Do Small Fish Farmers Perform Product Innovation?: Some Findings from Kelantan

Abstract

Stiffer competition in the present marketplace makes product innovation become more critical to business to remain competitive. Aquaculturists have big potential to do product innovation. However, product innovation among small farmers, especially, in the freshwater industry has been hardly studied. This study aims to uncover product innovation practice among the small aquaculture farmers. In this preliminary study, an in-depth interview was conducted on four Tilapia fish farmers in the rural area of Bachok and Kota Bharu, Kelantan. This study found that the farmers sold raw fish in the market. Product innovation was not a common practice among them due to their small-scale tilapia production and small tilapia fish supply in the market. However, some of them had intention to do product innovation. The low-value-added products offered would cause the farmers earn low income and remain trapped in poverty.