Abstract
This research was conducted to evaluate the efficiency level of shrimp poly-culture farms by using Data Envelopment Analysis. It also identified factors affecting the inefficiencies of shrimp poly-culture farms using Tobit regression model. The empirical results indicated that the mean of Technical, Allocative and Economic Efficiency were at 84.01%, 64.16%, 55.32%, respectively, hence there is a substantial room for improving the efficiency. DEA results recommended that inefficient farms need to minimize overfeeding of stocks in order to avoid the accumulation of uneaten feeds that further contributes to water pollution. The optimal stocking density ratio should be 8.15 for shrimps, 1.59 for crabs and 2.46 for fish per square meter of pond. The results also showed the presence of scale inefficiency. Smaller farms tend to be more efficient than larger farms. The optimal farm size should be less than 0.5 hectares. The results of Tobit regression model suggested that farm personal characteristics, farm ability to access to institutions, and water environment have significant effect on the efficiency of farms.
Highlights
Aquaculture has been found as one of the fastest growing food producing sectors of the world, contributing significantly to poverty alleviation, food security, and rural development
Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) results recommended that inefficient farms need to minimize overfeeding of stocks in order to avoid the accumulation of uneaten feeds that further contributes to water pollution
Results concerning TRAIN suggested that farmers, who join training courses which are organized by local government, are likely to be more efficient than farmers who do not join
Summary
Aquaculture has been found as one of the fastest growing food producing sectors of the world, contributing significantly to poverty alleviation, food security, and rural development. According to socio-economic report of Thua Thien Hue Province in 2010, economic structure has shifted towards Service, Industry, Agriculture-Forestry-Aquaculture of which Service accounted for 45.2%, followed by Industry and Agriculture-Forestry-Aquaculture with 39.7% and 15.1%, respectively (The Official Web Portal of Vietnam Central Coastal Region, 2011). In the field of Agriculture-Forestry-Aquaculture, aquaculture is regarded as the leading-edge sector of socio-economic provincial development strategy. It is because Thua Thien Hue province is endowed with 22,000 ha of natural water surface, namely Tam Giang-Cau Hai lagoon. Aside from being considered as one of the largest lagoon systems in Southeast Asia, Tam Giang-Cau Hai has been found to be a promising area for aquaculture activities since 1990s, because of its suitable condition for the development of many kinds of aquatic species. The livelihood of approximately 300,000 local residents which is estimated nearly one-third of the population in Thua Thien Hue Province, are entirely or partly dependent on aquaculture activities
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