Background:
This project was formally and operationally commissioned in January, 2008 for a 14 month period. The project team is lead by the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) Victoria, and involves collaboration with Haluoleo University (Univ. Halu.), Kendari, Se Sulawesi, and the Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific (Bangkok, Thailand). The primary objectives of the project are:
1. To facilitate local leadership and support for mariculture industry development through establishment of a functional stakeholder network and strategic implementation framework.
2. To identify opportunities to adopt a more agribusiness, market driven approach to industry development of the smallholder mariculture market sector in SE Sulawesi.
3. In close consultation with the stakeholder network, prepare an industry development strategy.
Key activities to date:
two project visits (June 2007 and January 2008) have been completed to SE Sulawesi collectively by DPI and NACA.
project inception and planning workshop completed by project team and key local stakeholders (Kendari, Jan. "08; workshop program and local media publicity attached to this report as Attachment A).
project work plans developed and commissioned by project team (Jan.-April "08)
mariculture market chain baseline survey (socio-economic/technical/chain dynamics) in Se Sulawesi designed, developed and implemented; incorporating collaboration with Indonesian Centre for Marine & Fisheries Socio-Economic Research (ICM&FS-ER)(May, "08; in progress)
mariculture market chain post-harvest characterisation/logistics case study completed; incorporating both commercial consultancy input and in-house, project team investigations, data collation and analysis (Jan.-May "08)
preliminary mariculture market chain risk assessment, opportunity/needs analysis and strategic industry development conceptualisation completed.