Does application of quality assurance certification by shrimp farmers enhance feasibility of implementing traceability along the supply chain? Evidence from Vietnam

ABSTRACT

This study investigated the effects of applications of international quality assurance certification at farm level on the implementation of traceability along the shrimp supply chain with evidence from Vietnam. Descriptive statistics was explored to compare products, information flows, financial efficiency, and willingness to implement traceability between certified and noncertified quality assurance shrimp farms. A binary logistics model was applied to examine the effects of applications of international quality assurance certification and other factors on the willingness to implement traceability of shrimp farmers. Found results showed that the applications of international quality assurance certification of shrimp farmers supported traceability of shrimp products among stakeholders in the supply chain. The certified farmers indicated a higher willingness to implement traceability. However, the profitability of those applications for shrimp farmers was not statistically found. The economics incentives, including farm-gate price differentiation and minimization of production costs, should be carefully considered.

KEYWORDS:

• Traceability
• food safety
• quality assurance
• shrimp supply chain
• Vietnam

Acknowledgments

This work was conducted with the collaboration of the Provincial Department of Fisheries in Ca Mau and other provinces in Mekong Delta, Vietnam, who provided information and recommendations. The authors would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for the critical comments to improve our paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

^1. The extensive shrimp farming system is typically used to produce large, high-quality black tiger shrimp. Under this system, the shrimp pond is not well built, and the pond size varies from 1 to 15 ha. In the past, shrimp was stocked naturally during the water intake. However, in recent years, farmers have had to stock the ponds each month using hatchery seed (postlarvae [PL]). Shrimp feed is not supplied to the system, and the shrimp rely on food that grows in the ponds such as plants, copepods, nematodes, insert larvae, and snails. The shrimp are harvested in accordance with the lunar cycle using fyke nets. Conversely, an intensive shrimp farming system requires advanced technology and large amounts of capital. One crop of black tiger shrimp takes six months to mature; a crop of white leg shrimp takes three to four months to mature. Intensive cultivation systems are located in areas designated by the local planning authorities because of the effects on the environment. Pond sizes range from 0.5 to 1 ha, and the shrimp are stocked once for each crop, with stocking density varying from 25–40 PL/m² for black tiger shrimp to 80–200 PL/m² for white leg shrimp. High-quality commercial feed is used throughout the cultivation period.

The extensive shrimp farming system is typically used to produce large, high-quality black tiger shrimp. Under this system, the shrimp pond is not well built, and the pond size varies from 1 to 15 ha. In the past, shrimp was stocked naturally during the water intake. However, in recent years, farmers have had to stock the ponds each month using hatchery seed (postlarvae [PL]). Shrimp feed is not supplied to the system, and the shrimp rely on food that grows in the ponds such as plants, copepods, nematodes, insert larvae, and snails. The shrimp are harvested in accordance with the lunar cycle using fyke nets. Conversely, an intensive shrimp farming system requires advanced technology and large amounts of capital. One crop of black tiger shrimp takes six months to mature; a crop of white leg shrimp takes three to four months to mature. Intensive cultivation systems are located in areas designated by the local planning authorities because of the effects on the environment. Pond sizes range from 0.5 to 1 ha, and the shrimp are stocked once for each crop, with stocking density varying from 25–40 PL/m² for black tiger shrimp to 80–200 PL/m² for white leg shrimp. High-quality commercial feed is used throughout the cultivation period.

^2. The costs of ASC application certification have been sponsored by the contracted processing companies. These, therefore, have not been included in investigating the financial efficiency of shrimp farmers. Regarding the family-land cost, depreciation was in accordance with the regulation in Law 45/2013/QH13 on land issued by the Vietnamese government, which states that “the term for land allocation and recognition of agricultural land use rights for households and individuals directly engaged in agricultural production is 50 years.” Based on this regulation, the land costs were amortized into each crop using the function LF = VF/50/k, where LF was the depreciated value of family land, V was the market price of the land at the time of our survey, and k was the number of crops per year. Regarding the hired-land cost, the depreciation value was given by LR = F/k, where LR was the total rent payment for one crop, F was the total annual rent, and k was the number of crops per year. Regarding infrastructure, the allocation was represented by Ii = Mi/n/k, where Ii was the depreciated value of infrastructure i, M was the market price of infrastructure i at the time of our survey, n was the total number of years the infrastructure could be used, and k was the number of crops in one year (i = 1, n).

The costs of ASC application certification have been sponsored by the contracted processing companies. These, therefore, have not been included in investigating the financial efficiency of shrimp farmers. Regarding the family-land cost, depreciation was in accordance with the regulation in Law 45/2013/QH13 on land issued by the Vietnamese government, which states that “the term for land allocation and recognition of agricultural land use rights for households and individuals directly engaged in agricultural production is 50 years.” Based on this regulation, the land costs were amortized into each crop using the function LF = VF/50/k, where LF was the depreciated value of family land, V was the market price of the land at the time of our survey, and k was the number of crops per year. Regarding the hired-land cost, the depreciation value was given by LR = F/k, where LR was the total rent payment for one crop, F was the total annual rent, and k was the number of crops per year. Regarding infrastructure, the allocation was represented by Ii = Mi/n/k, where Ii was the depreciated value of infrastructure i, M was the market price of infrastructure i at the time of our survey, n was the total number of years the infrastructure could be used, and k was the number of crops in one year (i = 1, n).

Additional information

Funding

This work was partly funded by Can Tho University Improvement Project VN14-P6, supported by a Japanese ODA loan [Can Tho University Improvement Project VN14-P6].