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Lookup NU author(s): Adibi MD Nor, Professor Tim Gray, Dr Gary Caldwell, Professor Selina Stead
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
Seaweed (Kappaphycus spp.) farming has been practised in Malaysia since the late 1970s following government policy incentives (training and farming inputs). However, numerous governance, economic, environmental, technological and sociocultural challenges have prevented the industry from achieving its full potential. The Seaweed Cluster Project (SCP) was introduced in 2012 to address some of these challenges. We sought to evaluate the effectiveness of the SCP in delivering its central objectives of increasing seaweed production, optimising the farming area, improving seaweed quality and farming efficiency, raising farmers’ income, and reducing the environmental impact of seaweed farming. Community and industry perceptions of the SCP were obtained from seven communities using a mixed-methods approach based on face-to-face semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, household surveys, observation and secondary data. Views on the SCP outcomes were generally negative, including low take-up rates by indigenous people, poor stakeholder participation in decision-making, limited acceptance of new technologies, economic vulnerability, a complex marketing system, and low social cohesion of seaweed farming communities. Positive perceptions included recognition that the SCP confers high social status upon a community, reduces operating costs, and facilitates the production of certified seaweed. The SCP’s problems are linked to poor multi-level governance, weak market mechanisms and unintegrated community development. The study concludes with five recommendations to improve the SCP; promote the participation of indigenous people; legalise existing migrant farmers; strengthen local seaweed cooperative organisations; provide entrepreneurship skills to farmers; and fully integrated stakeholders into decision-making.Aquaculture · Seaweed farming · Governance · Community · Policy · Malaysia
Author(s): Nor AM, Gray TS, Caldwell GS, Stead SM
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Journal of Applied Phycology
Year: 2016
Volume: 29
Issue: 5
Pages: 2323–2337
Print publication date: 01/10/2017
Online publication date: 10/12/2016
Acceptance date: 21/11/2016
Date deposited: 12/12/2016
ISSN (print): 0921-8971
ISSN (electronic): 1573-5176
Publisher: Springer
URL: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-016-1025-y
DOI: 10.1007/s10811-016-1025-y
Notes: From International Seaweed Symposium 2016, June 19-24, Copenhagen, Denmark.
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