Abstract
Shrimp is a major aquaculture species in Indonesia. Despite the Indonesian government’s effort to reinforce sustainability practices using a national eco-certification scheme, the uptake of stakeholders has been slow so far. This study analyzed diverse perceptions of the national eco-certification of shrimp aquaculture among stakeholders across the value chain in Indonesia. Using Q-methodology, 49 statements were selected, and they covered seven themes: conceptual understanding, priorities, motivation for eco-certification, market access, impacts of eco-certification, obstacles in Indonesia, and stakeholder involvement. Thirty respondents across the supply chain of whiteleg shrimp sorted these statements according to their level of agreement. Based on their support or opposition to eco-certification, responses were categorized into five perspectives: (1) supporter for the certification by principle, (2) market-oriented supporter, (3) collaborative supporter, (4) ambivalent self-sufficient, and (5) antagonistic business-oriented. Several reasons for stakeholder’s slow acceptance were identified. These include a limited understanding of sustainability concepts in eco-certification, uncertainty for the potential positive effects of eco-certification in terms of market access, the recognition of other priorities such as improving farm-infrastructures, and a lack of stakeholders’ participation in communication forums. The findings of this study can facilitate the process of consensus-building on eco-certification among farmers, scientists, the government, non-governmental organizations, and other stakeholders to support a viable pathway for policy development to achieve sustainable shrimp aquaculture. Ultimately, this study provides new insights on how a country in the Global South perceives eco-certification differently from the Global North.
Highlights
Aquaculture has grown rapidly over other animal-producing sectors [1] and is predicted to continue to expand globally [2]
Our study demonstrates the importance of exploring diverse prominent perceptions toward eco-certification among stakeholders in Indonesia using Q-methodology and focuses on understanding their relationship with the slow acceptance of eco-certification observed at the national level
There were five distinct perspectives identified about the eco-certification of whiteleg shrimp aquaculture in Indonesia ranging from supporting to opposite views
Summary
Aquaculture has grown rapidly over other animal-producing sectors [1] and is predicted to continue to expand globally [2]. In 2018, aquaculture contributed to 46% of total world fisheries production and had a total value of USD 263.8 billion. Major retailers and other key players in food value chain have pushed sustainability initiatives to get recognition by consumers [11,12]. These initiatives have encouraged the creation of sustainable certification (eco-certification) and labeling (eco-label). Eco-certification consists of a set of standards addressing environmental and social issues [17] that are applied from upstream to downstream production processes [13] that later connect producers and retailers as a Business-to-Business (B2B) scheme. Eco-labels can be incorporated as a tool for communication between retailers and consumers as a Business-to-Consumer (B2C) scheme [12,15]
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