Fresh Studio speaks at international aquaculture workshop

PENANG – Fresh Studio have spent the last few years building an innovative seafood sourcing system mostly from small scale farmers in Vietnam to supply one of the largest wholesalers in the world.

Therefore, Nicolas Privet, Aquaculture and Fisheries Manager of Fresh Studio, was invited by The World Fish Center to join a workshop in Penang, (Malaysia) to share his experiences and knowledge in connecting small-scale farmers to markets.

This Workshop, part of a GIZ project ‘Pro Poor Business Models for Small Scale Aquaculture’ was intended to further help identify business models and finance options which could deliver positive development outcomes in the growing aquaculture sector. The workshop focused on:

  • Building understanding of the economic, social and environmental case for investments into small and medium-scale aquaculture enterprises;
  • Sharing knowledge of business examples and models for aquaculture investment, particularly among practitioners working with small and medium scale aquaculture and agriculture businesses;
  • Conducting a mapping of the financial and technical assistance landscape for small and medium scale aquaculture enterprises in Asia, identifying gaps and ways of filling those gaps;
  • Developing a shared vision among participants on follow-up action.

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Fresh studio assists in sourcing of Pangasius for international airlines

CAN THO – Pangasius fish is sustainably farmed in the Mekong delta of Vietnam, and a large part of the production sites are now certified for International farming standard such as GlobalGAP, B.A.P, and lately the ASC standard (Aquaculture Stewardship Council) has been introduced.

Pangasius is sold in more than 130 countries, mostly processed into white, skinless, boneless fillets with a neutral taste. It is a nutritious product with a low to moderate fat content and high levels of protein. Pangasius has all the characteristics to be an excellent substitute to the over-fished marine species.

In accordance with its sustainability policy, a leader of the airline catering industry, supplying over 25 million meals to over thirty scheduled carriers has selected Fresh Studio to assist them in the sourcing of their pangasius fillets from Vietnam.

After having advised this catering company during the supplier selection process, Fresh Studio carries out processing supervision, consignment inspection, and product sampling for laboratory analysis, to ensure that the final product matches the required high-end specifications in terms of food safety and quality.

Wageningen UR international conference on chain and network management

WAGENINGEN – During the 9th WICANEM conference in the Netherlands, Fresh Studio’s marketing director, Sigrid Wertheim, presented a paper titled: “Avocados in Vietnam: value chain development beyond donor support”. This conference brought approximately 200 participants from the world of science and business to share experiences.

This is the abstract of Sigrid’s paper (with authors: S.C.O Wertheim-Heck, P. Quaedackers, N.T. Anh and M.S. Van Wijk): Numerous initiatives have been implemented by international donors in Vietnam, aiming for elevation of rural communities out of poverty, predominantly focusing on farmers. Unfortunately many of the initiatives have experienced difficulty in realizing sustainable businesses.

This paper describes how the development of an avocado value chain in Vietnam became an engine for rural growth, which was sustained beyond donor support.

It describes a VC development approach in which: (1) the focus was on the domestic market of Vietnam, (2) the lead firm was not a MNC, but a small local trader, (3) the commodity chain involved new product introduction which required demand creation, where the retail sector did not act as chain integrator, (4) and choices were made which preferred long term sustainable business-building rather than short term all-inclusiveness, and significant income gains.

Ingredients for success have been: participatory chain analysis, focus beyond farmers, participatory stakeholder selection, incorporation of consumers, and a step-by-step approach with achievable goals and small pilots.

For those interested in reading the whole paper, please contact Fresh Studio.Also interesting to read:

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