A risk management framework for aquaculture: the case of Vietnamese catfish farming

Vietnamese aquaculture, in general, and Vietnamese catfish farming, in particular, has also experienced a rapid growth in the past decade to meet the increasing demand both domestically and internationally. The fast growing catfish industry is troubled by many problems, challenges and uncertainties such as: environmental and edaphic issues, losses due to disease, strict quality and safety regulations, export-import restrictions, increasing production costs, sustainability, oversupply and other global and regional socioeconomic problems. All these uncertainties are potentially detrimental risks to the catfish industry and they need to be managed in a systematic way for the sustainable development of the industry. A sound and solid risk management framework, as well as a risk management tool, is very much needed for Vietnamese catfish farming.<br>The purpose of this study is to develop a risk management framework for Vietnamese catfish farming. Three objectives are proposed: (1) to examine the perceptions of risks and risk management in catfish farming; (2) to develop a risk management framework for Vietnamese catfish farming; and (3) to develop a decision support system (DSS) as an implementation tool for risk management in Vietnamese catfish farming. <br>Prior to the development of the risk management framework, Vietnamese catfish farmers’ perceptions of risks and risk management were examined using the data collected from a questionnaire survey of 261 catfish farmers in the Mekong Delta. Descriptive statistics methods were used to evaluate the perceptions of risk and risk management. Next, exploratory factor analysis (EPA) and multivariate regression methods were used to determined the influences of farm socioeconomic characteristics on the perceptions of risks and risk management. <br><br>A risk management framework was developed as a combination of the catfish business process model and the risk management process introduced by AS/NZS 4360. The seven (7) steps in the risk management process were subsequently applied on each of the sub-processes in the catfish farming business. The data used for the development of the risk management framework were collected from a survey of 261 catfish farmers in the Mekong Delta. The risk management framework developed in this study was then used as the foundation for the development of the DSS as an implementing tool for risk management in Vietnamese catfish farming.<br><br>Once the risk management framework was developed, a DSS for risk management was then built upon as a tool implementing the proposed framework for practical risk management activity. The developed DSS has three main components: a model system, a data system, and a user interface. The system was written in Visual Basic for Application on the Microsoft Excel platform.<br><br>Finally, a modified UTAUT model was built to evaluate the acceptance of the DSS for risk management in Vietnamese catfish farming. The model was assessed using data collected from a fresh survey of 55 catfish farmers and local aquaculture staff in the Mekong Delta. The findings of this part of the study provide insights into the role of traditional UTAUT factors and other demographic variables influencing the intention to use an information technology innovation.<br>