Status of the Research Components of the Project

Component 3
Socioeconomic Profile of Major Stakeholders in Fisheries (Producers, Consumers, Traders)

In each of the participating countries, primary data are being collected from a stratified random sample of households through surveys or rapid appraisals. From fish consumers, information is being collected on quantity of fish consumed by species, preferred species, size (kg) of fish, price of fish by species, other food and non-food expenditures. From fish producers, data are currently collected on farm area devoted to crops and to aquaculture (ponds, cages), general characteristics of the aquaculture system, pond management, other farm specific cost of aquaculture, total fish production and other social aspects (problems/issues/conflicts related to aquaculture, future plans of farmers, etc.). Secondary data are also being collected to complement primary information. Data collection started during the last quarter of 2001. A progress regarding the activities for this Component per participating country is hereby reported.

Bangladesh

The national project team has prepared the survey questionnaires to implement the research activities for this Component. Secondary data are being collected from government institutions and private organizations.

China

The national project team has developed the survey questionnaire. The survey will be initiated during the second quarter of 2002. Secondary information was collected from various government offices, private organizations and the academe.

India

A review of the existing socioeconomic information on the producers, consumers and traders has been done by the national project team. Data gaps were identified and this will be filled-up by conducting rapid appraisal and surveys as agreed upon during the Inception Workshop. The team is currently preparing the questionnaires for the survey after deliberations on the survey design and methodology.

Indonesia

The national project team is organizing the implementation of this Component through primary and secondary data collection. Survey questionnaire will be administered through different study sites based on the research design and methodology agreed upon during the Inception Workshop. Secondary information was likewise gathered and survey will start by April 2002.

Malaysia

The Fisheries Development Authority of Malaysia (FDAM) is responsible for socioeconomic matters of Malaysian fishers. In 1995, FDAM conducted a nationwide socioeconomic survey (Socioeconomic and Household Fisher Survey 1995) involving 28,832 fishers in all the states except Sabah (Table 2.3.5.1)

 View Table 2.3.5.1.

Discussions were held with FDAM concerning the possible use of the data collected for the socioeconomic component of this project and they have agreed to its. The national team in Malaysia (which also includes FDAM) will re-survey selected fishers covered in the 1995 FDAM survey and a questionnaire is being developed for this purpose. Though state of Sabah was not covered by the FDAM study, the sample for this study will include Sabah.

Under the Fish Marketing Regulations 1973 fish dealers within the marketing control areas have to be licensed. Discussions are being held with FDAM for access to this database.

Philippines

The national project team submitted their research plan and schedule in implementing the research activities for Component 3 which was divided into a) profiling of the fish consumers and producers and b) traders.

To characterize the fish consumers and small-scale fishers in the Philippines, information from the Family Income and Expenditures Survey (FIES) published by the National Statistics Office (NSO) will be used by the national project team. FIES is a nationwide survey of households which gathers information on household income, sources and levels of spending patterns of Filipino families by various commodity groups. It involves an interview of a national sample (about 39,500 households) stratified by provinces and key cities in the country. FIES has been conducted since 1957 but this project will use the two most recent dataset, FIES 1997 and 2000.

For the sampling design, FIES uses a multi-stage sampling design that covers all of the 16 regions of the country on the first stage. The second stage is the provincial classification that covers the complete enumeration of all the 82 provinces in the country. The third stage involves the selection of municipalities within the provinces while the fourth stage involves the selection of villages (barangay) within the municipalities. Finally the last stage selects the sample households within the barangay. The frame for sample selection was based mainly from the 1995 population census of the country. The census list of barangays with the corresponding household population counts was used in the final stage of sample selection.

For the survey design, the FIES adopts a "shuttle type" data collection wherein the households were interviewed in two separate operations, each time using the half year period preceding the interview as reference point. In effect, FIES data were gathered on a semestral basis. This was done to minimize the memory bias of respondents and to capture the seasonality of income and expenditure patterns. A sample questionnaire is given in Appendix 1a for demographic characteristics of the respondent/household, household expenditures and entrepreneurial activities.

An "enterprise study" or "localized industry analysis" will be conducted and this will serve as the research design for traders. This method seeks to study the aggregation of firms undertaking similar functions and activities and occupying a similar step in the supply process. Technically this will cut across various commodity systems, particularly the type of fish/fish species group such as tilapia, milkfish, catfish, etc.

For the survey design, a mixed communication and observation type of data collection will be used for the trader's survey. The communication type will elicit responses from the respondents using interview guide or questionnaire. List of registered traders will be secured from appropriate agencies like the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to identify the respondents. A sample questionnaire for the traders is given in Appendix 1b.

Sri Lanka

Implementation of the project activities in Sri Lanka is being hampered because of the transfer of the national project team leader (NPTL) to another office. The national project team is awaiting for the appointment of the new NPTL by the Ministry of Fisheries. Nevertheless the team met and is working on the preparation of the survey questionnaire to implement the survey in various project sites in Sri Lanka.

Thailand

The national project team submitted their research plan in conducting this Component. The stakeholders consist of the producers, consumers and traders. These categories were further classified based on the fisheries sector (marine fisheries, coastal aquaculture, inland fisheries, freshwater culture). Methodology, sampling framework and questionnaire have been developed jointly by the national team and ICLARM experts. The team has completed the first round consumer survey conducted in five provinces with 300 samples including editing and data processing. They are currently compiling time series data, which will be used in supply estimation for Component 4. A sample of their survey questionnaire is presented in Appendix 1c.