116 Indian J. Fish., 62 (1): 116-123, 2015 Extension methodology for assessing effectiveness of shrimp farmer groups M. KUMARAN, P. RAVICHANDRAN, A. G. PONNIAH. J. ASOK KUMAR D. DEBORAL VIMALA AND V. S. CHANDRASEKARAN Central Institute of Brackishwater Aquaculture, 75 Santhome High Road, Chennai - 600 028, Tamil Nadu, India e-mail: mkumaran@ciba.res.in ABSTRACT Shrimp farmer groups either mobilised by the farmers themselves or facilitated by the development institutions are playing an important role in disease prevention by enforcing common crop calendar and collective compliance of Better Management Practices (BMPs) in the shrimp farming clusters. A weightage based index was developed using four constructs viz., collective compliance of BMPs, group governance, interface with stakeholders and compulsory membership and these were applied purposively among 32 shrimp farmer groups operating in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu to measure their effectiveness. The Shrimp Farmers Group Effectiveness Index (SFGEI) was found to be reliable and validated appropriately. Findings showed that about 40% of the shrimp farmer groups which enforced compulsory membership for all the farms operating in the cluster irrespective of size and infrastructure were found to be highly effective in collectively preventing disease incidence. The study identifed several potential confict points in implementing group approach and suggested appropriate management solutions for resolving the same. The SFGEI can be applied by any development institution as a guiding tool to mobilise new farmer groups as well as to evaluate the existing groups with suitable modifcations. Farmer groups need to be suitably strengthened with adequate institutional support from research and development departments to transform them as producer companies to play an active role in the entire supply chain of aquaculture. Keywords: Collective compliance, Farmer groups, Group Effectiveness Index, Shrimp aquaculture Introduction The transformation of traditional shrimp fltration practices to commercial shrimp farming was due to technological advancements in seed production and controlled rearing of shrimps under pond conditions in 1980s. Favourable government policies and institutional support spread shrimp farming to about 1.5 lakh ha with a production of more than 2.7 lakh t. Shrimp farms are located along the brackishwater creeks and rivulets as clusters, drawing water and draining waters into the same natural body. Majority of the shrimp farms are small in size (< 2ha) with one or two ponds, very contiguous to each other and lack essential infrastructure like electricity and reservoir pond. Two major issues viz., outbreak of white spot viral disease and legal intervention in the mid nineties though affected the sector heavily, paved the way for scientifc development of shrimp farming. Shrimp farming has been under threat from frequent disease outbreaks mainly due to poor quality seed, ‘self pollution’ arising out of poor farm management, negligence and lack of cooperation among the farmers operating in a shrimp cluster. The identifcation of disease risk factors and development of Better Management Practices (BMPs) to prevent these risks is the major scientifc intervention to revive shrimp farming. The disease causing pathogen is free living, transferable through vectors and hence omnipresent in the farming environment. Disease prevention is possible only when all the farms operating in a shrimp cluster collectively adopt BMPs. Therefore, an institutional mechanism (group) for collective planning, compliance and enforcement of BMPs is the pragmatic solution to ensure disease free shrimp farming. Shrimp Farmer Group (SFG) is “an institution of farmers owned and controlled by them, which collectively plan, enforce and adopt a common crop calendar and code of practices in a farm cluster to prevent the entry and spread of common risk factors, thereby enable good production for all and establish forward and backward linkages for better economics and sustainability”. Shrimp farmer groups are either initiated and controlled by farmers themselves or mobilised and facilitated by the development institutions. Penrose-Buckley, (2007) emphasised that farmer groups