Why should I bother to break the norm?: Exploring the Prospects of Adopting Technology-Driven Solutions by Indian Shrimp Farmers

Abstract

India produces a large amount of shrimp every year and exports them globally. Yet, concerns have been raised about shrimps produced in India not qualifying the global safety standards. In this paper, we took an ethnographic approach to understand the traditional farming practices followed by shrimp farmers in India. We interviewed 29 shrimp farmers from Andhra Pradesh in India for eight months. We learned that most experienced and large-scale shrimp farmers in India prefer to follow traditional practices in their shrimp farms. They prefer to adopt technology-driven solutions in their farming only if absolutely needed. However, we observed that young, small-scale farmers are more open to trying new technologies in their farming. We discussed several areas where initiatives can be taken to encourage more Indian shrimp farmers to adopt new technology-driven solutions in their farming.