Technical efficiency of freshwater pond polyculture production in selected asian countries : estimation and implication

Abstract

The research documented in this article estimates the levels and determinants of farm-level technical efficiencies (TE) in freshwater pond polyculture systems in China, India, Thailand, and Vietnam. The levels of country-specific TE were estimated for different production intensity levels by estimating stochastic production frontier functions involving the model for technical inefficiency effects. The results were compared with estimates from past studies of aquaculture TE. It was found that yield, input levels, and TE increases in line with intensity levels. TE estimates ranged from 42% among extensive farms in Vietnam to 93% among intensive farms in China. For low intensity farms, increased technical efficiency, and the resulting increased productivity, could be achieved by increasing human capital (through effective and efficient training and extension), provision of basic infrastructure (such as roads), easier access to seed supplies, and security of tenure or a well-defined system of land use rights. Increasing technical efficiency and productivity among intensive farms will result more from the continuous development of new technology and cross-country technology transfer. However, the realization of these potential increases in TE depends on governments in these countries continuing to provide adequate support for freshwater aquaculture development.