Technical efficiency of carp production in India: a stochastic frontier production function analysis

This paper aims to examine the levels and determinants of technical efficiency in carp pond culture in India. The stochastic production frontier technique involving the model for technical inefficiency effects is applied separately to samples of semi‐intensive/intensive and extensive carp producers interviewed during 1994–95. The results showed significant technical inefficiencies in carp production in India, especially among extensive farms. The mean technical efficiencies for semi‐intensive/intensive and extensive sample farms were estimated to be 0.805 and 0.658 respectively. By operating at full technical efficiency levels, the semi‐intensive/intensive farms could, on average, increase their production from about 3.4 Mt ha^?1 to 4.1 Mt ha^?1. Likewise, the extensive farms could increase their production from 1.3 Mt ha^?1 to 1.9 Mt ha^?1. Much of these efficiency gains would come from improvement in the adoption of recommended fish, water and feed management and monitoring practices. Besides expanding production area, the results indicated several other possibilities for increasing carp production in India by increasing yields per hectare, such as: (1) increased intensification of carp culture (i.e. moving from extensive to semi‐intensive or intensive systems); (2) improvement in technical efficiency at the farm level; and (3) technological progress. However, the realization of these potentials will depend on continuous efforts by the government in ensuring an adequate supply of inputs, technology transfer and development and adequate provision of research, extension and credit services in aquaculture.     

Technical efficiency of cage fish farming in Peninsular Malaysia: a stochastic frontier production approach

The study estimates technical efficiency and investigates the factors affecting the technical inefficiency of cage fish farming in Peninsular Malaysia. The study employs the stochastic frontier function to estimate a production frontier and technical inefficiency model. The data were collected using standard structured questionnaires completed by sample cage fish farmers in the study area. The result reveals an estimated mean technical efficiency score of 0.79, implying that the sample fish farmers are operating 21% below the production frontier and thus, there is room for improvement. The production function involves the use of one output and four inputs, which are stocking density, feed, labour and other relevant production costs. The coefficients of all the inputs have positive signs and statistically significant impacts on the output. The output elasticity associated with stocking density is the highest (0.634), followed by feed (0.317). The null hypotheses that the technical inefficiency effects are absent from the model and that the combined exogenous variables do not influence inefficiency are strongly rejected. The individual's null hypotheses of no age effect, no experience effect, no education effect, no species effect, no extension services effect, no workshop attended effect and no diseases effect on technical inefficiency are all rejected at different levels of statistical significance.     

Technical efficiency of carp production in Nepal: An application of stochastic frontier production function approach*

Abstract

Modern aquaculture is a relatively new activity among Nepalese farmers and a small contributor to the economy. Given the abundance of water resources and fish species, rising demand for fish, and its high profitability, aquaculture has potential for future expansion if it is given appropriate attention from the government. In Nepal, productivity in aquaculture is much lower compared to other countries in the region, which suggests that there is potential for increased fish production through technological progress and improvement in farm‐level technical efficiency. However, no formal analysis has yet been conducted to assess the productive performance of Nepalese aquaculture and its potential for future improvement. Against this background, this paper examines the technical efficiency and its determinants for a sample of fish pond farms from the Tarai region of the country using a stochastic production frontier involving a model for technical inefficiency effects. The estimated mean technical efficiency is 77%, with intensive farms being more efficient than extensive farms. The adoption of regular fish, water, and feed management activities has a strong positive effect on technical efficiency.     

Production risk,technical efficiency,and input use nexus: Lessons from Bangladesh aquaculture

The optimal use of resources in aquaculture is important, especially in developing countries, to obtain the highest possible outcome from the production process to support food security and poverty alleviation. Thus, within this study, the risk, efficiency, and input‐use variation in aquaculture farms in Bangladesh is investigated using a flexible stochastic frontier model with a risk and an inefficiency function. The results reveal that feed, labor, and capital have positive and significant impacts on production. In addition, an increased fingerling density and a larger farm increase the risk, whereas the use of feed and the capital invested have the opposite effect. Access to extension services has a positive effect and increases farm efficiency. An investigation of the farm size–productivity inverse relationship reveals that this phenomenon is not applicable to Bangladesh aquaculture. In general, efficient farmers are large‐scale farmers, who use a lower stocking density but a higher feeding intensity, resulting in a higher yield. On average, farmers use less labor and feed than what is optimal. To increase efficiency and reduce risk, it is recommended that more technical knowledge on optimal input use, extension service, and capital is made available to aquaculture farmers.     

