Performance and nature of genetically improved farmed tilapia: a bioeconomic analysis

Abstract

The International Center for Living Aquatic Resources Management (ICLARM), in collaboration with its partner organizations, has developed an improved strain of Nile tilapia (known as the GIFT strain) which shows superior performance in terms of growth and survival in on-station conditions. The on-station performance of the GIFT strain may, however, not be replicated in actual farm conditions. Before disseminating the GIFT strain, its performance and nature were evaluated in on-farm conditions relative to the strains already being cultivated. This paper analyses the comparative performance of the GIFT strain on an average as well as on an efficient farm and assesses its nature in five Asian countries (i.e., Bangladesh, China, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam). Ordinary least squares regression and tobit models are estimated on the average weight at harvest and on the survival rate, respectively, to assess the comparative performance of the GIFT strain on an average farm. Stochastic frontier functions for weight at harvest are also estimated to assess the comparative performance of the GIFT strain on an efficient farm. Results show a superior performance of the GIFT strain compared to the non-GIFT strains on both average and efficient farms. On an average farm, the GIFT strain gives 18% higher body weight at harvest in China to 58% higher in Bangladesh. The breakeven price above variable cost is 7-36% lower for the GIFT strain than for the other Nile tilapia strains in use. The GIFT strain is a neutral technology with respect to feed and fertilizer use in all five countries, except Bangladesh.