Industry Review
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The trust deficit on functional feeds among shrimp farmers in Asia Three business leaders representing the supply chain tried to make sense of the situation
At the virtual TARS 2021, the Hard Talk topic was on why there is a trust deficit on functional feeds among shrimp farmers in Asia. Representing the supply chain were, clockwise, from top right, Guntur Mallarangeng, CEO, Dewi Laut Aquaculture; Samson Li, CEO Grobest; Dr Peter Coutteau, Business Unit Director Aquaculture at Adisseo and moderator Ronnie Tan.
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unctional shrimp feeds were first launched in Asia in the 2000s but received more attention around 2014 after outbreaks of acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease/ early mortality syndrome (AHPND/EMS). However, the question is – why is there still a trust deficit among Asian shrimp farmers on using functional feeds? Farmers have different opinions along the spectrum; some are happy, some unclear on whether it works and on the cost benefits, while others have either stopped or used only for certain cycles. Complicating matters are those who believe in functional feeds but prefer to top dress at the farm site. At Hard Talk during the virtual TARS 2021, held from August 18-20, Ronnie Tan, Consultant, together with three business leaders in the supply chain tried to make sense of the situation. Dr Peter Coutteau is Business Unit Director Aquaculture at Adisseo which produces functional feed additives. Bluestar Adisseo has a specialised portfolio of feed additives for aquaculture and functional feed additives to reduce the impact of diseases on performance of fish and shrimp. The latest addition is an R&D facility to run trials, ASA (Aquaculture Station by Adisseo) in Singapore. Samson Li is CEO of Grobest, a leader in the functional shrimp feed market in Asia. Founded in 1974, the Grobest Group has 14 feed mills across Asia producing aquafeeds, from starter to grow-out, pelleted and extruded for more than 20 aquaculture species but focuses mainly on shrimp and high value warm water species.
The new generation Indonesian shrimp farmer is Guntur Mallarangeng, CEO who started Dewi Laut Aquaculture (DLA), on the south coast of Garut in 2016. This is a 5ha farm on 10ha of land, and the farm has achieved survival rates of 80-95% and profitability within 2 years. The stocking density ranges from 180-200 PL/m2 and production averages 41.8 tonnes/ha of sizes 70/kg to 40/ kg from 70-90 days of culture. The farm avoids diseases such as infectious myonecrosis virus (IMNV) and white faeces syndrome (WFS) by optimising the feeding strategy and recirculating water to minimise the volume of low-quality water. Functional feeds are generally recognised as important in shrimp health and disease management, but there is a multitude of problems on their acceptance and use. The panel delved into issues of hesitancy, acceptance and cost benefits, and discussed some approaches on what can be done to further advance the industry.
Hesitancy, cost issues and price premiums
Peter: There is a lot of misunderstanding on what is a functional feed, from the perspectives of the farmer and feed miller. Unfortunately, this has been exacerbated by a lot of bad practices-magic bullets in shrimp farming. Another key issue is the reluctance by farmers to focus on disease prevention, preferring to correct only when the problem appears. Functional feeds are rarely effective as a therapeutic treatment. Also, it requires focused efforts to evaluate the effect in a practical farm situation. On
September/October 2021 AQUA Culture Asia Pacific
