Assessing Development Strategies of Shrimp Farming in Khuzestan Province Using SWOT and ELECTRE III Methods

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 MSc. in Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Agriculture, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran.

2 Professor, Department of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Agriculture, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran

3 Assistant Professor, Department of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Agriculture, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran

Abstract

In Iran, many shrimp breeding farms were forced to be shut down due to their numerous problems. Therefore, this study aimed at investigating the effective internal and external factors along with assessing the production strategies of shrimp farming in Khuzestan province of the country. For this purpose, it identified alternative strategies using SWOT matrix and internal-external (IE) matrix and examined the identified strategies using a quantitative strategic planning matrix (QSPM) followed by prioritizing the alternative strategies according to the criteria via ELECTRE III. The study results showed that the strengths were dominate over the weaknesses and the opportunities were more than the threats in shrimp farming of the province; however, there was a long distance between the current status and the potential for the development. So, the aggressive strategies were recognized as the most suitable strategies. Also, according to the results of QSPM and ELECTRE III methods, the following strategies were found to be superior to the other strategic alternatives: marketing for healthy shrimp of the region, increasing the area of shrimp farms for enhancing production capacity, removing the barriers to shrimp export and its development, and increasing the production in unit area through the use of aeration and feeding devices and modern methods of harvesting; therefore, it was recommended that the developed strategies could be implemented step by step.

Keywords

References

  1. Aczél, J. and Saaty, T.L. (1983). Procedures for synthesizing ratio judgements. Journal of Mathematical Psychology, 27(1): 93-102.
  2. Agha-Mohammadi, M. (2000). Investigating the effective factors on production size per unit in shrimp farms in Khuzestan. Master Thesis, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz. (Persian)
  3. Ali-Ahmadi, A., Fath-Allah, R. and Iraj, T.A. (2004). Comprehensive approach to strategic management (Vol. 1). Tehran: Science Production Publishing House. (Persian)
  4. Ansari, V. and Salami, H.A. (2008). Scale economies in the Iranian shrimp breeding industry. Agricultural Economics, 1: 35-51. (Persian)
  5. Asgharpour, M. (2016). Decision making and operations research (Vol. 1). Tehran: Tehran University Press. (Persian)
  6. Azar, A. and Memariani, A.A. (1995). AHP; a modern technique for group decision making. Journal of Management Knowledge, 27-28(1239): 22-32. (Persian)
  7. David, F.R. (2010). Strategic management: concepts and cases. New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc.
  8. FAO (2016). Aquaculture production and exports statistics. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Available at http://www.fao.org/fishery/statistics/global-commodities-production/en.
  9. Iran Fisheries Organization. Iran Fisheries Organization statistical yearbook, (2017). Tehran: Iran Fisheries Organization; 2017. (Persian)
  10. Iravaniya-Tehrani, M. (2003). Familiarity with breeding shrimp as one of the organs of the aquaculture industry in Iran. Agricultural and Industrial Monthly, 2: 10. (Persian)
  11. Kalbassi, M.R., Abdollahzadeh, E. and Salari-Joo, H. (2013). A review on aquaculture development in Iran. Ecopersia, 1(2): 159-178.
  12. Leyva-Lopez, J.C. and Fernandez-Gonzalez, E. (2003). A new method for group decision support based on ELECTRE 3 methodology. European Journal of Operational Research, 148(1): 14-27.
  13. Migleynezhad, A. (2012). Fisheries and aquaculture in Iran: challenges and potentials. Strategic Report No. 151. Tehran: Center for Strategic Research, Economic Research Deputy. (Persian)
  14. Pearson, J. and Robinson, R. (2016). Strategic planning and management. Translated by S. Khalili Shourini. Tehran: Yadvareh Ketab. (Persian)
  15. Sareban, H., Kamrani, E., Bozorgi, E., Saho-Biranda, K. and Esmaeilzadeh, A. (2011). Comparison of production and profitability of general and partial harvesting in western pudding shrubs (Litopenaeus vannamei) at the Persian Gulf shrimp breeding site (Bandar Mogham). Aquatic and Fisheries, 2(6): 27-35. (Persian)
  16. Shahraki, J., Karbasi, A.R. and Yaghoubi, M. (2011). Evaluating the profitability and efficiency of shrimp breeding units: a case study of the Goiter Region of Chabahar County. Agricultural Economics Research, 3(3): 17-36. (Persian)

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics