Improving aquaculture in post-tsunami Aceh, Indonesia: experiences and lessons in better management and farmer organizations

Coastal aquaculture in Aceh was severely affected by the Asian Tsunami in December 2004. Capacity building among stakeholders was one of the key activities implemented by various agencies during the post-tsunami aquaculture rehabilitation and subsequent development phase. The main objective was improving production efficiencies and farmer incomes. This article describes the process of implementation of the approach and crop outcomes until the end of 2009. In 2009, 1135 farmers and their 1296 ponds were organized in 27 clusters across 84 villages of three districts to implement better management practices (BMP). Interventions reduced the prevalence of shrimp disease outbreaks significantly in participating ponds (22.45%) compared with non-participating ponds (62.64%). Among the normal harvested ponds, though there was no significant improvement in shrimp yield but costs of shrimp production were significantly reduced by 12.1% and benefit cost ratio was significantly increased by 0.523 points in normal harvested participating ponds compared with normal harvested non-participating ponds. Multivariable logistic regression analysis with 27 independent variables including a set of BMP showed that many factors were significantly associated with the normal harvests, improved yield and profits. The study shows that simple management improvements can reduce risks and improve economic returns.