Structure, Conduct and Performance of Value Chain in Seaweed Farming in India

Among the three types of technologies available in the fisheries sector in India, seaweed farming, initially promoted as a livelihood option, has emerged as the one area which probably has the maximum potential for up-scaling. This paper has examined the structure, conduct and performance of the value chain in seaweed farming in India inquiring into the production, institutional, marketing, social and community relationships in small-scale seaweed farming in the Ramanathapuram district of Tamil Nadu and the concept of self-help groups (SHG) as an increasingly workable option for coastal resources management. The value chain analysis of the sector has substantially proved that committed and synergistic production, marketing and institutional arrangements enabled by corporate leadership, offers considerable savings in transaction costs. The SHG model has also shown strong gender orientation in the initial years of seaweed culture in the district contributing to strong structural foundations to the movement. The seaweed sector in the coastal India has all the potential to rise from the low-income conditions normally associated with basic livelihood activities to higher levels of employment-income-consumption relationships.