Evaluating input use efficiency in shrimp farming by stochastic production frontier approach

Abstract

Shrimp is the most traded food commodity in the world; the majority of it was sourced from farming. Shrimp farmers need to be technically efficient to be globally competitive. We measured the technical efficiency of shrimp farms with a stochastic production frontier to identify the socio-economic characteristics and input variables that determine it. The model is applied to small-scale shrimp farmers (n = 150) in Nellore District of Andhra Pradesh, India, by using primary survey data that collected through adopting random sampling with the pretested interview schedule. The average technical efficiency score of 0.95 indicated that the farmers were the most efficient. The finding of the technical efficiency score suggests that strengthening the education, experiences, technological adoption and membership of the society could further enhance the shrimp production about 0.44 tons ha−1 with existing technology and alternating inputs.