More than half of the respondents interviewed were poor. Farmers adapt easily to low risk, low cost and locally developed resources, which include such items as cages, fish for stocking and feed. This approach helps overcome the constraints sterning from lack of access to credit and government services. Groupers and lobsters stocked in cages are mostly harvested from the wild; consequently, they range in size from 3-10 cm. They are usually caught in traps by local fishermen, although juvenile lobsters are occasionally taken by hand. The respondents, in general, prioritize availability of animals for stocking as among the four most important factors for aquaculture success. The diet mostly includes trash fish and shellfish, which is either purchased from dealers at local markets or caught locally and used directly. The poor attempt to culture fish by finding their own ways to access the required assets, but they cannot compete with large producers catering to export markets. Vulnerability Context The Vietnam coastline is subject to extreme seasonal weather changes. For example, typhoons can destroy cage farms. Occasional typhoons from the South China Sea cross into Vietnam between May and January, frequently causing floods. The study area witnessed a severe typhoon in 2000, displacing several shrimp farmers. Forty percent of the respondents were victims of the 2000 typhoon that caused damage to their houses and property. 40 percent of respondents were victims of the 2000 typhoon The regional governments launched some relief programs to help farmers in the event of extreme weather conditions and disease outbreaks, but such help, according to the farmers, is not adequate. Disease, such as an outbreak in 1999 affecting shrimp in Nha Trang, is a sporadic problem. Nearly half of the respondents mentioned that they were affected by the 1999 outbreak, which is the reason for their shifting to marine cage aquaculture. So far, the farmers have not encountered serious disease problems with lobster culture, and very few problems with grouper. In general, the respondents do not presently see disease as a serious problem or a constraint to cage aquaculture. Two thirds of the respondents stated that price fluctuations and middlemen take a major share of profit away from them, which is seen as a constraint. It is the middlemen who decide the farmgate price, which is influenced by several external factors beyond the control of farmers. The majority of fish and lobster are sold and marketed live, mainly through local buyers who, in turn, sell to the major exporting companies based in Ho Chi Minh City. Institutional and Policy Framework In Vietnam, new policy and institutional changes have come into effect since 1990s. Although pro-poor policies, such as the Sustainable Aquaculture for Poverty Alleviation (SAPA) program in Vietnam appear promising, the main weakness lies in improper planning and a lack of implementation. Sustainable Aquaculture for Poverty Alleviation is designed to provide better livelihoods for the poor and, at the same time, promote sustainable aquaculture. The most recent Ministry of Fisheries (MOF) 2002 Plan of Action on SAPA includes 13 items focusing on training of human resources, fisheries extension, transfer of technology and marketing. But the action plan has yet to be implemented and needs support from external agencies. The recently enacted Hunger Eradication and Poverty Reduction (HEPR) program under the Ministry of Labor, Individuals and Social Affair is viewed in Vietnam and outside as a successful framework for poverty reduction. Consequently, several projects and programs were implemented to promote rural development, credit and market support with an overall objective to increase the living standards of the poor. The strategy for 2000-2010 is to expand the poverty alleviation content of HEPR based on new poverty line definitions, to eradicate hunger and reduce vulnerability of the poor through strengthening of the assets. It is a positive development in the government's thinking. But it is also a contradiction to other programs, such as the Vietnam Programme on the Development of Aquaculture that primarily focuses on production and not on poverty alleviation. The program stands on the priority list of provincial Department of Fisheries in coastal provinces, where SAPA is not very popular with the DOF and the people involved in WORLD AQUACULTURE 49
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