Success Stories In Asian Aquaculture - Library - Network of ...

78 H. Kongkeo and F.B. Davysoil analyses, shrimp consultancy, and market advice). DOF Quality Control Sectionhas a larger budgetary allocation (32%) and plays a very significant role in improvingthe seafood quality (international food safety standards and requirements fromindividual importing countries). Not only the DOF, but also the Ministry ofCommerce, assists the shrimp industry in the promotion of shrimp products in domesticand international markets, improving the image of shrimp culture in internationalforums and negotiating trade barrier issues with importing countries. Universitiesand vocational colleges also assist in capacity building of resource persons for theshrimp farming industry. Many skilled farmers, who became leaders of farmergroups, were later trained and received further education in aquaculture. Many universitiesalso conduct high quality research on P. vannamei and Macrobrachiumfarming in Kasetsart University, domestication of P. monodon and PCR in MahidolUniversity, shrimp genetic and recycling pond in Burapa University, and treatmentof farm effluent and sludge in Prince of Songkhla University.Feed factories also play important roles in shrimp extension programs throughtheir sales services, including provision of regular training programs at their trainingcenters through the support of overseas training for selected farmers.4.6 Government Policy and SupportAs Thailand is an agricultural country, government has had a major policy to promotecrop production as “the world kitchen” and fully aims for development toassist the poor small scale operator. These policies directly benefit over 30,000families of small scale farms, over 2,000 backyard hatchery families, and also manythousands of laborers in 184 shrimp processing plants, 49 canneries, and over 10shrimp feed mills (DOF 2007) . Good infrastructure facilities, such as roads, electricityand water, were critically important initial facilities provided to these areas.Free technical assistance through DOF is the main policy that assists small scalefarmers. DOF policies for disease prevention also permitted and strictly regulatedonly the SPF P. vannamei from Hawaii to enter the country. This partial relaxationon the import of certified, SPF PLs from Hawaii prevented the private sector andother interested parties from importing PLs from elsewhere (which could have beenviral contaminated, thereby leading to serious impacts on the industry in Thailandin a major way). As mentioned earlier, the Ministry of Commerce, in cooperationwith DOF, heavily promoted sales in both domestic and international markets. Pricestabilization policies also helped small scale farmers to sell their products withguaranteed prices offered through the Agricultural Bank. The Agricultural Bankusually provides loans with minimal interest rate only to small scale farmers.Government also provided income tax exemption schemes to small scale farmersand fishermen if their net profits do not reach the ceiling.