Assessing Development Strategies of Shrimp Farming in Khuzestan Province Using SWOT and ELECTRE III Methods

In Iran, many shrimp breeding farms were forced to be shut down due to their numerous problems. Therefore, this study aimed at investigating the effective internal and external factors along with assessing the production strategies of shrimp farming in Khuzestan province of the country. For this purpose, it identified alternative strategies using SWOT matrix and internal-external (IE) matrix and examined the identified strategies using a quantitative strategic planning matrix (QSPM) followed by prioritizing the alternative strategies according to the criteria via ELECTRE III. The study results showed that the strengths were dominate over the weaknesses and the opportunities were more than the threats in shrimp farming of the province; however, there was a long distance between the current status and the potential for the development. So, the aggressive strategies were recognized as the most suitable strategies. Also, according to the results of QSPM and ELECTRE III methods, the following strategies were found to be superior to the other strategic alternatives: marketing for healthy shrimp of the region, increasing the area of shrimp farms for enhancing production capacity, removing the barriers to shrimp export and its development, and increasing the production in unit area through the use of aeration and feeding devices and modern methods of harvesting; therefore, it was recommended that the developed strategies could be implemented step by step.