Impact of COVID-19 on the productivity of ornamental fish farmers: A case of ornamental fish farms in Colombo district in Sri Lanka

Ornamental fish production in Sri Lanka has become a valuable foreign exchange earner during recent past years. However, COVID-19 pandemic has been explored worldwide and it has affected the world trade and economy from different perspectives. This study was conducted to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on ornamental fish production. , Moreover, study on present status of ornamental fish farmers’ major constraints and suggestions to overcome those constraints of ornamental fish farmers were also conducted. In Colombo district, four important Divisional Secretariat (DS) divisions were purposely selected for the study, as they are the main ornamental fish production areas of the district. The data was collected from a randomly selected 60 farmers using a field survey from July to October 2020. Descriptive statistics, two sample Wilcoxon signed-rank test and chi-square test were used to analyses the data. Results revealed that, there are both negative and positive impacts on ornamental fish production due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ornamental fish farmers have to face mainly production and marketing problems. Some of them have engaged in coping strategies and resilience methods during COVID-19 period. Coping strategies have shown a significant association with the income and the production capacity of the farms. However, the majority of ornamental fish farmers haven’t engaged in resilience methods during the COVID-19 pandemic. Other than the COVID-19 pandemic, the major constraints of ornamental fish production were lack of market information about the changes in the overseas markets and demand, the low price given for the product and lack of communication between farmers and exporters. Ideal “ORNAFISBIZ” model is suggested for overcome those constraints in order to protect the ornamental fish farmers in this area.

Keywords:

Colombo district, COVID-19 pandemic, Negative and positive impacts Ornamental fish, Present status,

PDF

___

Agri Farming. (2020). Retrieved from Fish Farming in Sri Lanka- A full guide: https://www.agrifarming.in/fish-farming-in-sri-lanka-a-full-guide
Allison, E., Love, D., Asche, F., Belton, B., Cottrell, R., Froehlich, H., . . . Zhang , W. (2020). Emerging COVID-19 impacts, responses, and lessons for building resilience in the seafood system.
Bennett, N. J., Finkbeiner, E. M., Ban, N. C., Belhabib, D., Jupiter, S. D., Kittinger, J. N., Mangubhai, S., Scholtens, J., Gill, D., & Christie, P. (2020). The COVID-19 Pandemic, Small-Scale Fisheries and Coastal Fishing Communities. Coastal Management, 48(4), 336–347. https://doi.org/10.1080/08920753.2020.1766937
Demirci, A., Şimşek, E., Can, M. F., Akar, Ö., & Demirci1, S. (2020). Marine and Life Sciences. Marine Life Science, 2(1), 13–17.
Devi, B., Krishnan, M., Ananthan, P., & Pawar, N. (2017). A producer company - An ideal value chain model for ornamental fish trade. International Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Studies, 5(6), 115-120.
Gray, S.-A. (2001). An economic & production assessment model for ornamental fish production in jamaica.
Kaiser, H., Britz, P., Endemann, F., Haschick, R., Jones, C. L. W., Koranteng, B., Kruger, D. P., Lockyear, J. F., Oellermann, L. K., Olivier, A. P., Rouhani, Q., & Hecht, T. (1997). Development of technology for ornamental fish aquaculture in South Africa. South African Journal of Science, 93(8), 351–354
Krishnan, M., Pawar, N., & Nightingale Devi, B. (2017). A producer company-An ideal value chain model for ornamental fish trade.International Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Studies, 5(6), 115–120. www.fisheriesjournal.com
Mandal, S., Mahapatra, B. K., Tripathi, K., Verma, M. R., Datta, K. K., & Ngachan, S. V. (2007). Agribusiness Opportunities of Ornamental Fisheries in North-Eastern Region of India. Agricultural Economics Research, 20, 471–488.
Milestad, R., Darnhofer, I., & Taylor, P. (2008). Building Farm Resilience : The Prospects and Challenges of Organic Farming Building Farm Resilience : The Prospects and Challenges of Organic Farming. Journal of Sustainable Agriculture, November 2013, 37–41. https://doi.org/10.1300/J064v22n03
National Aquaculture Development Authority in Sri Lanka . (2020). Retrieved from https://www.naqda.gov.lk/
Perera, P. (2019, May). Export-oriented Ornamental Fish Industry in Sri Lanka.DOI :10.31357/fapsmst.2009.00459
SAARC Agriculture Centre (SAC). (2017). Best Management Practices in Aquaculture Capacity Building and Policy Development. (S. S. Giri, Ed.)
Senten, J., Smith, M. A., & Engle, C. R. (2020). Impacts of COVID-19 on U.S. aquaculture, aquaponics, and allied businesses. Journal of the World Aquaculture Society, 51(3), 574–577. https://doi.org/10.1111/jwas.12715
Sri Lanka Export Development Board. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.srilankabusiness.com/aquarium-fish/exporter-information/
Usha, A., Sharath, Y., & Prashanth , R. (2013). Study of ornamental fish diversity and water quality of Adda Hole stream, Kabbinale forest range, Western Ghats. Pelagia Research Library, 4(5), 158-164.
Wijesekara, R., & Yakupitiyage, A. (2001). Ornamental fish industry in Sri Lanka: present status and future trends. Aquarium Sciences and Conservation , 3, 241-252. DOI: 10.1023/A:1013154407298
Willis, S. (2020). Farming Ornamental Fish. National Aquaculture Training Institute.
Yue, G. (2019). The ornamental fish industry in Singapore. Journal of Fisheries Of China, 43(1), 116–127. https://doi.org/10.11964/jfc.20180911442
Zhang, S., Wang, S., Yuan, L., Liu, X., & Gong, B. (2020). The impact of epidemics on agricultural production and forecast of COVID-19. China Agricultural Economic Review, 202001. https://doi.org/10.1108/CAER-04-2020-0055