Review of USDA Regional Aquaculture Centers

A key to success of the RAC model and program is the full integration of Extension personnel from project inception through implementation and adoption of research results. Concerns were expressed across all RACs of the loss of Extension support for aquaculture. Aquaculture Extension positions were either not being filled or were being diluted by adding substantial research expectations to what previously were full-time Extension positions. The problem is more acute in some RACs than others, but even in regions with more Extension support, concerns were expressed about the extent to which those positions would be continued in the future.

While the RACs did not create the problem of the erosion of Extension support, they understand clearly the problem posed for aquaculture development in their region.
Thus, each RAC should devote attention to developing an effective strategy to cope with this problem. It needs to be on the agendas for discussion by the Boards of Directors and the Technical Committee. At least one RAC has already formed a committee that is examining strategies to cope with diminished Extension support in their region, and other RACs should consider approaches that direct attention to strategies to address this growing problem.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture-National Institute of Food and Agriculture should take steps in the very near future to strongly recommend that a succession plan be developed for each RAC by tasking a specific committee that includes one or more representatives of the host institution, the current director, and at least one representative from the Board of Directors, Industry Advisory Council, and Technical Committee, as appointed by the current RAC Director. The succession plan should preferably include provisions for the incoming director to overlap for at least one complete program planning and funding cycle with the current Director to ensure a smooth transition. The succession plan should ensure stability of RAC administration for those RACs that have been performing well by focusing on retaining the current administrative office and staff and filling the Director position at the current host institution.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture-National Institute of Food and Agriculture needs to increase engagement with host institutions to reaffirm the critical role of U.S. Department of Agriculture support for the RACs, the Directors, and the administrative staff. The deans of the colleges under which the RACs function are key individuals for continued, essential support for the RACs, as is the upper administration of each host institution. An annual meeting with the deans should be organized by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture national program leader to update the deans on notable successes and accomplishments, challenges, and future opportunities. Notable successes should be shared.

The National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s strong support for the RACs is critical to continuous and future support from the host institution. Such engagement would include increasing awareness of how aquaculture fits into the overall administrative programs at the host institution, both the academic programs and support from aquaculture farms for the host institution.

The contracting and funding processes should be streamlined to reduce the time from problem identification to initiation of the research and Extension activities. This would include streamlining the proposal review process as well as reporting. Many of the projects funded by the RACs address fairly short-term and immediate needs of aquaculture farmers. Thus, getting projects started as early as possible will decrease the time to solutions to problems faced by aquaculture farmers.

An onboarding process should be developed that includes an orientation for new Industry Advisory Council and Technical Committee members on RAC procedures and specific expectations and responsibilities for each new member. It is critical to ensure that all economically important species groups within a region are represented and supported by their RAC, with their interests balanced with the major species groups in the region. Project oversight should be continued through monitoring progress of projects. Evaluation systems need to be put in place to track adoption and impacts over time from RAC-funded projects. Brief surveys of farmers during annual association meetings can be used to document adoption of new practices by farmers as one component of an ongoing evaluation system.