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only helped them finance their daily expenses but also enabled them to improve housing and purchase assets. However, some farmers deemed the price of E. denticulatum too
low to be worth the effort Msuya, 2013. Further discussion on this issue is given below.
Low income from seaweed farming Contrary to generally positive views in the literature on the contribution of seaweed
farming to livelihoods, which are generally supported by the six case studies, a recent study Fröcklin et al., 2012 brought attention to some less encouraging aspects of
seaweed farming in Zanzibar the United Republic of Tanzania. One major issue is the negative health impacts of seaweed farming, which is discussed below. Another issue is
the extremely low income from seaweed farming. The median daily income of seaweed farmers ranged from USD0.5day to USD2.4day in seven villages being surveyed
20 farmers interviewed in each village Fröcklin et al., 2012.
As indicated in Section 3.3, with a seaweed price of USD207tonne, the net income of family labour was USD0.19hour and USD0.24hour for the cases from the United
Republic of Tanzania Cases 19 and 20, respectively. Assuming eight working hours per day, the daily incomes would be USD1.5day and USD1.9day, which are close to
the upper bound of the range of the survey results in Fröcklin et al. 2012.
The low seaweed price is the main cause of low income from seaweed farming in the United Republic of Tanzania, but it may not be the only reason. Given the seaweed
price in the cases from Solomon Islands USD391tonne, the net income of seaweed farmers in the cases from the United Republic of Tanzania would have been USD0.43
hour Case 19 and USD0.53hour Case 20, which would still be lower than in the Solomon Islands cases USD0.58–1.14hour. This indicates that a relatively low
productivity could be another factor behind low income from seaweed farming in the United Republic of Tanzania.
The daily incomes of USD1.5day and USD1.9day are calculated based on the assumption of 8 working hours per day. However, in reality, the seaweed farmers in
Cases 19 and 20 worked only part-time in a 45-day production cycle and earned about USD15 net income in total. This implies a net income of USD0.3 per day, which is far
from being able to keep the farmers’ livelihoods above the international poverty line of USD1.25day currently used by the World Bank. Thus, it is not surprising that most
of the surveyed farmers in Fröcklin et al. 2012 need to rely on additional income- generating activities.
Occupational health hazards The survey in Fröcklin et al. 2012 indicated poorer health conditions for female seaweed
farmers in Zanzibar the United Republic of Tanzania compared with women involved in other activities. Prominent health problems of the surveyed seaweed farmers include:
general fatigue, musculoskeletal pains, hunger, eye soreness, asthma and other respiratory related problems, injuries by sharp shells or hazardous organisms e.g. sea urchins,
skin problems and allergies. These health problems could be caused by poor working conditions such as intensive work for long hours, handling of heavy objects, andor
exposure to sun, wind, seawater andor toxic vapours Fröcklin et al. 2012, Table 1.
Further studies should be conducted to verify whether similar health issues exist in other seaweed farming countries.
4.2 Gender
One aspect that appears from the case studies is the role of women in seaweed farming. In off-bottom cultivation in shallow water, women can tie and harvest the
crop by themselves. In deeper water, where boats are necessary for raft or floating line techniques, women tend to have a smaller role, but do assist with harvesting.
In India, women were the first and primary adopters of seaweed farming, which offered them an income within a safe environment Ramachandran, 2012; Krishnan
and Narayanakumar, 2013. Most SHGs are composed exclusively of women, and they have been a major source of financing and training.
Another country where women have taken the initiative is the United Republic of Tanzania. Women are leaders both in seaweed cultivation and in adding value Msuya,
2013. A women’s group in northern Zanzibar the United Republic of Tanzania has started producing seaweed flour, doubling its net profits and adding new products
Msuya, 2011.
Even where women are not the majority in seaweed farming, they play an important role. One survey of seaweed farmers in Sulawesi Indonesia found that although all
the farmers were men, the help of wives and daughters in tying the seed was crucial Zamroni and Yamao, 2011.
In Solomon Islands, most of the work is done by men, but the role of women is critical. Women are particularly active in planting and harvesting; they also usually
receive the cash. The men interviewed ranked women’s involvement in the activity among the most important benefits of seaweed farming. However, women seaweed
farmers often need to be away from family and hence had problems taking care of their children Kronen, 2013. The Solomon Islands case study also showed that children
were heavily involved in the seaweed family business. Children’s participation in seaweed farming often resulted in their leaving school at an early stage, forgoing access
to secondary and perhaps tertiary education Kronen, 2013.
In the Philippines, women as well as children played significant roles in seaweed farming, especially in seeding and post-harvest treatments. Women accounted for
about 44 percent of the regular seaweed farming labour force and were the main source of casual labour. The involvement of women and children helped reduce the cost of
production. Although women were usually confined to lower-paid jobs because of gender stereotyping, the survey in Flores and Zamboanga found no evidence of women
and children being exploited or abused Hurtado, 2013.
Generally speaking, the participation of women in seaweed farming did not result in conflicts in marital relationships. In the Philippines as well as Indonesia,
female seaweed farmers had equal power with their husbands in decision-making on household matters. Their role in farming business decision-making was generally
consultative but with a spirit of cooperation Hurtado, 2013; Neish, 2013.
In the study from the United Republic of Tanzania Msuya, 2013, no serious money–power conflicts between female seaweed farmers and their husbands were
observed. Albeit detaching themselves from seaweed farming as a low-paid activity unworthy of the effort required, husbands generally did not discourage their wives
from engaging in seaweed farming, except occasionally complaining about the smell of dried seaweed. More supportive husbands helped with laborious tasks such as seed
tying, harvesting and transportation.
As discussed above, occupational health hazards have significantly impaired the health conditions of women seaweed farmers in Zanzibar. Even though seaweed
farming is not a well-paid livelihood source, many female seaweed farmers in Zanzibar kept working even when pregnant or ill in order to maintain the so-called “livelihood
of the last resort” Fröcklin et al., 2012.
4.3 Other social benefits
