r« ® l assistance on the peckage of practtees to be foHowed fer Sftfimp c u lt i« .  Due to their proxim ity easy accesslDilrty and trust worthiness, they w ere the  prim ary tfe d W esources o f intofmation for Shrimp farm ers T h e ^ fo wfarmers were rated as the th ird important souni« of information, since Ihey passed the infom jetion to lhe*r p iw a  by worQofnvjuth T^ie government sDorces suchas the Stale Depertment o f f is h e r ^  cam e only nextin order. The ^ m e rs  were of tr»  view ih€« the researchinslltutiorts, govem m enl departm ents end subject matter spedalists were difflca it to access, and hence they were unable to  u tilize  them  e ffec tive ly  fo r technical i nformatjon. The exler>sion w ing of the state fisheries department should be revamped and mc^e number o l lec^nlcatly qualHied and trained pe r^n n e lR efe ren ces1. Aquacutture Authority News. 2 0 0 2 .1 ' 1-43 Kumaran M , K.Ponriusam y. M.Krishnan, Harter Singh and P.S.Blrthal. 1999 Exterxtof Informatjon source utiNzation 9nong IK  shnmp afrmers of Tamitr^adu. Paer presented In the Inler-lnslHiJtionai workshop on 'Aquacullure D evelopm enI In Ind ia ' Prospects end Retrospects. NCAP.New DelN, 8-7 "  August 1999.3. K um aran . M . V .S .C handraeekaran  and N.Kalaimanl 2003. AquecuKure Extension. The Neglected aspect In Aquaculture Davek?pment Rshing Chimes 2 3 :29-33.4. Dl X ittu , J.V.H. 2001 - An overview o f the presentstale of Shrimp Aquaculture in Indta. Fiehing Chtmes. 20:11-16

Information source utilisation behaviour of shrimp farmers on

shrimp farming technologies

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Information source utilisation behaviour of shrimp farmers on shrimp farming technologies

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