Technical efficiency of carp production in Pakistan

Abstract

The main objective of this study is to examine technical efficiency and its determinants in carp pond culture in Pakistan. A stochastic production frontier involving the model for technical inefficiency effects is applied separately to the samples of semi‐intensive/intensive and extensive carp producers. The mean technical efficiencies for semi‐intensive/intensive and extensive farms were 0.673 and 0.561, respectively. By operating at full technical efficiency the semi‐intensive/intensive farms could, on average, increase their production from 3.0 to 4.5 Mt/ha and the extensive farms from 2.6 to 4.6 Mt/ha. Much of these efficiency gains would come from the improvement in fish, water and feed monitoring and management. Besides improving technical efficiency, potential also exists for raising carp productivity through increased intensification and technological progress. However, the realization of these potentials will depend on continuous government support for adequate provision of inputs, market and infrastructure, technology transfer and development and extension and credit services to carp farmers.     

水产养殖清洁生产的内涵与技术

清洁生产作为循环经济的主要生产方式适用于各生产性行业并有助于各生产行业的可持续发展。以陆上工厂化水产养殖为例，讨论了水产养殖业实施清洁生产的技术。     

Technical efficiency analysis of milkfish (Chanos chanos) production in Taiwan—an application of the stochastic frontier production function

Milkfish has been farmed in Taiwan for over 300 years. Faced with limited land resources, a labor shortage, decreasing demand, and growth of imported fisheries products, the industry is looking at the problem of how to maintain a sustainable and efficient production. This study specifies a stochastic production frontier function to estimate potential milkfish farm output and efficiency by using 1997–1999 data from a survey of 433 aquaculture milkfish farms. Both Translog and Cobb–Douglas frontier production models are estimated using the maximum likelihood estimation method. Empirical results show that the Translog stochastic production function model fits the data better and that milkfish farming in Taiwan exhibits diminishing returns to scale. We also compare estimated maximum potential milkfish production per hectare under various pond conditions to provide managers with information about how to boost efficiency. In addition, this study estimates substitution elasticities and complementarity of input factors for milkfish farms to provide helpful information for milkfish farmers on how to reallocate input resources and help raise milkfish productivity through improvements in technical efficiency.     

Production efficiency in New England’s oyster aquaculture industry

In coastal New England, growing oysters is a long-established practice that has exhibited a renaissance over the past few decades (Lapointe, Northeast region ocean council white paper: Overview of the aquaculture sector in New England, 2013). This industry generates millions in annual revenue, significantly boosting the economies of many coastal communities (Augusto &; Holmes, 2015 Augusto, K. &; Holmes, G. (2015). Massachusetts shellfish aquaculture economic impact study. Woods Hole, MA. Retrieved from http://web.whoi.edu/seagrant/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2015/01/MA-Aquaculture-Economic-Impact-Study-2015.pdf [Google Scholar]). However, oyster aquaculture has received relatively little attention from the field of economics. To our knowledge, this study represents the first evaluation of productive efficiency among oyster producers in the United States and the first comparison of oyster production methods used in this country. Our findings indicate significant potential to increase productivity by reducing inefficiency in oyster production. However, industry-wide production efficiency has been increasing between 2013 and 2015. Further analysis revealed several factors that significantly influence inefficiency in oyster production, including a grower’s education level, location and farm diversification. This study provides insights into inefficiency in oyster production, enabling governance bodies and outreach specialists to make more informed decisions regarding this industry.     

