Results87.5% SCP farmers earned less than USD$10/day/farmer
which is below the national Poverty Line Income (PLI).56.7% of
non-SCP farmers earned more than USD$10/day/farmer.Poor adoption of
the new SCP farming system (Table 1). Weak social cohesion (Figure
7).
The Introduction of the Seaweed Cluster Project (SCP) to
Optimise Seaweed Production in Malaysia
Adibi Nor1, Tim Gray2, Gary Caldwell1, Selina Stead1 1School of
Marine Science & Technology, Newcastle University, UK2School of
Geography, Politics & Sociology, Newcastle University, UK
email: [email protected] IntroductionKappaphycus seaweed farming
started in 1978 (1). Malaysia is now 3rd largest global producer
(2). Capacity to produce 26,076 tonnes, valued at
USD$15 million/year (3).Employment: 1,400 farmers.Income
generation: potentially USD$30/day/farmer, but in reality: USD$8
USD$15/day/farmer (4).Low motivation of farmers to participate in
seaweed farming and high dependence on subsidies or government
assistance.
MethodsThe study sites: Semporna district, East coast of Sabah,
Malaysia (Figure 1 & 3).Data collection (Figure 2, 4 &
5):Focus Group Discussions (n=40), face to face semi structured
interviews (n=42), survey questionnaires (SCP, Semporna Area
Farmers Association-SAFA and migrant communities); n=144),
documentary analysis and direct observations.Analysis:Thematic
analysis using Nvivo software, descriptive statistics using SPSS
and PCA using PRIMER.
DiscussionThe SCP farmers earned less income than non-SCP
farmers due to inefficient production of seaweed. For instance, SCP
farmers ceased farming seaweed during the bad season (South season)
due to low productivity of seaweed production, that resulted in
less farming cycles per year than non-SCP farmers. Also, this meant
SCP farmers periodically switched to other jobs during the bad
season. In contrast, non-SCP farmers have fewer occupational
livelihood diversification opportunities and stronger social
networks. Seaweed farming in Malaysia is dominated by Filipino
migrants, often hired by the SCP farmers to perform their farming
activities. The SCP farming system proved unable to reduce manpower
effort, improve seaweed quality and increase seaweed production due
to poor evidence-based information. The SCP farmers also
discouraged their children from participating in seaweed farming
because of price fluctuation and poor income generation.
ConclusionsEven though farmers and stakeholders are increasingly
aware of the potential benefits of seaweed farming, so far the SCP
seems unable to deliver its central objectives.The SCPs problems
are linked to poor multi-level governance, weak market mechanisms
and unintegrated community development.
ReferencesSade, A., Ali, I. and Mohd Ariff, M.R. (2006) 'The
Seaweed Industry in Sabah East Malaysia', Jati, 11.Valderrama, D.,
Cai, J., Hishamunda, N. and Ridler, N. (2013) Social and economic
dimensions of carrageenan seaweed farming, (580) Rome.SFD (2015)
Annual Fisheries Statistics 2015, Kota Kinabalu.Razali, D.D.E.,
Alin, J.M., Bahron, A. and Mahmud, R. (2013) Economic returns from
seaweed (Kappaphycus alvarezii) family farming in Tun Sakaran
Marine Park, Semporna, Sabah, Proceedings 21st International
Seaweed Symposium. Bali, Indonesia.
Case-study rationale: SCPSCP began in 2012, planned until 2020
in the national seaweed commercialisation and livelihood agenda in
order to achieve its central objectives to:Increase national
production to 150,000 tonnes, income to USD$850/month/farmer or
USD$28/day/farmer, optimise farming area, improve seaweed quality,
reduce environmental impact and end the shortage of manpower. By
aggregating small-scale farmers into cooperatives between 30 50
farmers per SCP, introducing a new farming system and management
structure (Figure 6).
Figure 7. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of Social Network
Strength.Figure 4. SCP farmer on the boat to install the farming
lines at the SCP farming site. Figure 5. SAFA family members tying
the seedlings to the farming lines.Figure 3. Research sites at
seven seaweed communities in Semporna district.Figure 1.
Conventional seaweed farm nearby pondohan area, which predominated
by the migrant community.Figure 2. Focus Group Discussions (FGDs)
session among SCP farmers.Figure 6. A diagram of the SCP model.
Small-scale individual farmer Commercial-scale cooperatives
farmerCommercial-scale and eco-friendly farming systemIntegrated
wooden drying platformSell directly to carrageenan processorTable
1. Percent distribution of perceptions among SCP farmers (n=40)
using SCP versus conventional farming systems.
