Profitability and perceived resilience benefits of integrated shrimp-tilapia-seaweed aquaculture in North Central Coast, Vietnam

Abstract

Sustainability of aquaculture-dependent livelihoods under increasingly changing climate crucially depends on effective adaptation. However, empirical evidence about aquaculture farmers' adaptation to climatic shocks is inadequate. We study the private profitability and farmer perceived resilience effects of adaptation through polyculture of shrimp with mono-sex tilapia in North Central Coast (NCC), Vietnam. Data come from a survey with a random sample of 80 farmers including 25 farmers directly targeted with the intervention, 26 autonomous adopters, and 29 non-adopters. Majority of the respondents were male with an average age of 49 years and 17 years of experience in brackish water shrimp farming. Significantly more targeted than autonomous adopters and non-adopter households completed education beyond primary level. Similarly, more targeted than autonomous farmers and non-adopters participated in aquaculture producer and saving groups. Controlling for these differences in socioeconomic characteristics through a weighting procedure, we find higher economic gains and greater reductions in feed and pond preparation costs among farmers applying the integrated practice compared to non-integrative practices. Furthermore, farmers’ perceptions indicate enhanced adaptive capacity with adoption of the shrimp-tilapia polyculture intervention. These results imply that promoting shrimp-tilapia polyculture is welfare-increasing in the presence of weather shocks. However, successful adoption and scaling of the practice will require increased investment to strengthen institutional capacity to facilitate access to markets and financial services by farmers.