August 20, 2018
4th edition of TARS focuses on Need for Change
According to Zuridah Merican, chair of TARS 2018, until the end of 2017, shrimp farmers have managed, due to the strong global shrimp prices, but that would not last and the sector risks becoming unprofitable.
In Asia, the shrimp sector has been expanding at different speeds - expansion in production with new areas such as in India and Indonesia coupled with conversion to vannamei shrimp in Vietnam. Within each country, farms have different regimes to succeed. The Thai shrimp farming model focuses on production efficiency and marketing, and was elaborated in a joint presentation by Dr. Suraphol of the Thai Marine Shrimp Farmers Association and Mr. Soraphat of Novozymes Biologicals, Thailand.
Focus topics during the plenary session included shrimp farming, genetics, production, disease and environmental management, nutrition, and investments. The recent wave in monodon shrimp farming, replacing vannamei shrimp, albeit on a small scale, spurred participants to look at the push and pull factors for this wave, and the Malaysian experience was shared by Ms. Lee of Blue Archipelago.
Particular recognition of the important role of a younger generation of farmers was made in a "Hard Talk with Young Shrimp Farmers", where representatives from Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia expounded on their business models and the changes they planned to bring to their farms and industry.
Some notable sponsors of TARS 2018 included INVE Aquaculture, BIOMIN, Nutriad, Diamond V, BASF, BioMar, DSM, Diana Aqua and Jefo Nutrition.
