Other social benefits SOCIAL PERFORMANCE OF CARRAGEENAN SEAWEED FARMING

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

In addition to its direct contribution to livelihoods and employment, seaweed farming offers poor coastal communities a number of other social benefits. In Solomon Islands, many surveyed farmers thought that seaweed farming had increased community cohesion through cooperation and improvement of social services such as school and church. Almost 40 percent of the surveyed farmers thought that seaweed farming 44 had improved social networks among seaweed farming households sharing the same interest. While jealousy and petty thefts were mentioned by a few respondents, most surveyed farmers deemed competition among seaweed farmers and households constructive Kronen, 2013. Seaweed farmers, like many coastal people, have little formal education, so knowledge transfer is important. In Indonesia, positive social impacts of seaweed farming include access to education and training and improvements in communication Neish, 2013. Linked to skills are entrepreneurship and business acumen. In India, many seaweed farmers started out as being hired labour for other farmers first and then used the experience to become members of an SHG. As their operations expand, these seasoned farmers hire other people to help take care of their own plots Krishnan and Narayanakumar, 2013. In Indonesia and the Philippines, many seaweed collectors or traders were nuclear family farmers first, then became lead farmers, and eventually ventured into the trading business Gan, 2003, cited in Neish, 2013. In the United Republic of Tanzania, a woman seaweed farmer has succeeded in becoming a wholesaler, selling seaweed to a buyer with a 20 percent margin Msuya, 2011. Seaweed farming also benefits communities through multipliers. The direct value chain is often local so that cash income from seaweed culture remains in the community. Indirect and induced effects reflected in such activities as seaweed storage or consumer sales generate incomes that may exceed those generated directly in seaweed culture. The beneficial impact of spin-offs is indicated by new housing and other material assets. If income is spent on tuition, as is often the case, the long-term impacts could be significant.

4.4 Environmental externalities