Profitability and technical efficiency of aquaculture systems in pampaanga,philippines

Abstract

We evaluate the profitability and technical efficiency of aquaculture in the Philippines. Farm‐level data are used to compare two production systems corresponding to the intensive monoculture of tilapia in freshwater ponds and the extensive polyculture of shrimps and fish in brackish water ponds. Both activities are very lucrative, with brackish water aquaculture achieving the higher level of profit per farm. Stochastic frontier production functions reveal that technical efficiency is low in brackish water aquaculture, with a mean of 53%, explained primarily by the operator's experience and by the frequency of his visits to the farm. In freshwater aquaculture, the farms achieve a mean efficiency level of 83%. The results suggest that the provision of extension services to brackish water fish farms might be a cost‐effective way of increasing production and productivity in that sector. By contrast, technological change will have to be the driving force of future productivity growth in freshwater aquaculture.     

GREEN AND TECHNICAL EFFICIENT GROWTH IN DANISH FRESH WATER AQUACULTURE

Aquaculture is the fastest growing animal food processing sector in the world. Nevertheless, growth inside the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development has been stagnating, with few exceptions. The main reason is strict environmental regulations. This study investigates if green growth can be achieved by introducing new environmentally friendly water purification systems in Danish fresh water aquaculture. Data Envelopment Analysis is used to investigate whether different water purification systems and farm size influence technical efficiency. The empirical results indicate that different water purification systems have no significant influence, although it increases with farm size. The policy implications are that green growth is possible by implementing the new water purification systems, but farmers have no incentive to adopt the new systems under the present regulation. If green growth should be achieved, the present regulation needs to be changed, providing the farmers with an incentive to adopt environmentally friendly production methods.     

Assessing the efficiency of the Italian aquaculture firms

Abstract

The study investigates the efficiency of a sample of Italian aquaculture firms according to their legal status, size, and location. An efficiency analysis was conducted for a sample of 160 units using an output-oriented Data Envelopment Analysis. The average value of the efficiency scores reveals that it should be possible to significantly increase firm performance. The most inefficient farms are cooperatives, southern farms, and the smallest farms. The weight of efficient units is as follows: 34% of the cooperatives and 26% of the limited liability companies; 26% of units located in Northern-Central regions and 34% of those placed in Southern areas; 47% of the big and 23% of the small firms. Among subgroups of units, the only significant difference in the average efficiency score is related to the firm size. The sensitivity of the results to methodological choices reveals that the variable return to scale hypothesis fits the data better than the constant returns to scale and that bootstrapping while changing the value of the scores does not change findings in terms of size, location, and legal status. Actions which remove obstacles and increase firm size are the most obvious ways to improve the efficiency and competitiveness of the sector.     

A REVIEW OF PRODUCTION FRONTIER RESEARCH IN AQUACULTURE (2001–2011)

Most research works on the production frontier in aquaculture focus on efficiency measurement using either Stochastic Production Frontier (SPF) or Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). The studies on productivity growth in aquaculture were limited, perhaps due to lack of time-series data. Nevertheless, total factor productivity analysis (TFP) in fish farms has started gaining popularity in recent years. In addition, the majority of the efficiency studies have centered on technical efficiency analysis but substantial increases in the output levels can be fully realized through improving overall economic efficiency. Therefore, this review suggests that future research should estimate all three efficiency indices (i.e., technical, allocative and economic efficiencies).     

