The Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP), Walmart and IDH have completed a major aquaculture training program in Asia providing thousands of shrimp and tilapia farmers with modern training designed to improve their businesses.
Organizers initially expected the project, operating in Indonesia, Thailand, and China, to attract 12,500 farmers. But by the finishing date in December 2016, more than 15,000 farmers in all three countries had participated in the training.
The focus on smaller-scale producers and the specific inclusion of women in the training has been particularly valuable, as the contribution of these groups is often overlooked in projects aiming at improvements in shrimp farming.
The program, co-funded by Walmart Foundation and IDH, the Sustainable Trade Initiative, has led to vast improvements in environmental and disease management across shrimp and tilapia farms.
Flavio Corsin, IDH Program Director Aquaculture: “Promoting the adoption of responsible aquaculture practices, especially when requiring small-holders to work with each other to address issues that cannot be addressed by farms individually, is not an easy task and requires strong partnerships. We are proud of the results achieved with this project. At the same time we recognize the need for the aquaculture sector to embrace zone management and data-driven decision making as essential elements for its continued success. These are the elements that through our Farmers In Transition (FIT) Fund we will continue supporting.”
Training topics included the Code of Good Practice in Aquaculture, ecological farming, health management and market outlook. SFP will continue to work closely with the producers to continue the improvements that have been made and help integrate them further into the international supply chain.
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