1. Aquaculture in ponds and cages has high potential in Lao PDR, Cambodia and Viet Nam, in terms
of both commercial development and small-scale family enterprises directed at poverty alleviation.
From a financial perspective, aquaculture compares well with alternative traditional enterprises such
as rice and fishing, and other new enterprises such as fruit and coffee production. Risk levels are
necessarily somewhat higher than traditional activities, but generally similar to, or lower, than other
new enterprise types.
2. The high levels of variation in performance found in baseline surveys suggest both the opportunity
and the need to identify and extend a range of financially attractive production systems suited to
different household or enterprise types.
3. There are significant differences in the returns from similar enterprises in different countries. This
suggests the need for a broader economic study to examine price and cost differences between
countries, and their implications for trade and future price trends.
4. Stocking of small reservoirs generates very high returns, and can be organised as a managed
“enterprise” relatively easily. The financial benefits of stocking larger reservoirs are less clear, and
the social and economic issues, including resource access and allocation, are complex, requiring
much broader social and economic analysis than was possible in this study.
5. Socio-economic surveys, and especially baseline surveys, have been ambitious and detailed, but
have not been used effectively as tools for identifying or refining interventions, especially extension
recommendations.