Successful women entrepreneurs in aquaculture: case studies from Tamil Nadu, India.

Abstract

The nature and extent of women's involvement in aquaculture vary greatly from place to place and, within a place, they vary among castes, religions and positions in the family hierarchy. The present study covers 13 cases of successful women entrepreneurs in Tamilnadu, India who were engaged in production, input supply and export and marketing through shrimp farming, crab culture, crab fattening in cages, pens and concrete tanks, shrimp hatchery management, crab hatchery management, live feed farming and processing, shrimp processing, fish meal formulation and feed developmemnt, aqua by-products management and exports.Analysis of the case studies demonstarted that women can take part in different parts of the aquaculture value chain, especially if it involves a traditional activity they have been carrying out. The presence of organisational structure such as Women Self Help Groups (WSHGs) helped to galvanise women to take up more complex activities. Women with low formal education levels also played a role as workers. However, women with higher education or with family business connections exhibited high entrepreneurship skills, usually with family support, and could manage complex aquaculture activities.