Development and delivery of practical disease control programs for small-scale shrimp farmers in Indonesia, Thailand and Australia

• Directorate General of Fisheries, Indonesia
• Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia Pacific, Thailand
• Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand
• James Cook University, Australia
• Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, Australia
• Aquatic Animal Health Research Institute, Thailand
• Department of Fisheries, Western Australia, Australia

The world production of farm shrimp in 1996 was valued at over $10 billion. About 80 per cent of the crop is produced in Asia, largely by small-scale farmers. In Thailand, 90 per cent of shrimp farms are smaller than 1.6 ha, while in Indonesia almost 50 per cent are less than 2 ha. In Australia, the bulk of producers are also small farmers that operate on average on 15 ha of ponds. Penaeus monodon is the most important farmed shrimp species in Southeast Asia and Australia. Infectious diseases are consistently identified as the major threat to the long-term viability of the shrimp farming industry in the Asia-Pacific region, and recurrent massive outbreaks of viral diseases have caused serious financial losses among smallholders.

To address this situation, researchers have worked towards developing effective farm-level, shrimp disease-control programs. This work has now produced relevant expertise and information, but because of lack of definitive, on-farm program validations and inadequacies in the delivery of extension programs, smallholders have generally failed to benefit.

The main aim of this project is for farmers, scientists and extension workers in Indonesia, Thailand, and Australia to acquire the necessary knowledge, practical skills and willingness to implement, retain and continue publicising the shrimp disease-control programs that have been developed for small-scale shrimp farms. Additionally, the project aims to support an existing shrimp disease and coastal management study in India.

The researchers will train farmers, technicians and disease diagnosticians in practical disease-control in Indonesia. In Australia, they will monitor the health and survival of shrimp and pond water quality in approximately 60 ponds and use this information for detailed descriptions of pathology, microbiology and epidemiology of significant shrimp diseases. They will analyse information and identify major causes for the identified shrimp diseases.
The team will examine the extension environments in the different participating countries in detail, hold extension strategy workshops with stakeholders in each country, and develop appropriate extension processes for smallholder shrimp farmers in Indonesia, Thailand and Australia.
The project team will select participating farmers, that represent all groups in each country, based on their expertise and reputation, their social and economic status and their farming practices. They will then initiate a program for these farmers to train other farmers in the implementation of shrimp disease-control programs in Indonesia and Thailand. During this process they will continually assess the adoption rates of the program. They will regularly evaluate and adjust the extension methods through workshops, and will also develop video presentations and manuals to aid extension delivery in areas that are not covered by this project.
Finally, they will conduct an epidemiological analysis of risk factors that are associated with viral diseases of shrimps on Indian farms, integrate their findings to develop training courses and produce materials for local language extension of the shrimp disease-control programs.

This four-year project had two linked components, a 'core' project component in Indonesia, Thailand and Australia, for which ACIAR was the sole external funding provider and a 'collaborative' project component in India, with NACA and MPEDA, for which ACIAR provided supplementary funding. The first component is described here.

Completion of training, in practical disease control issues, for nucleus groups of progressive Indonesian farmers, health management technicians and disease diagnosticians
Project staff and those in related agencies undertook significant training in laboratory techniques and extension processes. This was supported by additional funding for workshops based on identified needs. Farmer training was delivered at selected sites in East Java and South Sulawesi via meetings based around farmer groups, focusing on demonstration ponds operated by key lead farmers.

Description of pathology and epidemiology of diseases causing significant production loss on Australian shrimp farms, with particular attention to diseases associated with GAV and SMV infections
Project staff made important progress in understanding the epidemiology of GAV-associated disease outbreaks on Australian farms. On the three representative farms studied, infection prevalence and GAV load were associated with disease severity. A number of papers describing these findings are in preparation and results have been incorporated into the comprehensive best-practice manual for Australian farmers produced by project staff (see below). In addition, new low-cost technology, such as a pond side ELISA test, has also been developed, with potential to benefit Australian and Asian farmers. SMV infection was considered of relatively minor importance and was not further addressed during the project.

Development of appropriate, country-specific extension processes for smallholder shrimp farmers in Indonesia, Thailand and Australia
Detailed preparatory work was undertaken in mapping out information and knowledge systems, and planning the most effective extension processes for each social and cultural context. In working with key farmers and farmer groups, project staff then used carefully selected participative and learning approaches. Numerous targeted extension products were developed, consistent with reaching identified stakeholder groups. A comprehensive prawn farming manual, specifically for Australian farmers and incorporating best practice health management principles, was produced in collaboration with APFA and widely distributed.

Validation of farm-level disease control programs for smallholder shrimp farmers in Indonesia, Thailand and Australia
In Indonesia and Thailand, best management practices were validated for smallholder semi-intensive farmers (Indonesia) and intensive farmers (Thailand) in most target districts and significant gains made in crop 'success' by the measures used. Attempts at validation in South Sulawesi were unsuccessful; potential reasons included soils factors and close proximity of diseased, non-participant farms. Interventions to reduce GAV-related losses were presented in the project-produced manual provided to Australian farmers.

Demonstration of validated disease control programs on selected smallholder farms in Indonesia and Thailand
Despite an initial disease-related setback at a demonstration site in Indonesia and a major shift in species farmed in Thailand, validated programs were used for demonstration and learning purposes amongst participating farmer groups, neighbouring and visiting farmers at various levels. There were varying levels of 'success' in bringing other farmers on board. Factors inhibiting some smallholder farmers from adopting best-practice approaches included: access to credit/resources (Indonesia); low prices and need for a premium price (Thailand). An unexpected, enthusiastic adoption of modified programs amongst non-target 'extensive' farmers in areas occurred near demonstration sites in Java, perhaps because implementation amongst this group does not require significant additional investment.

Extension of validated disease control programs to smallholder shrimp farmers in Indonesia, Thailand and Australia
Development of carefully targeted extension approaches was a key activity within the project. Consequently, there was generally good adoption within farmer groups linked to successful demonstration ponds and this led to significant production improvements. The use of socio-grams and continuous reflection and improvement processes informed the extension activities. Impact assessment was undertaken in Indonesia and Thailand. Initial results indicate strong diffusion rates from participating farmers and significant gains with farmers who adopted recommendations in most cases. Carefully targeted extension materials have been developed and these have been widely circulated at varying levels to key stakeholders including relevant extension staff and the private sector. The lack of effective government extension systems in aquaculture is one of the limitations to wider integration of technologies. Some steps have been taken to work with the private sector (feed and seed suppliers) with potential for further development.