This study clarifies the adverse effect of the globalization of the catfish market on Vietnamese catfish farmers, and their adaptive strategies.
    Catfish aquaculture in Vietnam began to thrive in 1999 after the success of fry breeding technology. However, since the late 2000s, due to the instability of market demand and stricter food safety standards, the tendency of vertical integration by catfish processing/exporting companies has become stronger. Vietnamese catfish farmers have generally split into two groups. One group has switched to contract production with processing/exporting companies, while the other continues farming without such contracts (individual production).
    Data collected through the survey of 45 catfish farmers in Can Tho City, southern Vietnam showed that their decisions of whether to continue individual production or to enter contract farming depend on their ability to access external resources such as feed supply with favorable conditions. Farmers with good financial capacity and social relationships continue individual production, which would make high profits but, at the same time, carries high risks due to price fluctuations. On the contrary, farmers who have insufficient capital and social relationships, and are vulnerable to market fluctuations, were forced to switch to contract farming in spite of lower profits in order to avoid market risks.
    Farmers with low financial capacity tend to form connections with feed suppliers and processing companies or, in other words, to cope with this disadvantage with social connections. However, in the case of catfish farming, such substitution seems to be difficult due to the heavy dependence on feed and other inputs. Therefore, entering contract production is a vital strategy for low-capital catfish farmers.