Stochastic modeling of production risk and technical efficiency of Thai koi (Anabas testudineus) farming in Northern Bangladesh

Thai koi is one of the high commercially valued farm fishes which have expanded tremendously in the northern part of Bangladesh. However, despite its impressive growth in the initial years, output of the industry is highly volatile across different years and farms. This research, following the Just and Pope framework, has made use of Kumbhakar’s (2002 Kumbhakar, S.C. (2002) Specification and estimation of production risk, risk preferences, and technical efficiency. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 84, 8–22.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) extended stochastic frontier model (SFM) to estimate production risk and technical efficiency (TE) in Thai koi farming. Results show that feed is the most important input significantly influencing production. Zeolite and pesticide appear to be risk-reducing, while fingerlings, labor, feed and salt turn out to be risk-increasing inputs. The inefficiency model indicates that labor and pond area significantly reduce the technical inefficiency. Feed, fingerling and lime also act as TE-improving factors. Education of farmers improves TE, while experience, training and frequency of water change do not impact the TE. The mean TE scores are 0.73 and 0.96 for the flexible risk estimate and conventional SFM estimates, respectively. TE values appear to become exaggerated when production risk is excluded from the model. SFM recognizes that risk is involved in Thai koi farming that causes lower TE.     

Efficiency of culture-based fisheries production in village irrigation systems of Sri Lanka

Despite the growing popularity of culture-based fisheries (CBFs) associated with village irrigation systems (VISs) in Sri Lanka, there is less knowledge about factors that influence productivity levels. CBFs compete with rice for access to water in the VIS, so maximizing the efficiency of CBFs is essential to ensure that the limited water resources are used most effectively. To address this, primary data from 325 fish farming groups were used to estimate a stochastic translog production frontier. Technical efficiency in these irrigation systems was found to be generally low, and substantially lower than that of other aquaculture production systems in other Asian countries. This suggests that production can be increased substantially with better management using existing technology and resources. Removing subsidies, improving consultation with extension officials and improving water user rights – in particular, the introduction of a transferable community quota system – were found to be key means for improving efficiency.     

A novel computer simulation model for design and management of re-circulating aquaculture systems

The aim of this study was to develop a simulation model for finding the optimal layout and management regime for a re-circulating aquaculture system (RAS). The work plan involved: (1) quantifying the effects of fish growth and management practices on production; (2) developing a mathematical simulation model for the RAS, taking into account all factors that directly influence system profitability; and (3) estimating the production costs and, hence, the profitability of an RAS. The resulting model is process-oriented, following the flow of fish through the RAS facility, and generates an animated graphic representation of the processes through which the fish passes as it progress through the system. The simulation assesses the performance in terms of yearly turnover, stocking density, tank utilization and biomass in process, and uses statistics to track the state of the RAS and record changes that affect efficiency. The economic impact of system design and operation was modeled to enable a user to anticipate how changes in design or operating practices, costs of inputs, or price of products affect system profitability. The proposed approach overcomes difficulties in characterizing RAS design and operation. The simulation approach allows all of the RAS's components such as equipment, biological processes (e.g., fish growth), and management practices to be evaluated jointly, so that an initial design can be fine-tuned to produce an optimized system and management regime suited to a specific fish farm within a reasonable time. The methodology was executed step-by-step to design an optimal RAS that meets both economic and stocking-density limits. Optimal design specifications were presented for several case studies based on data from Kibbutz Sde Eliahu's RAS, in which Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) are raised in 20 concrete raceways. Further research should include more extensive testing and validation of the integrated model, which then should be disseminated to the aquaculture community.     

Technical efficiency of carp pond culture in South Asia: An application of a stochastic meta‐production frontier model

Abstract

A stochastic meta‐production frontier model is estimated to examine the inter‐country differences in levels of technical efficiency of semi‐intensive/intensive and extensive carp pond culture systems among the major carp producing countries in South Asia, namely India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Nepal. The mean technical efficiencies for semi‐intensive/intensive farms vary from 0.68 for Nepal to 0.79 for India, with an overall average of 0.75 and those for extensive farms vary from 0.48 for Bangladesh to 0.62 for Pakistan, with an overall mean of 0.57. Differences in efficiency levels are explained in terms of various farm‐specific and country‐specific factors by estimating a model for technical inefficiency effects. The adoption of recommended fish, water, and feed management practices is found to be critical for improved performance of carp producers. For each country, the study also compares the efficiency scores based on its own production frontier with those obtained from the meta‐production frontier.     

