Food safety is a key concern for international trade in fish products. The constantly changing regulatory environment and safety requirements of importing countries pose a special challenge to small-scale aquaculture producers.
The programme assists members to assure the safety and quality of aquaculture products through the adoption of science-based better management practices. Policy issues concerning aquaculture certification and activities in market access are also addressed.
The programme focuses on assisting small-scale farmers to adapt to the changing trade and safety environment. Cluster-based management approaches and formation of farmer societies are promoted as practical mechanisms for implementation of better management practices.
Key activities
Evaluation of commodity-specific better management practices for meeting domestic and international food safety standards.
Facilitating establishment of national residue testing and monitoring programmes and sharing of information amongst member countries.
Improving access to markets by small-scale farmers.
Improving market development for low-cost aquaculture commodities.
Address biosecurity and associated human health issues regarding the consumption of fish and processed products.
Development of farmer groups and cluster-based certification concepts and methodologies.
This project was conducted to demonstrate small scale shrimp farmer group access to international markets through certification schemes. This project proved that small-scale farmers organised into groups, can improve their technical capacities, and achieve access to markets. This achievement was the result of strong partnerships with producers, private sector and government agencies assisting to develop a sustainable business model for small scale aquaculture. Cost of compliance was found to be a significant barrier to entry.
Small-scale farmers face many challenges in the face of globalisation. Ever-increasingly competition, increasingly strict food safety and evironmental standards, and a growing regulatory burden can make it difficult for small farmers to survive. A cluster or cooperative approach can help farmers achieve economies of scale to remain competitive.
Cost and logistical constraints can be barriers to the inclusion of small-scale farmers in aquaculture certification schemes. Adopting a cluster-based approach, where groups of adjacent farms are certified together, can facilitate the participation of small-scale producers maintain their access to markets. Group-based certification can also assist with extension and implementation of better management practices required to achieve certification and compliance monitoring.
International requirements on food safety, traceability, animal health and welfare and social responsibility are increasingly stringent. The burden of compliance and the cost of certification are particularly heavy for small scale farmers who are often excluded by the limited resources at their disposal. Working in groups can help small scale farmers attain economies of scale necessary to address compliance issues and participate in certification schemes, improving their competitive position.
International requirements on food safety, traceability, animal health and welfare and social responsibility are increasingly stringent. The burden of compliance and the cost of certification are particularly heavy for small scale farmers who are often excluded by the limited resources at their disposal. Working in groups can help small scale farmers attain economies of scale necessary to address compliance issues and participate in certification schemes, improving their competitive position.
Collaborative project "Grouper/cluster certification of aqua societies" completed. Report of the Advisory Group on Aquatic Animal Health available. Guidelines on Aquaculture Society Certification released. Listen to us online. Workshop on ecosystem approach to inland fisheries: Data needs and implementation strategies. Disease advisory: Infectious myonecrosis (IMN) status and threat. 7th Regional Grouper Hatchery Production Training Course, 25 September - 15 October, Situbondo, Indonesia.
These guidelines prepare and enable aquaculture societies to seek group certification from independent third party certification programmes. The guidelines are independent of commodity and certification standards. They were developed as part of a collaborative MPEDA/NaCSA/NACA project on the certification of aquaculture societies. Draft guidelines developed by the project partners were discussed at the inception meeting on aquacutlure society certifiction held at Kakinada during 1-2 September 2009.
25 September 2010 | Jonathan Banks | 3107 views | .mp3 | 12.68 MB
Certification schemes for both wild and farmed products are gaining market share in many developed country markets. In a not too distant future, aquaculture’s share of total supply for human consumption will rise to somewhere between 60 and 70 percent. This will have a profound impact on the sector’s ability to shape world markets but it will also challenge the sector’s ability to respond successfully to evolving consumer needs.
As standards, certification schemes and claims proliferate, their value is being questioned. Producers and producing countries in particular question whether these private standards and certification schemes duplicate or complement government work, especially in relation to food safety and animal health. The expert panel will review current practices and future trends in market-based quality standards and certification schemes in aquaculture, including international initiatives to promote transparent market standards for improved safety, quality and sustainability in aquaculture.
25 September 2010 | Mark Prein | 3349 views | .mp3 | 15.87 MB
There is unprecedented growth in the demand for organic food and new areas of organic food production, such as fish, are proving increasingly popular. Today, several specific and relatively precise standards of organic aquaculture production (hatchery, feed, grow-out) and processing exist which aim at achieving optimal agro-ecosystems which are socially, ecologically and economically sustainable. Around 80 different organic aquaculture standards exist, both public as well as private.
Presentation of the summary, conclusions and recommendations of Thematic Session 4 (Responding to market demands and challenges; making aquaculture a safe and diverse food producing sector for the benefit of world consumers).
The Phuket Consensus is a declaration on aquaculture development endorsed by participants of the Global Conference on Aquaculture 2010, held in Phuket, Thailand, 22-25 September. The consensus builds on the Bangkok Declaration, which was formulated at the International Conference on Aquaculture in the Third Millennium, held in Bangkok, 20-25 February 2000. The consensus and declaration provide strategic guidance on sustainable development of aquaculture considering social, environmental, technical and economic issues.
Development of modern aquaculture in Java, Indonesia. Better management practices - gateway to sustainability. Update on organic scampi aquaculture in Andhra Pradesh. Domestic fish marketing in south India. Seed rearing of catfish Clarias batrachus. Supply and use of catfish Pangasianodon hypopthalmus seed in the Mekong Delta. Risk analysis and sustainability of catfish seed in the Mekong Delta. Life of a river in the Himalaya: Ecological study of the Trisuli River, Nepal and more.
Inception meeting on methodologies for aquaculture society certification. Meetings discuss impacts, adaptation to climate change of Vietnamese shrimp farmers. Aquaclimate project: India case study. In memory of Gagan Bahadur Nhuchhe Pradhan. Version 2 of the draft better management practices for catfish farming released. Technical course on federating digital library systems.
GLOBALGAP standard in Thai shrimp farms: Mission (im)possible? The Victorian trout industry and the bushfires. Small-scale aquaculture in the Ayeyarwady Delta, Myanmar. The history, status and future prospects of monosex tilapia culture in Thailand. Mangroves of Nakhon Si Thammaarat Province in Souther Thailand. Induced breeding of pacu Piaractus brachypomus in captivity. Fumosins - mycotoxins of increasing importance in fish. Microsatellite DNA markers, a fisheries perspective. Formulated feed for tiger grouper grow out.
Myanmar revisited. Harvesting, traditional preservation and marketing of fishes of Chalan Beel, Bangladesh. Role of community in production and supply of larger, quality fingerlings. Can rice-fish farming provide food security in Bangladesh? Nutritional and food security for rural poor through multi-commodity production from a lake of eastern Uttar Pradesh. Emerging boost in Sri Lankan reservoir fish production. Farming the freshwater prawn Macrobrachium malcolmnsonii. Breeding and seed production of catfish Ompok pabda.
