Báo cáo khoa học nông nghiệp " Development of Better Management Practices for Catfish Aquaculture in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam " doc

Development of Better Management Practices for Catfish Aquaculture in the
Mekong Delta, Vietnam

CARD Project 001/07/VIE

Evaluation Plan

August 2010

A draft evaluation plan, incorporating aspects of BMP communication and risk
management planning and monitoring of BMP compliance and perfomance has been
prepared by the CARD project. This plan will be reviewed and finalised at the
National BMP Workshop (scheduled for November 2010), for implementation at the
completion of the CARD project itself.

For monitoring and evaluation purposes specifically, this plan identifies roles for:
• Provincial Departments of Agriculture & Rural Development
o Providing support for developing aquaculture capacity in the provinces
through advisory and technical services and strategic planning
o District authorities in maintaining records of farm locations, operations
and production; to be enhanced with additional data collection and
reporting on BMP adoption, compliance and performance.
o District level BMP data to be consolidated and fed into strategic
industry development planning at provincial level
o BMP data and associated strategic planning and development to be
communicated to farmers via clusters/associations, as part of periodic
BMP review and amendment process.
• Vietnam Association for Seafood Export Producers (VASEP)
o Promoting seafood exports, including farmed catfish

o Collate and report statistics on seafood exports, including data from
processors
o Potentially to include validation data on BMP compliance by small-
scale producers which can then be communicated to provincial
departments to enhance strategic planning and annual BMP review
processes at District levels.

Issues for Consideration

Successful outcomes for development and implementation of BMPs at industry-wide
scale extend beyond the documentation and communication of relevant SOPs.
Compliance with BMP-based SOPs in itself does not guarantee practice change in
farmers. If continuous improvement and innovation in farming practices are
considered necessary imperatives for small-scale farmers to survive and prosper into
the future, then a more comprehensive ‘systems’ approach to BMP adoption and
implementation is required in the medium to longer term. Such a systems approach
needs to factor in the requirement for new business models, monitoring of BMP
performance and evaluation of impacts, together with an ongoing BMP review
process to capture and implement learnings and new technologies, and to address new
and emerging risks and opportunities.



Industry trends anecdotally at least suggest that influence of the large scale farmers
and associated processors in the operational structure and economic performance of
the catfish market chain is increasing, and that conversely, the influence of small-
scale farmers is declining.

Nonetheless, small-scale farmers are expected to have a significant role to play in
ensuring the long-term sustainability of the industry going forward, on the assumption

that there is widespread and effective adoption of BMPs. It is further assumed that
such BMP adoption by small-scale farmers needs to be cluster (or farmer association)
based, along the lines of the successful NACSA shrimp farming BMP experience in
the Andra Pradesh region of India. Such an arrangement will provide practical, cost-
effective means of adoption and implementation in the absence of adequate resources
for farmers operating individually. The cluster-based approach also provides the
potential for individual farmers to establish commercial cooperative or joint venture
partnership type agribusiness units with adequate critical mass and capability to
participate cost-effectively in existing catfish market chains.

In the longer term, the industry requires a strategic development plan to enable the
existing market chains to evolve into more functional value chains in the future.
These value chains need to be designed to meet the increased market/consumer
expectations on food safety, credence characteristics and associated standards-based
certification and traceability systems.

Farmers lack the resources and technical capacity and capability in isolation to
comply with BMPs and to meet emerging challenges and impacts from market
globalisation, climate change, changing consumer preferences and the global financial
crisis. Cluster-based, small-scale farmer business units are expected to be able to
achieve BMP compliance by offsetting transactional and operational costs for
adopting and maintaining BMPs. Such business units will also contribute and
compete successfully in emerging value chains in the future, as long as they are
appropriately established sooner rather than later as part of a ‘through chain’, whole
of industry strategic approach.

BMP System – A Conceptual Framework

As part of the BMP communication, implementation and evaluation plan being
prepared as part of the CARD project, a new, ‘BMP System’ conceptual framework

has been developed. This framework is designed to facilitate effective:
• communication on the BMPs (what, why, where, how etc… )
• adoption and implementation of BMPs (extension, training and technical
support etc), and
• monitoring and evaluation (compliance, performance, impact etc).

With further development, the framework will also provide preliminary guidelines on
processes for formation of clusters and associations, as well as suitable business
models for ‘commercialisation’ of the clusters/associations into functional business
enterprises consistent with the ‘value chain’ approach mentioned previously.

This framework is to be based on the draft Evaluation Plan and associated Theory of
Action (see following) for the CARD project.







Enhanced long-term sustainability
of the catfish farming sector in
the Mekong Delta, Vietnam
Secure export market access
compliant with all requisite
standards
Global recognition of Vietnam
commitment to product quality, food
safety and environmental
management

Value chain approach to catfish
industry development
Practice
Change
Knowledge
Attitude
Skills
Aspiration
s

Next users
Outputs
Project Resources
& activities
AusAid CARD Project Funding 001/07/VIE
CARD Project team – RIA2, CTU, NACA, DPI
Catfish farmers and processors

Baseline survey & risk assessment
Provincial & national workshops
Demonstration trials & Evaluation survey
Draft BMPs
BMP publications
& website
BMP training
& extension
BMP Evaluation &
Implementation
Plan

Farmers &
processors
Extension
officers
Researchers
Policy
makers
Buyers, consumers
& local communities
New technical capabilties
Improved access to
information
Greater confidence in
future investment
decisions & long term
Sustainability
Enhanced marketing
strategies & opportunity

Access to new & enhanced
databases
Science-based policy
decisions
R&D to support continuous
improvement & innovation
Improved industry
stakeholder relationships
Better understanding of
issues

Greater confidence in
product quality &
environmental
sustainability of industry
Appreciation of broader
industry benefits &
issues
•
Farmers routinely apply BMPs to achieve improved performance in terms of
production outputs, profitability and environmental management
• Farmers organised into functional associations which facilitate information
sharing, training and BMP adoption & implementation
• Farmers & processors establish new market chain relationships to harmonise
production and secure new market access
• Policy makers develop science-based policy to facilitate sustainable long-term
development of industry
• Buyers support BMP compliant farmers to develop new purchasing contracts
and to facilitate appropriate standards for traceability-based certification
• Consumers confidently purchase and consume catfish products and local
communities support industry development
Outcomes
•
Enhanced long-term sustainability of the catfish farming sector in the Delta
• Enhanced international reputation for Vietnamese commitment to seafood
product safety and quality and sustainable environmental management
• Value chain driven approach to industry development and more equitable
‘through chain sharing of information and product value
• Increased productivity and profitability for farmers and processors alike, and
harmonised production levels
• Local community support for industry and consumer satisfaction with products