Seaweed Value Chain Analysis, Tamil Nadu
Client: Food and Agriculture Organization
July 2022
The team member at WhitePeak was engaged by the Food and Agriculture Organization (UN FAO) to assess the status, barriers and potential of seaweed cultivation in the coastal districts of Tamil Nadu. The study was carried out using a combination of primary research through Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) & Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), and rigorous secondary research through academic literature, government statistics, and alternate research sources. Subsequent to the on-field primary research and expert interviews an accurate and comprehensive document was presented to the client. The final deliverable included:
- An assessment of the global, national and state context of seaweed market size, demand potential, profit margin analysis and potential for value addition
- A broad study of the competitiveness of policies & institutional climate and support services
- An extensive study of key policy and institutional barriers and challenges in seaweed value chain nodes in Tamil Nadu such as - Research and Development, agri-inputs supply, production, processing, and distribution and marketing
- Clear identification of opportunities in the seaweed sector in Tamil Nadu including in value chain stages, and cross cutting opportunities encompassing climate smart (carbon sequestration, Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture), convergence, social and economic (with a focus on the gender dimension- enhancing women participation) and capacity building opportunities.
- Providing recommendations that could be adopted to overcome these challenges, creating growth projections and developing a time bound action plan to scale up interventions
