46 . CIRAD 2008
What can we draw
from the operation to make fish farming in the Philippines comply with EU food safety standards? In 2006, the operation to make fish farming in the Philippines comply with EU food safety standards was completed in record time, thanks to the country’s considerable political determination, and with support from CIRAD. However, players in the supply chain have seen the process as just another constraint, which disrupts local strategies and balances. What can we draw from the experience?
G
lobalization of the farmed fish product market has resulted in the introduction and development of trade and regulatory systems centring on international food safety standards intended to respond to what is currently one of the western world’s major concerns: food safety. Between 2004 and 2006, the operation to make the shrimp supply chain in the Philippines comply with EU food safety law was a shining example of mobilization and a great success, but it also raised questions about its sustainability. CIRAD, which used its expertise to support the operation, has launched a study to gain a clearer understanding of the ins and outs of these new North-South trade practices.
been practised there for over a century. Recent trends have suggested that the zone is becoming poorer, with a reduction in the means of subsistence for local communities and increased tension. However, fish farming in the area is based on a highly original social struc-
The players excluded by compliance
Š L. Dabbadie/CIRAD
An original fish farming system The study was conducted in the Pampanga delta, in the North of the Bay of Manila, where most export-oriented shrimp production is concentrated. The area is exposed to many types of natural disaster, but extensive fish farming has
ture, the Mangangapa-Degaton system. The Mangangapas are poor fishermen who catch aquatic animals with their bare hands in rivers and recover rejects from fish farms before selling them on to the Degatons, who organize the operation. Some 80% of families in some villages rely on the system to survive.
Crab harvesting from a polyculture pond in Pampanga province, Philippines
Of the players in the fish farming sector, the main beneficiary of compliance with EU law has been the Filipino food safety authority, whose competence is now recognized and whose authority has been boosted. For private operators, however, the process has led to a marked split in the sector. Three exporters have made the necessary investments and maintained their capacity to export to Europe, while enjoying the prestige brought by their accreditation, which is more or less the same as a quality label. However, most of the other players have been excluded from the circuit, for reasons which are often neither economic nor technical.