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Izmir 11/12/2013
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The role of aquaculture farmers’ organizations in the GFCM area Izmir 11-12-2013
The role of aquaculture farmers’ organizations in the GFCM area
Pre-meeting to the GFCM Aquaculture Multi-stakeholder Platform
(AMShP) event. 11 DECEMBER 2013
Session 3
ENHANCING DIALOGUE AMONG AQUACULTURE
FARMERS’ ORGANIZATIONS
Javier Ojeda
APROMAR Spain’s Marine Fish Farmers Association
The role of aquaculture farmers’ organizations in the GFCM area Izmir 11-12-2013
1.- Empowering aquaculture
Farmers’ Organizations in the
GFCM area !
The role of aquaculture farmers’ organizations in the GFCM area Izmir 11-12-2013
Farmers’ Organisations exist:
o To work on industry crosscutting issues
o For individual members benefit through cooperation
o To aid/guide policy makers
o To facilitate the implementation of soft laws
o To establish self regulations.
o To maintain discussions with workers unions
→ To improve their member’s competitiveness
The role of aquaculture farmers’ organizations in the GFCM area Izmir 11-12-2013
Farmers’ Organisations work on:
o Lobbying and industry representation
o Promoting generic products
o Communication
o Common animal health measures
o Production & market intelligence
o Encouraging/focusing RTD
o Life long training
o Improvement of workers safety conditions
The role of aquaculture farmers’ organizations in the GFCM area Izmir 11-12-2013
Effective Farmers’ Organisations require:
o A critical mass industry size
o Being able to hire professional staff
…and they are built on:
o Trust on it amongst members.
o Impartiality towards its different members
o Transparency
o Accountability and good governance
o Official recognition
The role of aquaculture farmers’ organizations in the GFCM area Izmir 11-12-2013
Challenges Farmers’ Organisation face:
o Farmers’ active participation
o Financing:
• Membership fees
• Projects and services
• Subventions
o The need to adopt a holistic view of aquaculture
The role of aquaculture farmers’ organizations in the GFCM area Izmir 11-12-2013
Main assets of a Farmers’ Organisation:
o Influencing capacity
o Reputation
o Professional contacts
o Being an industry meeting point
o Acting as an information hub
The role of aquaculture farmers’ organizations in the GFCM area Izmir 11-12-2013
Farmers’ Organisations are key for the sustainable
development of the aquaculture industry!
The role of aquaculture farmers’ organizations in the GFCM area Izmir 11-12-2013
2.- Why a call for dialogue between
Farmers’ Organisations ?
The role of aquaculture farmers’ organizations in the GFCM area Izmir 11-12-2013
Farmers and their national Organisations don’t live
in a bubble
The role of aquaculture farmers’ organizations in the GFCM area Izmir 11-12-2013
The role of aquaculture farmers’ organizations in the GFCM area Izmir 11-12-2013
Aquaculture is a Mediterranised industry !
… unfortunately suffering endemic
boom & bust cycles
that risk its sustainability.
The role of aquaculture farmers’ organizations in the GFCM area Izmir 11-12-2013
Bass & Bream cycles…
The role of aquaculture farmers’ organizations in the GFCM area Izmir 11-12-2013
Farmers’ Organisations can play an important
role in ameliorating this situation
… through a win–win game for their members.
The role of aquaculture farmers’ organizations in the GFCM area Izmir 11-12-2013
Boom & bust cyclicality implies:
o Short term mentality
o Little scope for innovation
o Negative social repercussions
o Difficulties to be environmentally perfect
o Problems to keep a good image
o … a break for belief in professional organisations.
The role of aquaculture farmers’ organizations in the GFCM area Izmir 11-12-2013
3.- Promoting transnational
[quality] discussions !
The role of aquaculture farmers’ organizations in the GFCM area Izmir 11-12-2013
Reasons for transnational industry dialogues:
o To share challenges and opportunities
o Real opponents are downstream in the value chain
o Presently there is no production coordination
o The market is a shared black box
o Need to improve the image of aquaculture products
and of the industry
o Fish health is an increasing common risk
o Demands for a level playing field
→ Sustainable development is a common objective
The role of aquaculture farmers’ organizations in the GFCM area Izmir 11-12-2013
Why the intervention of Farmers’ Organisations
in transnational dialogues:
o They can set/defend long term views
o They dispose of broader perspective approaches
o They can wear white gloves
o They enjoy better legal coverage
The role of aquaculture farmers’ organizations in the GFCM area Izmir 11-12-2013
Transnational dialogues on what?
o Indirect production coordination through information
sharing [juvenile stocking; prod contingencies; sale forecasts]
o Market intelligence [trends; consumer preferences; trade]
o Fish health prevention [epidemiological maps; promoting
licensing of vet medicines]
o Communication [external; internal]
o Promotion of aquaculture products
o Focusing of RTD
o Etc.
The role of aquaculture farmers’ organizations in the GFCM area Izmir 11-12-2013
Presently, there is very little communication between
fish farmers across the Mediterranean
This has to be dealt with !
The role of aquaculture farmers’ organizations in the GFCM area Izmir 11-12-2013
How to improve this transnational dialogue?
Prerequisites:
1. Whatever is done it must deliver real results to
farmers
2. It must be lead by the industry
Actions:
1. Encourage the establishment and functioning of
national Farmers’ Organisations
2. Fostering transnational work in an appropriate
forum: the AMShP
→ Providing a specific deck for FO in the AMShP
The role of aquaculture farmers’ organizations in the GFCM area Izmir 11-12-2013
How to improve this transnational dialogue? (2)
But other tools should be additionally considered:
3. External specialised services: Kontali
4. Building on the work of other organisations:
EATiP, AquaMed,…
The role of aquaculture farmers’ organizations in the GFCM area Izmir 11-12-2013
I hope you found this presentation interesting.
Thanks for your attention!