Technical Efficiency of Tank Culture Systems in Peninsular Malaysia: An Application of Data Envelopment Analysis

The demand for animal protein especially fish is growing rapidly perhaps due to rapid expansion of population, increased incomes, and changes in eating habits and life styles of consumers. Capture fisheries are currently overexploited and their yield has become stagnant over the last decades and, in some cases, has even declined. Nevertheless, aquaculture has the potential to meet these challenges if well practiced. The study therefore, aims to estimate Technical Efficiency of tank culture systems using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). Additionally, it also investigates the determinants of technical inefficiency by employing a regression model. The estimated technical efficiency was 0.89, which means that the fish farmers can reach full technical efficiency through reducing their input usage by another 11%. Results indicate that farmer’s experience, educational level, extension training, job status, and water management have positive and statistically significant impacts on technical efficiency. Therefore, increase in any of these factors will have a direct impact on technical efficiency.     

A site management system for shellfish aquaculture

Abstract

A production management and planning system has been developed for large‐scale hanging culture operations. The relational database was designed to provide a fast, reliable and versatile tool for managing large volumes of production data at a scallop aquaculture site. The application development process is described, starting with the set of management decisions to be supported by the software. Best practices used for data structure design included normalization and entity‐relationship diagramming. The process‐based design resulted in visually consistent and user‐friendly interfaces which minimize data entry errors. An integrated forecasting model, based on seasonal exponential smoothing, extrapolates stagewise mortalities and flows calculated from the database. Typical simulation results demonstrate how forecasts provide insight into the grow‐out dynamics for capacity planning, manpower planning, and dealing with seasonal fluctuations in the yields. The software generates daily production reports, weekly harvesting schedules and long‐range planning information.     

EFFICIENCY OF RESOURCE USE AMONG POND FISH FARMERS IN CENTRAL UGANDA: A STOCHASTIC FRONTIER PRODUCTION FUNCTION APPROACH

This article presents the use of a stochastic frontier production function to examine the efficiency of resource utilization in pond fish farming in Uganda. The study draws on data from a field survey administered to 200 small-scale fish farmers in three major fish farming districts in Central Uganda: Mukono, Mpigi and Wakiso. The districts were part of a large aquaculture development project funded by the United States Agency for International Development-Aquaculture and Fisheries Collaborative Research Support Program. Productive efficiency was analyzed using stochastic frontier analysis with a translog production function while assuming a truncated-normal distribution for the inefficiency term. The output variable was total quantity of fish produced, while input variables were quantity or value of inputs used in the production process, namely labor, pond size, stocking density, capital and feeds. The estimated index of resource-use efficiency revealed that small-scale farmers were inefficient in resource allocation by over-utilizing labor with an estimated allocative efficiency index of ?0.94 and grossly under-utilized pond size, feeds and fingerlings with allocative efficient indices of 1.15, 1.64, 3.71, respectively. The results suggest that there is considerable scope to expand output and also productivity by increasing production efficiency at the relatively inefficient farms and sustaining the efficiency of those operating at or closer to the frontier.     

Economic and social dimensions of aquaculture management

Abstract

Aquaculture management patterns are greatly influenced by the economic or social purpose of the project. Though some types of farms may yield both economic and social benefits, they can generally be classified on the basis of their major objective. Economic benefits, in one form or the other, gets considered in the planning stage of all farming activities; but it is necessary to ensure social and environmental viability as well to achieve sustainability. Subsistence and family farming, crop/animal integrated farming and farming for recreational purposes, are largely orientated to social benefits; whereas small‐scale farming enterprises, cooperative and state farms, as well as vertically integrated large‐scale farms are run mainly for economic gains. Stock enhancement and creation of culture‐based fisheries represent a mix of all the three elements of sustainability, with a stronger base of environmental improvement. The complexity of management differs significantly between these types of enterprises. The systems of production adopted, such as extensive, semi‐intensive, intensive and super‐intensive, as well as farm location (land‐based or open waters) bring about their own special management problems, especially in relation to ecological integrity.